CUBAN COMMUNITY DISSES WHOOPI: Whoopi Goldberg takes on bigger-than-life role.


Whoopi Goldberg
(Jul. 31, 2003) *Whoopi may be way out of her league on this one. Her latest film role has angered an entire community.
The late Cuban salsa queen, Celia Cruz, who passed away on July 16, is being immortalized in a new movie and yes, you guessed it, Whoopi is slated to portray her, much to the dismay of many of the 140,000 fans that attended her funeral and others that enjoyed her music, reports World Entertainment News Network.

One fan, in particular, Latinomix radio station host Celines Toribio fumes that Whoopi just isn't qualified.

"Whoopi doesn't sing and she's not Latina. For you to portray a life like Celia Cruz, you have to have that Latina flavor."

The story goes that Goldberg negotiated an agreement with Ms. Cruz for the rights to her story and now plans to use those rights to star alongside Samuel L. Jackson, who will play Cruz's husband, Pedro Knight.

According to Goldberg, "To see a rich, dark, chocolate woman in command of thousands of people with her voice and her energy helped me believe that anything is possible."

ahh..so celia sold the rights and gave it her blessing...yet millions of cubans are pissy?


something 'bout that doesnt sound right...

sosgemini said:

It's called Early Publicity!

Who do they want? Jennifer Lopez? Salma Hayek? Gloria Estefan?

People right now are going to reject many who try to come into the picture, because it's too soon to decide. Fans are still mourning, so they need to take a chill.
[This message was edited Fri Aug 1 8:18:22 PDT 2003 by Starmist7]

i mean whoopi goldberg?? they need someone else,they need to use one of the Afro Latina actresses to portray her properly

NikkiVail said:

why?

sosgemini said:

Cus that's what she was. People of ethnicity are sick of Caucasians (sp) playing brown people. It's gone on long enough.

Celia Cruz was a legend. She needs to be depicted with respect and accuracy.

as a dominican/afro-cuban heritage male...I don't see anything wrong with a african american woman playing the life of an afro-cuban woman...nuff said, i'd definitely pay to see the movie, I Love Whoopi and Celia!

2 Talented blk women!!!

dearlybeloved said:

im sorry, but now im a even more confused. are you saying that whoopie isnt "ethnic" or that Celia is Caucasian?

thanks for your assist in clearing this up for me...

sosgemini said:

What I am saying is as an African American woman I would like to see people of the same ethnicity play the roles of the folks they are portraying. So that years later when we are all dead and our grand children are watching these movies about folks that really lived they won't be confused.

ie, Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleapatra, Charlton Hesten playing Moses. And even Jennifer Lopez playing an Italian girl in "The Wedding Planner".

It's just a problem for me. I'm sure there is a lot of talent in the Latino community that they could find someone Hispanic to play Celia. But that's just my opinion.

I feel strongly about people of the same ethnicities playing their own people.

You think one day we will find a real Native American to play Pocohantus the real story...

NPD313 said:

I respect your opinion. But do you want your grand children thinking Celia Cruz was a black women? And BELIEVE me I love Whoopie Goldberg!

dearlybeloved said:

The reason i say that is because i think that Afro Latina actresses need to be given more visibility and that playing the part of one of the most famous afro latinos would be a good vehicle for more people of afro latino descent in the business.. i don't have too much against an afro american playing her personally though

dearlybeloved said:

I disagree...Have you seen Alfred Molino play Diego Rivera in Frida? Awesome performance that far surpassed Selma Hayek's "mugging" performance. He deserved an Oscar nomination far more so then she...(btw: the supporting male roles were so plentiful that he was sadly overlooked...just as Dennis Quaid was...who imho gave the best performance of the year..am i rambling? hmmm..). I also didn't mind Natalie Wood in West Side Story...It was a rather wooden role but she still pulled it off..Well sorta..

If you represent the community in an accurate fashion I don't care what color you are...now if you pull a micky rooney ala Breakfast at Tiffany's, then we are fighting!!

but give whoopie a chance!! she is a wonderful actress who I highly doubt would give a performance that would lead people to think Celia was african american...what do you think they are going to do? re-invent her history? claim she was born in Florida, a descendent of slaves? i doubt that..


from don knotts to mickey rooney...
[This message was edited Fri Aug 1 15:08:33 PDT 2003 by sosgemini]

DEARLYBELOVED STATED:I respect your opinion. But do you want your grand children thinking Celia Cruz was a black women? And BELIEVE me I love Whoopie Goldberg!



