Afro-Cubans are discriminated against just like blacks in any country. All countries, just about, have a white version of its population. They are usually in power. This is human nature, and don't see it changing.

Mariane was Afro-Cuban and European as well. But she's still black, especially if she came to this country. She's black in France too.

My family is usually mistaken for PRs but we are part Cuban. So I can see why they can use PRs as a replacement for Cuban. Both groups tend to be more mixed with African blood than the average Mexican. They also tend to look more white when they are "white latinos." IMO

Heloise

Don't know why you are surprised.

Look at indian-americans. Apu is voiced by a white guy.

Remember the Short Circuit movies and the indian guy in it. It was a white guy, Fisher Stevens.

Also, indians play non-indian roles. Naveen Andrews is INDIAN, yet he plays an arab on "Lost."

You shouldn't be surprised that a Cuban-american show has no or very little actual cubans/cuban-americans.

Hello- it is called ACTING. A Puerto Rican can portray a Cuban and vice versa if they have the talent. I find it funny that you are complaining about a show casting actual Latinos to play Latinos. Let's give them some props for that! This isn't exactly "The Perez Family" starring Angelica Houston and Marisa Tomei. But seriously, do you think Andy Garcia only wants to play a Cuban all the time? He has played Italians, Spaniards, etc. and that probably didn't bother you. Try not to be so narrow-minded, we've got much bigger fish to fry!

Great post! As long as we are casting by ethnic identity or nationality, shouldn't we also deport every Canadian actor who plays an American? And also pass a law forbidding any filming in a location that does not represent the actual setting of a TV show or movie!

Oh, yeah, and Orlando Bloom put actual elves out of work when he was cast to play an elf in the "Lord of the Rings" movies. And of course, Warners should be sued for using Muggles instead of actual wizards in the "Harry Potter" film series. And if they can't find actual Vulcans for the next "Star Trek film," then they should just not do the movie at all.

And of course, gay actors should only play gay, and straight actors should only play straight.


RE: HBO hired (for the most part), excellent Italian-American actors to play Italian-Americans for The Sopranos.

Edie Falco's mother is Swedish. Does she still measure up according to your ethnic purity test?

RE: The elite upper crust of Cuban society was lily white throughout much of that unfortunate island's history....

Actually, some of them were only passing for white, or had the clout to downplay their African or indigenous roots. The same is true of some people in the US, even Southern racists.

Like Elena posted, it's called ACTING. So maybe we should just stop the madness of foolishly insisting that casting satisfy some pointlessly rigid ethnicity test.

I am not surprise by reading this article. Many white Cubans in Miami are racist against Afro Cubanos and Puerto Ricans. Many black or Afro Hispanics always play as blacks on television and in the movies instead of Latinos. Why are Afro Latinos always cast as blacks in the movies?

Thank you Mr. Campello for your great insight. I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately, many of the people responding to your article are missing the point. This is not strictly about acting. Yes, a great actor can make a role his own, but there is something called miscasting. Jimmy Smits does not look like the Fanjuls, he is not even of the same race as the Fanjuls. Let me make an analogy, you can find the greatest Chinese American actor in the world who can capture the essence of any character given to him, but it would be wrong to cast him as J.F. Kennedy or as Martin Luther King, Jr. In the same vein, while Mr. Smits is a fine actor, he is simply miscast as the Fanjuls. Alas, Hollywood continues to stereotype blinded by their racist misconceived notion of what all Hispanics are supposed to look like.

Why Hollywood never have black Hispanics like Cuban American Gina Torres and others to play Latina/Latino characters? They will use a white Actor in a role as an Hispanic, before they will use a black/Afro Hispanic. Black Hispanics characters don't exist on USA T.V., and they are never seen in professional roles in the Spanish Soap Operas on Spanish T.V. Black Latinos are always portrayed as a servant or slave in Spanish Soap Operas.

What do the Fanjuls have to do with this topic? I haven't heard anything about the Smits character being one of the Fanjuls. So in essence the argument is- is it stereotyping to cast a Puerto Rican actor to play a Cuban? If they were portraying a specific person such as in a true life story, then maybe I would feel you had a slightly valid point. But in a work of fiction, and in a world where there ARE in fact all kinds of Cubans- light skinned, dark skinned, Afro descent, Euro descent, etc. then how is it racist or stereotypical? This is a silly argument, there is so much other more blatant stereotyping on television, especially in reality tv!! I can't believe your issue is with the actor not being white enough.

Elena,
It has everything to do with the Fanjuls. The series is based on the Fanjul family. I mean, how many Cuban American families--i.e. dynasties-- who live in Florida and have made millions in the sugar business are there? I'll give you one hint: the Fanjuls. It's as if Hollywood makes a series about a powerful Irish American family from Massachusetts who had a son who was president and two sons who were senators. Could we safely assume that it was based on the Kennedy's? I think so.

