Margaret O’Brien: Flamenco Connection
I’ve never been a big fan of child stars even though I’ve seen every Shirley Temple film. The only child actor that made an impression on me was that little boy in The Bicycle Thief, the best movie ever! What a waste if you never ever see that gem of a film. It’s the best. The best.
Anyway back on topic. I always knew Margaret O’Brien was like the Meryl Streep of child actors. Shirley Temple was the star but O’Brien, the actress.
This is so shallow but now I have a Margaret O’Brien obsession all because I recently learned her mother, Gladys Flores, and aunt, Marissa, were well-know flamenco dancers who even taught Rita Hayworth moves. My suspicion that Gladys taught Margaret flamenco was proven correct last night after reading a 1998 interview by Allan Ellenberger where O’Brien discloses her mother taught her flamenco and other dances but not ballet. Now I want to see her movies and coerce others (including myself) into liking her. 
I’m also reaching out to Latinos. Okay Latinos, here is my take. Rita Hayworth is not Latina. She was part Spanish and part Irish….all European not Latin American. Why do you claim her? I don’t approve of Hayworth listed as a Latina actress but if you’re going to do it anyway, then claim Margaret O’Brien. She was part Spanish and Irish just like Hayworth. Wouldn’t the Latino community want to claim a legendary Oscar winning child star who can flamenco? Put her on the cover of People En Espanol and Latina. Look how beautiful she is now. Below is a clip from the TV show What’s My Line at age 20….gorgeous.
I didn’t know Rita Hayworth was claimed by Latinos. Maybe it’s because people assume “Latino” is the same thing as “Hispanic”, and Spaniards are Hispanic.
It’s possible they claim her because of colonial mentality. i.e. The stereotype that Spanish ancestry is superior, just like the mentality in the Philippines.
Speaking of “The Bicycle Thief”, I recently saw “The Children Are Watching Us”, which is by the same director, and I think the child acting is even better in that one than in “Bicycle”.
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Latinos also claim Martin Sheen as well as Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. Sheen like Hayworth and O’Brien is also of Spanish and Irish background not Central or South American or Caribbean.
Claiming stars is so strange. What are the prerequisites? I don’t know of Latinos claiming Mercedes Ruehl and she’s part Cuban. Nor do they mention part-Mexican Susan Kohner, the actress from Imitation of Life (1959). She in turn is the mother of Chris and Paul Weitz, the directors of American Pie and About a Boy.
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Why dont americans know WHY the hell, the region of Latin america is called ‘Latin’ in the first place??..
The only reason they are called Latin Americans is because of the “EUROPEAN Languages” they speak…that are derived from Latin…yes, Latin was spoken in Europe!..and the Europeans named the region!…If it wasnt for spanish influence in the Spanish-speaking america..they wouldnt be described as Latin……how is a person from Cuba or Puerto Rico or Spanish ancestry a Latin but not a person from Spain..
In Europe, the Italians, French, Portuguese and Spanish are all considered Latin to the true cultural meaning.
And the term Hispanic?…from Hispania, the LATIN word given by the Romans for the Ibeanan Peninsula.
The usage in the U.S is very misunderstood…
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Ok let’s correct everything here. The term “Latin” America to identify those countries that conducted Catholic mass in Latin. Later all people were then called “Latinos.” The fact of the matter is that except for scholars no one in “Latin America” speaks Latin. They speak Spanish. Now onto the Rita Hayworth “Latino” question. You say above that “Rita Hayworth is not Latina. She was part Spanish and part Irish, all European not Latin American.” What I think you mean to say is that she wasn’t born in Latin American. But in Mexico there are millions of people who are full-blooded Spanish with no Indian blood. And also due to many Irish, Italian, or German immigrants to Mexico, they are also part something else, just like Rita Hayworth. Being born in the U.S. doesn’t negate your Spanish ancestry. And therefore, since she was not born in Europe and is at least part-Hispanic, she could of been claimed as “Hispanic” on the U.S. Census form. This also goes for the Sheen family. Lastly, not all Latinos claim Rita Hayworth actually. She is claimed and loved by Mexicans and Mexican Americans because she and her family resided and performed regularly in Mexico (not Europe or Ireland) and she starred in Mexican movies using her real name “Margarita Carmen” and hair (brunette). Also she also graduated high school in California, L. A. High. I don’t think we Hispanics (Mexicans and Mexican Americans) can claim Marilyn Monroe, but I think claiming Rita Hayworth is Ok.
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Some of us who grew up in the American continent are of full European background, others are of full African and others of full Asian background and that DOES NOT take away being Latin American. As a matter of fact the Amerindian cultures are NOT Latin. The Latin culture (La CULTURA LATINA in italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese) is EUROPEAN, and it spread to the American lands and other regions of the world. Please stop calling Latino/a only to the people who speak Spanish or to the people from Latin America or that background. Le’t’s be well educated and spread good education.
We could then call ourselves something else but not STEAL a term that already has a very well established meaning.
Much love to all.
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