1	Books Life lessons from AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega; Cuban tales by Mia Leonin and Achy Obejas. read more...
2	Film & TV Soledad O’Brien examines what it means to be Latino in America; Christian Meier’s quest. read more...
3	Sports Juan Martin del Potro storms the tennis world. read more...
4	Calendar Our monthly list of premier events. read more...
5	Picture This Royalty of Chicana rock. read more...

a much bigger story

As a surge in the Hispanic population fuels the changing demographic landscape, CNN examines what it means to be Latino in America.

Shot over the course of a year, the two-part documentary CNN Presents: Latino in America was an enormous undertaking that not only faced the usual editorial hurdles of whittling down numerous story ideas, but the complexity of the subject matter itself.
The program, which airs on Wednesday and Thursday, October 21 and 22, was reported by anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien, who previously worked on CNN’s Black in America and Black in America 2.
Even with that kind of experience, producing a project true to the subject matter turned out to be a whole new ball game. “We thought there might be a little template from Black in America that we could use, but what we found out was how much greater the diversity was within the Latino community,” says CNN Executive Producer and VP Mark Nelson. “We’re talking about people whose origins can be traced to 21 Spanish-speaking countries. Then you have issues of men and women, black and white; issues with those who speak English, Spanish or both; those who have been here three or four hundred years and whose ancestors may have been born in a part of America that was once Mexico, versus those who have been here three days. Not to mention issues of acculturation.
“All of a sudden you quickly realize that what we’re dealing with is very different from the prior template we had to work with.”
Born of an Afro-Cuban mother and Australian father of Irish descent, conventional thinking might be that O’Brien’s Hispanic heritage would influence her approach. “That’s an interesting question, but it does and it doesn’t,” says O’Brien, who also wrote the companion book, Latino in America, with Rose Marie Arce. “I have a certain level of knowledge about this community, and while my background gives me some insight into a tiny portion of it, as a journalist I am there to report what I see. I’m there to do interviews and be open to a person’s experience and get their take on the story, not my take.”
The stories are those of both famous and regular folks. O’Brien found herself doing interviews in places ranging from Disney World in Orlando to the dying mining town of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, and from the south Bronx to Pico, California, a middle-class community where nearly 100 percent of the residents are Latino.
The first night of the series, Latino in America: The Garcias, features the lives and personal journeys of Garcias around the country. While accomplished Latinos such as George Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker and Lupe Ontiveros pop up, it’s the more personal stories that resonate. Like that of Cindy Garcia, a pregnant teen living in East L.A. who is determined to graduate from high school. Or that of Bill and Betty Garcia, a Hispanic couple who relocated to North Carolina to provide a better life for their two sons and now find assimilation is distancing the boys from their Spanish culture.
Night two, Latino in America: Chasing the Dream, visits the bedrock of this country. Here, O’Brien interviews former Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, who as a teenage refugee was part of Operation Pedro Pan, in which more than 14,000 unescorted Cuban children were sent to the U.S. by parents who feared the Communist takeover by Fidel Castro. O’Brien contrasts the experiences of these children with those undocumented teens residing in a Boystown Detention Center in Miami who are awaiting potential deportation. Other stories include those of Vanessa Robles and her husband, bilingual Puerto Ricans who are part of a wave of Latino professionals recruited to join numerous Orlando businesses, including Disney. Then there’s the shocking piece about Luis Ramirez, an undocumented immigrant killed by a group of white Shenandoah high school students—allegedly because of his ethnicity.
Considering that the issue of immigration has been injected into debates regarding all things Latino, it might seem the topic would be at the heart of this series. Instead, it’s only one part of the conversation on the Latino experience in America that also includes other talking points, such as the alarmingly high suicide rate among teenage Latinas.
“I was talking to Prof. Robert Suro, and one of the really interesting things he said was that there’s this focus on people coming across the border,” O’Brien says. “But you know what the story is? The fact that there are plenty of Latinos who are here, and it’s a much bigger story than the drama of coming across the border. People will ask me to tell them about the immigrants, but meanwhile most of the people we spoke with are citizens.”
Both Nelson and O’Brien firmly believe that the growing gap in education for minorities is one of the most important issues facing the country. “It’s important for us to realize how good [this growth of diversity] is, then in turn educate and make the necessary changes that are important for everyone’s success,” Nelson says.
Harvard graduate O’Brien agrees. “The world has become more global. There is no more ‘us’ and ‘them.’ Your country cannot succeed if a large percentage is failing. It actually matters to everyone that large segments do well, succeed and are productive.”

by the numbers

There are an estimated 46.8 million Latinos currently residing in the United States with the largest number being of Mexican (30.7 million) or Puerto Rican (4.2 million) descent. (U.S. Census Bureau)

Nationally, about 40 percent of Latinos don’t have a high school diploma (2008 Census Bureau report)

Latinos are on track to be the largest demographic of school-age children by the year 2050 (Pew Hispanic Center)

More than half of all Latinas get pregnant before age 20 and nearly 70 percent of those teenage moms don’t graduate (2006 National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy)

Hispanic female high school students in grades 9-12 reported a higher rate of suicide attempts (14 percent) than White non-Hispanics (7.7 percent) or Black non-Hispanics (9.9 percent). (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Catching Up with Christian

Peruvian heartthrob Christian Meier leaves telenovelas behind in his quest to make it big in film