NPD313: LMAO...This if very funny, because in america, ppl look at me as a Black Man...or African American!
I am Latino, but I also understand that I will be placed in the 'BLACK' category...My Latin familia even says 'Celia is a black woman', because of her skin color she is to be considered Black...or Negra!
With respect to latinos we only chose to be represented by our place of heritage/country, if your blk and born in Cuba, then your Cuban, but you also should know that you have a multi-racial background...being Latino(A) doesn't mean its your race, its your heritage, your culture...and for a woman of color to portray another woman of color is completely harmless in my eyesight...my kids and grandkids will be raised knowing their heritage/culture, they will travel to Cuba and Santo Domingo to know their family and roots,and they will speak fluent spanish; but they will also understand that in america, society will look at them as Black and/or Minority...because thats just the way it is and nothings gonna change too quickly.

Its all screwed up, but why is it not ok to consider yourself 'American' instead of Black or White...?

Because in U.S.A. ppl are still ignorant and close minded... and so thats probably why I don't see a problem w/ Whoopi portraying another woman of color (Black woman- from Cuba).

Celia acknowledged that she was black on many occassions, but she also was very proud of being a latina woman as well, she and pattie labelle were often compared because of their simularities in styles/clothing and hair, they looked alot alike,because of that...same skin color and the two knew this, so for blacks and latino(a) to relate and have so much in common, is because we have alot to do with oneanother, because we all have african ancestry.

Its a touchy topic, but I am proud to be american/black and latino.

Thats who I am and I won't deny either or!

Whoopi may even speak spanish fluently...who knows?
Elizabeth Taylor wasn't African and she played a black woman...Cleopatra was from egypt and she was a beautiful drk skin woman, and know one complained then.

A Lo Cubano!!!
[This message was edited Fri Aug 1 15:20:49 PDT 2003 by NPD313]

but give whoopie a chance!! she is a wonderful actress who I highly doubt would give a performance that would lead people to think Celia was african american...what do you think they are going to do? re-invent her history? claim she was born in Florida, a descendent of slaves? i doubt that..


from don knotts to mickey rooney...
[This message was edited Fri Aug 1 15:08:33 PDT 2003 by sosgemini]
[/quote]


i don't think it would make people believe she was african american, i just think i'd be nice to give an afro latino a chance.. And besides Celia Cruz is a descendent of slaves like the rest of black people in the western diaspora

After some more thought about it, Celia Cruz touched fans all over the world of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and culture so it should not matter. The talent behind it is what should count. People need to be more open-minded. If they find a Latin person for it, good. But if they find something in someone like Whoopi, good also. Celia Cruz would be honored they even considered making the film about how she's affected people's life with her music, and would embrace whoever played her role well, with justice, just as she touched everyone with her music. And if Whoopi feels honored to play the role, then a mutual respect and gratitude of Celia's work will be transpired through the film regardless of what race or whatever issue is being made about it.

Also, if it's going to be a Hollywood film, they're probably just looking for someone of her caliber to market the film and make a huge profit from it, because I doubt it will be a low budget film, since they even considered her for the part.

And to make it a racial issue is very sad, because acting has nothing to do with what race a person is, or where they are from. If they deliver in the performance, should be the real issue. Jennifer Lopez had the same problem when she was considered for Selena, because she was not Mexican, and that was her best movie to date, and her acting was wonderful, which fans from everywhere embraced afterwards, so whoever is supporting this decision needs to separate the reality of who Celia Cruz was as a person, we all know she cannot be replaced, from the work of art that comes from the acting, because Whoopi has the talent it takes to pull it off, if she is chosen for the part.

But at the core, the reality of the issue is very complex as well, since Hispanics having legendary status in American culture is rare, and then to have a person other than Latin to portray that person, can be seen even more as discrimination. So I can understand the beef with the Latin community, that other ethnicities are usually always used to portray a Hispanic person more than 90% of the times in most films, (although recently, some improvement in that area has been made) so if someone or some people could step up and fight for the role, it would be cool. Don't talk crap and not do it, but go after it, and fight for it if you feel that you're the one, because, in another sense, to deny that it isn't a racial issue is ludicrous, because racism is something we encounter everyday, so I support and understand from this standpoint as well.

Also, the sudden death of a legend will have any fan reject ANYONE considered to portray that person in a film. They need to let these fans mourn and then make the process of these decisions public.
[This message was edited Fri Aug 1 16:37:24 PDT 2003 by Starmist7]

Um..., asolutely no disrespect to the dearly departed, but for the person who questions whether Celia can be played by a black woman: have you ever seen Celia without a wig on? The woman, I do believe, was AFRO-cuban, which clearly for me, having a ton of afro-cuban friends now (overseas with me), they are just as BLACK as I am, with hair nappier than mine will ever be...well, I've always considered Sra. Cruz to be black. Oddly, in America, I sense that we always view cubans as being only of the"lighter hue" variety, but, there are plenty of black Cubans ripping and running all around the globe!I have to admit that my ignorant behind actually never met a black Cuban until I left the States! But again, sometimes I also feel that due to miseducation, many black people in the States aren't even aware of how vast the African slave trade stretched across the globe in the past, so we therefore have an inability to understand that many people in countries outside of Africa are "black", just like we are (see my friend below from the Dominican Republic, or countries like Brazil or Cape Verde for a comparison)...they just kind of ended up on a different boat than ours with slaveholders who spoke Spanish or Portuguese (or even French), rather than English, that's all. So I guess you could say that I see the fact that Celia's Cuban indicative of her nationality moreso than her race.