Anyhow, nobody is saying that Hollywood is stereotyping because a Puerto Rican is playing a Cuban. There are many Puerto Rican actors who could play the part very well. Carlos Ponce comes to mind. The late Jose Ferrer would have been a great, etc.. Dayanara Torres could also play one of the female roles and would have been very believable. Jimmy Smits, I don't think so.

The stereotyping comes in that Hollywood is always portraying hispanics as "dark and dangerous" as in this series. Its sad that Hollywood has to continuously resort to distorting the image of Hispanics by pulling this kind of crap all of the time.

Harsh... I think that it is an apt anology - we wouldn't have Filipinos playing Japanese people, would we? Oh wait! Hollywood has done that.

Andy Garcia's "Lost City" movie was a beautiful reminder of how Cuba and Cubans can be represented in the movies.

Damnit, there are PLENTY of good actors that are LATINO. Why do friggen cast directors pick filipinos, half/part filipinos, white people, etc., to play LATINOS (e.g. guy from
All You've Got, Vanessa Hudgens in High School Musical, and others I can't think of right now)!! THeir not latinos and they don't look like latinos!! OH the humanity!!

A quiok note--Jessica Alba was cast against type playing WASPy Sue Richards in the Fantastic Four.
Latin actors are getting plenty of work.

Why are black/Afro Hispanics are always cast as blacks, not Hispanics? Is this racism? Many Hispanics/Latinos don't accept blacks as being Hispanic/Latino. I am not surprised that whites in Hollywood feel the same. The guy who played opposite of Will Smith on Fresh Prince of Belair is Latino of Dominican ancestry, but he has always played as a black Actor, not Latino.

I am a black Puerto Rican, but when I speak in Spanish to other Central, South Americans, and Mexicans, they look at me as if, I am from another planet. Hispanics with white skin or fair skin are accepted in the U.S. by whites, and many Hispanics see themselves as white, not brown.

I agree that Andy Garcia probably wouldn't have taken the role, even though he would have been perfect.

While I think Puerto Ricans actors certainly can play Cuban characters, I take exception to your limited list of Cuban-American actors.

Here is list of Cuban & Cuban-American actors/actresses

Besides Nestor Carbonell who is already in the show....

Maria Conchita Alonso
Cameron Diaz (Dad is Cuban)
Steven Bauer
Bobby Cannavale
Eddie Cibrian
Matt Cedeno
David Fumero
Gene Gabriel
Joanna García
Jsu Garcia
Enrique Murciano
Oscar Nunez
Eva Mendes
Elizabeth Peña
Danny Pino
Mercedes Renard
Armando Riesco
Mercedes Ruehl
Saundra Santiago (Cuban/Puerto Rican)
Tessie Santiago
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Jordi Vilasuso
Carlos Lacamara
Daisy Fuentes
Marieh Delfino (Cuban-Venezuelan)
Laz Alonso (Afro-Cuban)
Gina Torres (Afro-Cuban)
Matt Cedeno(Afro-Cuban/Irish)

Look, some of you are missing the point. Cane looks to be a fantastic television show with fantastic actors. In my opinion, Jimmy was well cast and is doing an incredible job. Isn't it enough that there are hispanics playing hispanics? (remember when whites played Indians or painted their faces black?) Isn't it enough that the story isn't degrading our culture, poking fun at our traditions, like some shows? I'm proud to be a hispanic, born in the US. My great-great-great grandmother was a slave brought in from Venezuela to Puerto Rico, raped by a Spanish Missionary. My mom was born in the Dominican Republic, my dad born in Puerto Rico. What does that make me black? White? Dominican? Puerto Rican? Venezuelan? Spaniard? Grina? NO...I am HISPANIC, a beautiful LATINA, and very proud it. We should all be very proud to finally see so many hispanics on prime time. Its been a long time coming.

My husband and I have wondered why there are so many Puerto Rican actors in this show portraying Cubans.Why didn't they just do a TV show about PRs living in this country if that is what they want to hire? Most Cubans for one thing would not play a part that makes their countrymen look so bad.They all worked too hard to make something of themselves to bring down the entire group with a story that portrays them as killers. They didn't get on welfare and start gangs, they sent their kids to college and saved for a better life.Cubans are proud of their heritage and also of being good Americans. This show is going to give the rest of America a false idea of what a Cuban American is really like.It can oly hurt the image of Cuban Americans.

"They didn't get on welfare and start gangs"
as opposed to who? Cubans seem to forget that their relative success in comparison to other latin groups is due to different groups forming the base of those respective cuommunity (the base for the cuban community in florida is the upper and upper middle classes that were escaping communist revolution while the base for all other latino communities here in the US were initiated by lower class rural workers)and an extremely generous US government that initially gave the cubans fleeing castro perks not enjoyed by any other latino community. It's not because of some inherent superiority among the cuban people themselves so please stop it.

