Dance and the Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex, and Stardom PDF
Preview Dance and the Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex, and Stardom
Dance and the Hollywood Latina (cid:2) LATINIDAD Transnational Cultures in the United States This series publishes books that deepen and expand our knowledge and understanding of the various Latina/o populations in the United States in the context of their transnational relationships with cultures of the broader Americas. The focus is on the history and analysis of Latino cultural systems and practices in national and transnational spheres of influence from the nineteenth century to the present. The series is open to scholarship in political science, economics, anthropology, linguistics, history, cinema and television, literary and cultural studies, and popular culture and encourages interdisciplinary approaches, methods, and theories. The Series Advisory Board consists of faculty of the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University where an interdisciplinary emphasis is being placed on transborder and transnational dynamics. Marta E. Sánchez, Series Editor, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University Marivel T. Danielson, Homecoming Queers: Desire and Difference in Chicano Latina Cultural Production Regina M. Marchi, Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon Priscilla Peña Ovalle, Dance and the Hollywood Latina: Race, Sex, and Stardom Dance and the Hollywood Latina (cid:2) Race, Sex, and Stardom Priscilla Peña Ovalle rutgers university press new brunswick, new jersey, and london Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ovalle, Priscilla Peña, 1976– Dance and the Hollywood Latina : race, sex, and stardom / Priscilla Peña Ovalle. p. cm. — (Latinidad—transnational cultures in the United States) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–8135–4880–7(hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978–0–8135–4881–4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Hispanic Americans in motion pictures. 2. Hispanic Americans in the motion picture industry. 3. Hispanic American motion picture actors and actresses. 4. Dance in motion pictures, television, etc.—United States. 5. Race in motion pictures. 6. Sex in motion pictures. I. Title. PN1995.9.H47O93 2010 791.43(cid:2)652968073—dc22 2010003041 A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2011by Priscilla Peña Ovalle All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, elec- tronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Rutgers University Press, 100Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854–8099. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law. Visit our Web site: http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu Manufactured in the United States of America For Omar, with my deepest passion For Cynthia Peña Sanchez and Casey Ovalle, with my greatest love Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Mobilizing the Latina Myth 1 2. Dolores Del Rio Dances across the Imperial Color Line 24 3. Carmen Miranda Shakes It for the Nation 49 4. Rita Hayworth and the Cosmetic Borders of Race 70 5. Rita Moreno, the Critically Acclaimed “All-Round Ethnic” 101 6. Jennifer Lopez, Racial Mobility, and the New Urban/ Latina Commodity 126 Notes 145 Works Cited 159 Index 171 vii Acknowledgments This book is the product of many years of hard work and the tireless support of a community of friends, family, and scholars, but I must start by acknowl- edging the one person without whom this book would not be possible: Omar Naïm. Omar has changed the trajectory of my life yet walks beside me every step of the way. I cannot imagine a better existence than the one we have made together, and I continually look forward to our next adventure. He has loved, nurtured, and inspired me since I was a restless young woman struggling through college—well before graduate school was even a fanciful thought. This book is for him. This book is also for my mother and my father, Cynthia Peña Sanchez and Casey Ovalle. Each of them has taught me about tireless love, strengthened me with their creativity, and inspired me with their incredible work ethic. My education and this book would not have been possible without them. I also thank my sisters, Natascia and Marcella, for helping me to become a better teacher and friend. One of the most wonderful parts of academia is its tradition of mentorship. Every step of the way, I have been blessed with incredible mentors. First and foremost, I thank Jane Shattuc. While it was a great leap of faith that got me to college in the first place, it was Dr. Shattuc who sparked a film theory fire, told me about graduate school, and made me believe I could pursue it. She then welcomed me into her home and gave me the great gift of knowing Annie. I can never repay such generosity, but I hope to grow into the kind of teacher and mentor that she is. As a graduate student at the University of Southern California, I had the good fortune to work with Marsha Kinder, Tara McPherson, David Román, George Sanchez, Curtis Marez, and Lynn Spigel. I can never fully thank my committee—Drs. Kinder, McPherson, and Román—for shepherding me through graduate school, for nurturing my dissertation from its unwieldy ix
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