The University of Wisconsin Press 2537 Daniels Street Madison, Wisconsin 53718 Contents 3 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8LU, England Copyright© 1999 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved vii Illustrations ix 5 4 3 2 Acknowledgments a Critical Printed in the United St tes of America Overture: An Introduction to Cultural and Analysis 3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data "Jose, Can You See": An Introduction Representations Sandoval-Sanchez, Alberto. Act One: A Critical Reading of Latino/a Jose, can you see?: Latinos on and off Broadway / Alberto Sandoval-Sanchez. on Broadway pp. cm. Found�tional Includes bibliographical references and index. l. Carmen Miranda and Desi Arnaz: m ISBN 0-299-16200-I (cloth: alk. paper) Images of "Latinidad" on Broadway and b a 21 ISBN 0-299-16204-4 (p k.: alk. p per) Hollywood . a a a a de 1. Hisp nic Americ n the ter. 2. Hispanic Americ ns in motion pictures. 3. Rican Reading of the America of West Si Hispanic Americans in literature. I. Title. 2. A Puerto Story 62 PN2270.H57S26 1999 ar1 s ensa tion " 792'.089'68073-dc21 98-47441 3. A Chorus Line: Not Such a "One, Singu for U.S. Puerto Rican Crossovers 83 Some of this material has appeared before, in slightly different form, in the following publications; I am gratefulfor permission to reproduce this copyrighted material: Intermission '½ Puerto Rican Reading of the America of West Side Story." Jump Cut a 39, speci l issue: with Many Legs: U.S. Latino Theater and U.S. Latinos and the Media, Part 2, ed. Chon Noriega (1994): 59-66. 4. An Octopus 103 'jlChorus Line: Not Such a 'One, Singular Sensation' for Puerto Rican Crossovers." Its Diversity Ollantay Theater Magazine 1, no. 1 (January 1993): 46-60. in Theatrical '"An Octopus with Many Legs:' U.S. Latino Theater and Its Diversity." Ollantay Theater Act Two: Latino/a Self-Representations Magazine 5, no. 1 (Winter-Spring 1997): 66-78. Productions a a u ro i a 127 "Re-Viewing L tino The ter: Iss es of C ss ng Over, M instreaming, and Lat�nos/as <:ot to Do ':"i t? a a n 5. Staging AIDS: What's �� � C noniz tio ." In New Voices in Latin American Literature/Nuevas voces en la literatura Latma p aywng1 s latinoamericana, ed. Miguel Falquez-Certain, 157-72. New York: Ollantay Press, 1993. 6. No More Beautiful Sefiontas: Gender "So Far from National Stages, So Close to Home: An Inventory of Latino Theater on Deconstruction of Beauty Myths and AIDS." Ollantay TheaterMagazine 2, no. 2 (Summer-Fall 1994): 54-72. Stereotypes 150 "Staging AIDS: What's Latinos Got To Do With It?" In Negotiating Performance: Gender, Sexuality,and Theatricality in Latin/o America, ed. Diana Taylor and Juan Villegas, 49-66. Durham: Duke University Press, 1994. V 1 Carmen Miranda and Desi Arnaz Foundational Images of "Latinidad" on Broadway and in Hollywood Any attempt at mapping the politics of representation of Latinos/as on Broadway and in Hollywood must have as its foundation two artistic figures: Carmen Miranda and Desi Arnaz. Both immigrants have con­ tributed significantly to the contemporary stereotypical characteriza­ tions of U.S. Latinos/as. Miranda and Arnaz materialize the inaugural depictions of our present preconceptions and visualizations of "Latini­ dad" in the U.S. cultural collective imaginary. Given the political land- scape, particularly Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy, both/ performers embodied the artistic translation and mediation of political relations with Latin America in the 1930s. What, at firstglance, appears to be vivid entertainment and a naive exhibition