Currently my absolute favorite TV show is Showtime's Dexter. If you haven't seen this show, then go and rent seasons one and two out on DVD and then get hooked.
In the series, Michael C. Hall is absolutely brilliant as a serial killer who works as a blood expert for the Miami Metro Police while hiding the fact that he is also a serial killer. Dexter goes after bad guys, but he is still a truly disturbing psychopath pretending to be normal while killing bad guys left and right in a very orchestrated manner. Dexter is television crime drama at its best.
Because this is set in Miami, several of the regular characters in the series are portrayed as Cuban characters, such as Dexter's boss, Lt. Maria LaGuerta, played superbly by Puerto Rican actress Lauren Velez and detective Angel Batista, also played superbly by Puerto Rican actor David Zayas.
Now enter season three, which introduced a new character, that of Asst. District Attorney Miguel Prado, another Cuban character played by — yep that's right — Jimmy Smits! Smits is a terrific actor, and since by now he seems to be making quite a decent living playing Cubans on TV, the least that Showtime can do is hire some Cubans to write their Spanish dialogues for the series so that at least he can sound Cuban. I know that this is pedantic, but everytime that the "Cuban" characters speak to each other in Spanish banter, it is grating to Cuban ears to hear "non-Cuban" being spoken.
Imagine that you are watching a foreign movie, let's say a French movie... and all the dialogue is in French, and two British actors are in the film playing American parts, and every few minutes they speak to each other in English, and instead of American English coming out of their mouths, what comes out is Cockney English. That's what (in my pedantic world of Virgoes) I have to suffer every time that LaGuerta, Batista, and/or Miguel Prado talk in Spanish.
Article comments
1 - Jean Phillipe
I hear you about the Cuban accent thing, I am a Haitian actor and my pedantic hell is when they hire some dude with a Jamiaican accent or Nigerian accent to play Haitian, an accent I could deliver easily, even though the role is always a demeaning voodoo priest or a drug dealer, I want the role, work is work. Also, Smits, in my humble opinion, is one of the most outstanding hispanic actors working today, with all due respect to Javier Bardem and Benicio Del Toro. Garcia is good but Smits, phony cuban accent aside, is incredible as Miguel Prado and should win an Emmy if those awards folks would do their job. But then again, I 've watched them ignore all those great actors from "The Wire" arguably one of the best shows ever on HBO.
2 - jeff lindsay
believe me, i know.
I hear it from all my friends.
but it's getting better -- first season, i actually heard, "get in the truck, you big conyo."
3 - Tomás
The real question is...why does "Hollywood" always feel that when they have to introduce a Latino character or Latino-themed show it HAS to be a Cuban or Puertorican?
4 - alpe
I'm sure the text talked about something else besides hammering home how "superb" and "brilliant" Jimmy Smits is - if only I could remember it... ;-)
Seriously though, @Jean Philipe: What do you think of the 'genuineness' of the Haitian in "Heroes"?
5 - SKU
Can any of you understand how uncomfortable Americans are when faced with blatant Latino racism? You grade your own children by color... Cubanos are blanco? BS.
In most parts of my country we cannot tell Cubans from PRS from Mexis from shit on the ground. And yet now thanks to Spain and our lack of will as a nation to secure our borders - we get to the enjoy the benefits of the racist latino caste system. How can we as Americans look ourselves in the face?