By Tony Cantú

Having recently moved to Los Angeles to focus on a film career, Christian Meier —known as the George Clooney of Latin America—is ready for his close-up.
Star of numerous telenovelas—including a recent turn as the legendary Zorro—Meier has long been a heartthrob to legions of adoring fans. But he is determined to leave the small screen behind for crossover dreams in Hollywood. “I’m not sure what the next step will be,” he says. “The only thing I can assure you is I won’t be seen in another telenovela.”
Technically, Meier broke into Hollywood with a 1993 debut in Watchers III by cult film director Roger Corman. That effort was followed in the Latin cinema with No le digas a nadie five years later. In 2000, he starred in Cuidad de M, and last year snagged the title role in Valentino y el clan del can. Meier raised his profile further in 2005 in La mujer de mi hermano. But most of his work has been in telenovelas that have made him a household name.
Growing up in Peru, Meier was no stranger to the spotlight. His mother, Gladys Zender became Peru’s first Miss Universe in 1957, and his father, Antonio Meier, is the mayor of the San Isidro district of Lima. His starring role in a toothpaste commercial at 13 marked his official entry into acting, a gig followed two years later with a Coca-Cola commercial.
He recalls being fixated in his youth with foreign cinema, admiring the work of Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. But it was Day-Lewis’ turn as a quadriplegic in the movie My left Foot that helped Meier realize an actor’s potential to touch an audience emotionally. Until then, Meier had viewed acting as simply a job with some nice perks along the way.
Already a staple on telenovelas, his personal paradigm fully shifted when he took on the role as the conniving and bisexual anti-hero in No le digas a nadie in 1998. The risky character appealed to him for its potential to spotlight him as a “serious” thespian. “It was not the leading role, but a very important role.”
Meier imbued his character with a sinister, ever-present grin that was inspired by mime Marcel Marceau’s portrayal of a man who is unable to remove a mask that represents laughter. Meier’s mental and physical preparation paid off: “The movie was not a blockbuster, but for the first time the critics started to say I was a good actor.”
Having already achieved name recognition throughout Latin America, Meier, the father of three children, this year launched a cologne sold via catalog in his native Peru as well as in Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Chile and El Salvador. He hints at future fashion items bearing his name, but offers no details.
It is in acting on which Meier pins his hopes. Clearly, the telenovela chapter of his life appears closed. “I think I’ve filled my quota of melodrama. Maybe the names and characters change, but it’s always the same thing,” he says. “I respect the novela format, but I need to do something else. I’m feeling more committed to my acting.”

Screen Shots

Now on the big screen, these actors and movies will have you clamoring for the box office.

Spotlight On: KUNO BECKER
By Diana Montané

In the film From Mexico with Love, Kuno Becker plays Hector, a boxer hoping to make a life for himself and his family in America. The picture is directed by Jimmy Nickerson, who served as fight coordinator for such films as Raging Bull and Rocky.
“I love Rocky,” Becker says, but he noted that the director wanted to do something different here. “This is not a story about a professional boxer. Hector is a guy who works in the fields as a picker, trying to support his family and his mother who is sick. He trains to fight for honor, for love of his girlfriend, for his mother and himself. It’s very different.”
Becker is no newcomer to sports films, having starred as Santiago in the soccer film, Goal: The Dream Begins. But he views the two characters very differently: “Hector is a pretty simple guy who wants to support his family and work, which is what most people in our community want to do. Santiago wanted to become a star.”
Audiences will soon see Becker, the grand-nephew of Mexican film icon Maria Felix, in the Mexican film Cabeza de Buda. And February will see him in Spoken Words, with Rubén Blades. Becker is gratified that at the increasing demand for films about Latinos. “I think that films like [From Mexico with Love] can inspire us to become better and strive for something good and positive.”

Finding Fame
Walter Perez stars in the remake of the classic 80s drama.
A career on the silver screen might have been in the stars for Walter Perez, who plays Victor Taveras in the remake of the hit film Fame. The California native, who plays streetwise music student Victor Taveras, began playing filmmaker at age 7. “I did a version of Cops, and had a TV show called Commercials in the Corner where we would do PSAs about drug abuse, etc.” His love of acting cemented, he began his own Fame-like journey by enrolling in Colors United, a non-profit organization that exposes inner-city kids to the performing arts. It helped ready him for his role, although he felt a lot of pressure to be cast in such an iconic movie. “It was all about Fame in the 80s,” he says. “So now we’re here making our own history by reinventing a classic and bringing all these new modern characters that hopefully everyone in this era could relate to.” The movie couldn’t have come at a better time for Perez. After nine years of acting, it felt like a graduation. As for what’s next: “I’d love to do work that people will be talking about 30 years from now,” he says. “I would like to take on roles that aren’t specifically made for a Latino but are played by one. I’ve always wanted to work with Rob Reiner and Guillermo del Toro.”

The Box
Cash-strapped, a couple (Cameron Diaz, James Mardsen) receives a mysterious box and must make a moral decision. If they open it and push the magic button, a person they don’t know will die—but they will also receive $1 million.

Cirque du Freak:
The Vampire’s Assistant
Salma Hayek stars as a bearded lady in this fantastical film about a touring freak show that passes through a sleepy town. The show’s presence awakens two bored teens to the world outside suburban U.S.A.