of otherness consti­ tutes, rather, a conscious and premeditated mode of representation and stereotypization of "Latinidad." Miranda's and Arnaz's perfor­ mances were loaded with political and ideological practices, maneu­ vers, and strategies. My goal in this firstchapter is to examine critically the first fleeting theatrical instances of each of the two performers, who appeared "co­ incidentally" in the same season (1939-1940) on Broadway. My archeo­ logical project will center on reconstructing Miranda's and Arnaz's per­ formances on Broadway. By analyzing their theatrical performances as in!:rpolated, imported cultural units inscribed.as exotic markers and 21 23 Carmen Mirandaand Desi Arnaz Act One: Latino/a Representations on Broadway 22 e u no co uni under th m­ s er an i a ned Lati mm ty tities a nd fo t m gi U.S. s ers o ot e s i l de ons r te o e r er r ances aid dad .. '# igni f hem $ ,J w l m t a h w th i p fo m l te o o a n !' � rella ca g ry f "L ti i th·e•fo1:1ndations for contemporary stereotypes of Latinos/as in th e U.S. b theatncal and cultural imaginary. My reading will be d acument e d Charting a Genealogy wi· th th_ e fil s D ownA . rgentina Way and Too Many Girls (both 1940), �:1:1 ... o ira da . c mcor ora e a ost n t eir e tire t e stars o eatric r r a es f M n whi h p d, lm i h n ty, h ' riginal artd· use to a roac t e t al pe fo m nc � is not ful pp h h h a ust e ra atnca acts itial rod ced on ad a ol oo It er r ances on roadw y m ph me l the l . In ly p u Bro w y, H lyw d · in so a on e et nic p fo m B � and az i l ti . Th ir h tinos ed t ese er r ances on r re aud ences s a resu Arn inant u tural a s of La / fix h p fo m film fo futu i . A lt, the it in a ontinu o dom c l im ge e o ated w h c um f ances orders et e n ad a and o l ood re rred eac enre b l c nction o e r erform b b w e Bro w y H l yw a blu : h g o e a e e role and fu f th i p as in t U.S. T x min th ood i is and u tura ode sta ed us al co ed and usica co e he o road an ol yw , t c l l m _ l ( g m ic m y m l film) mpl ­ e onic ra a i a f B way d H l t e e m cultu l im g n ry iona ents a d e ca es t ot er cce tin t at road a nd o in h h g discurs e and re rese l m n ph t h h . A p g h B w y a H lly­ k at t e o er can iv p ntat � � c a to o h Angl -Am i ca ood ons te n unm er ted i a inar ori o n a c ra cru i l l o e o o eri n • titu a t rup m g y h z n i ultu l t e atin ot er task will b t �rt Angl -Am � : andscape of h "L h ." My r a dis ursi e ontinuu it e ossi e to a ine t e do nan l and eo ra ies o atin Ame ic c v c m, will b p bl ex m h mi t o t e cu ral a nary g g ph f L re ertoires f h ltu im gi o erate s ereo ica r resen ations o atinos as p odes o r r sentat on p , t typ l ep t f L / . ra o s ereo ica f ep e i to de ons te h w t typ l m and o in re randa and rna atinos r is anics e m t n order to d s ri e T b g , Mi A z "L " o "H p "? Th is roduc d and rculated. I e c b � � a d o eaning :e e _5.i er istor c o ent o t eir rri al ot ere n h w m on o t a n a s er is neit er t e a v b h w re rese tat o d ocati f he "L ti oth " n w , h . A th h i m m f h , e a ine t e o t cs of p n i nan l . x m h p li i ct o st e ade see as atm ncan rants o ra il and u a res ec d scursi a d s i n mu b m n L Am � • i1:1mig , fr m B z C b , p - t e do inant u ral i ve web, i tin _ . in h m c ltu do es c et n and ely. ter r n eir n tio ities er t e deter i in tor o er a d t e at m ti h ic tiv Af ��g �t10 , th a nal w e h m n g fac e een t ati r th " n h "L in _ b tw he "L n fo eign co n o a in o eir den s i t e e do inan n o ri an socioc r r ers to rants mi g fr m L t f th i titie � h U.S.