If we do not voice our opinion of what we would like to see, who will?
I think all people have a right and should be commended on sticking up for what they believe is right for their own.
Lenny, great job, it's about time we speak up!!
De Una cubana de New York casada con un cubano de New York!
KUDOS

The point is "Hispanics", is a contrived word to discriminate and does not describe spanish speaking people from the Caribbean, the Americas etc. The ignorance of the media, and alas many "North Americans", regarding the race and nationality of " Hispanics" is unbelievable and insulting to me, since it does not allow for the true definition of even a single nationality, and makes it "politically incorrect", to show a Cuban as a white person on a TV show. Just like North Americans are white, black, asian, multi-racial etc., so are Cubans, Puerto Ricans and all other "hispanic" nationalities. To accurately describe a person's ethnicity , lets take into account his/her nationality and race(s), not lump everyone under a discriminating name such as Latino or Hispanic. I do not want to be better, I simply want to be acknowledged as what I am.
We are all equal but distinct.
What is wrong with showing or describing each "Hispanic", as what he/she is - Black Cuban,
White Puerto Rican, Multi Racial Venezuelan; need I continue? Yes, It is simpler to make us one race and one nationality, but we are NOT.
We are like North Americans althought they try very hard to convince themselves we are not. Lets demand the "Hispanic" artificial, discriminating label be dropped.

Mr. Campello"

What's the big deal? It's a soap not a historical drama. Get over yourself. We should be honored to have high caliber actors such as Hector Elizondo, Jimmy Smits, and Rita Moreno (who by the way paved the way for many as did Desi Arnaz) play the lead roles in this TV soap. Are you serious?

I don't see the big deal. I am a cuban american and I am proud to have Miss Colombia playing the role of Smits wife. As long as the "roll" they play shows us in a positive moral light as a race I am happy with it.

Holywood is make believe. What do they care or know? They have a "characterizer" with 10,000 photos and that's about it. They don't know a thing about Cuba except Ricky Ricardo. C'mon, they have been passing Bulgarian Jews (no offense intented) as WASPS during decades!!!

From an European perspective, the White/Latin/Black classifications are quite deranged. The old WASP classification makes sense, but now they bundle all sorts of people under "Anglo" or "White". I mean, an Italian is an Anglo? A Slav is an Anglo? An English Speaking Turk or Jew is an Anglo? Quite crazy!! Why pile all Latin Americans under "Latins"? There are 20 million Italians in South America, 5 million Spanish, plenty of Germans, Polish, Japanese, whatever!!! Quite crazy. An Italian Argentinian or a German Brazilian is a "Hispanic", but a Sicilian from New York is a "White Anglo"...Crazy.

Why tis tendency to call afro-cubano to blacks cuban, and Cuban to the others, in Cuba everybody is CUBAN we are not separated in afro-cuban and white Cuban, READ:

SON 16


Yoruba soy, lloro en yoruba
lucumí.
Como soy un yoruba de Cuba,
quiero que hasta Cuba suba mi llanto yoruba;
que suba el alegre llanto yoruba
que sale de mí.

Yoruba soy,
cantando voy,
llorando estoy,
y cuando no soy yoruba,
soy congo, mandinga, carabalí.
Atiendan amigos, mi son, que empieza así:

Adivinanza
de la esperanza:
lo mío es tuyo
lo tuyo es mío;
toda la sangre
formando un río.

La ceiba ceiba con su penacho;
el padre padre con su muchacho;
la jicotea en su carapacho.

¡Que rompa el son caliente,
y que lo baile la gente,
pecho con pecho,
vaso con vaso,
y agua con agua con aguardiente!

Yoruba soy, soy lucumí,
mandinga, congo, carabalí.
Atiendan, amigos, mi son, que sigue así:

Estamos juntos desde muy lejos,
jóvenes, viejos,
negros y blancos, todo mezclado;
uno mandando y otro mandado,
todo mezclado;
San Berenito y otro mandado,
todo mezclado;
negros y blancos desde muy lejos,
todo mezclado;
Santa María y uno mandado,
todo mezclado;
todo mezclado, Santa María,
San Berenito, todo mezclado,
todo mezclado, San Berenito,
San Berenito, Santa María,
Santa María, San Berenito
todo mezclado!

Yoruba soy, soy lucumí,
mandinga, congo, carabalí.
Atiendan, amigos, mi son, que acaba así:

Salga el mulato,
suelte el zapato,
díganle al blanco que no se va:
de aquí no hay nadie que se separe;
mire y no pare,
oiga y no pare,
beba y no pare,
viva y no pare,
que el son de todos no va a parar!