Also, I see myself now being completely disowned by my Cuban friends at home for saying this, but, for all my old friends in the Cuban(-American) community getting all bent out of shape about Whoopi, I really hope they will just lighten up! I mean,no one tells Andy Garcia (who I respectfully see as the golden-child-poster-boy of Cuban-American actors), that he can't play non-Cuban roles opposite Meg Ryan, or co-star in Ocean's 11 (and correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he play an Italian in the Godfather 3?). I mean, good grief, as a Black American, I always wondered for example, why they didn't find a true blue-mixed woman to play the racially confused daughter in the film classic "Imitation of Life", but at the end of the day, the actress they chose acted her behind off and I didn't have a problem with accepting her performance...

If they find and Afro-Cuban actress to play Celia, then I would be the first one to cheer. But, if fate should have it that Whoopi manages to play her, then why not just bless the project and pray that Whoopi does right by Celia? Celia Cruz was so cool, she didn't seem like the kind of woman to want folks squabbling over her memory...

At any rate..,

Azucar, baby!

dearlybeloved said:

"Whoopi may even speak spanish fluently...who knows?
Elizabeth Taylor wasn't African and she played a black woman...Cleopatra was from egypt and she was a beautiful drk skin woman, and know one complained then."

I almost brought this up but didn't cuz i thought folks would cry "that was then!" But the truth is folks still talk about that. And the folks I know are still complaining...Sorry to say.

dearlybeloved said:

well we all know why Taylor got the part even though Lena Horne was the first choice.Of course people complained. Even Aida wasn't allowed to be played by a black until the 60's. it really sucks

I see there are a lot of strong opinions on this matter and I understand that she is an African by way of Cuba. I live amongst dark skinned dominicans and cubans that think they are black men and women and I will ask there opinions as well. Let's just see if anyone from the Latino community feels the way I do. God Bless you all. I'm going home.

ReeseStrongnight said:

I didn't appreciate your attempt of being smart. The name is dearly beloved.

oh my bad, i read it again. you were talking about Celia...

dearlybeloved said:

What's interesting about that is that I've also talked to people who swear up and down that because she was in fact Egyptian, Cleo wasn't as dark as her southern counterparts.

When I've spent time in Northern Africa (Egypt, Morocco, Tunesia), I have to admit that I've always been struck by
how, (it's so difficult to describe) the general population is sort of black, but you also get a real mixed race vibe from them. Finally, I had some people from North Africa break it down to me why they look more cafe au lait compared to their delicious chocolate counterparts down south- and they (looking at their naive little american "cousin" like I was retarded) basically explained that because of N.Africa's
ridiculously close proximity to southern Europe (it really only takes me three hours to get there by plane), there's been alot of "mixing" going on between them for thousands of years via conquests, exploration, pillages, and the like, and after all that messing around, they essentially ended up with a region of "cafe au lait babies" and "redbones" because N.Africa is essentially an anthropological gateway between Europe and the rest of Africa (can I tell you how much I always trip when I hear Africans use words like redbone?). That being said, I always go back and forth on whether it was authentic for Liz Taylor to play Cleopatra or not. I just don't know...

ReeseStrongnight said:

she shouldn't have. the egyptians of today are not like the ones of before. the studios could not take a chance with such a big budget by casting someone of color, it's as simple as that and everyone knows it

Re-reading through this thread made me think of the perfect person to play Celia...




SANDRA BERNHART

" I wanna be black!! I wanna be Tina Turner" - King of Comedy

dearlybeloved said:

Maybe because Cleopatra was Greek. She's part of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Ptolemy was from Macedonia.

ReeseStrongnight said:

The Ancient Egyptians were just as dark as their southern counterparts back then. Everyybody was black back then, even Moses. He passed as an Egyptian Prince, but was a hebrew

Raven said:

I learned she was half Greek and half Egyptian

sosgemini said:

She is a descendant of slaves just like the rest of us black people on the Western hemisphere that didn't migrate here on our own after the slave trade ended. Most of the slaves went to Latin America and not the U.S. The majority went to Brazil. Savery ended in Latin America long before it did in the U.S. causing some people to believe slavery only existed in the states
[This message was edited Sat Aug 2 7:57:47 PDT 2003 by Janfriend]