Antonio Banderas Proud Of Hispanics' Triumph In Hollywood

Published by FOX NEWS LATINO

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas said here that he is proud to be a part of the generation of Hispanic artists who managed to open the doors of Hollywood and consolidate themselves in the movie mecca. 

Banderas, who was in Bogota to present his new ladies' fragrance, "Her Golden Secret," recalled at a press conference his early years in movies and gave details about his most recent film project," The 33," about the Chilean miners who were trapped in a collapsed mine for 70 days in 2010.

The 53-year-old actor said that one of the first things he was told when he arrived in the United States was that if he stayed in Hollywood "I was going to be a villain all my life" in terms of the roles that came his way, since "blacks and Hispanics" are (or were) the bad guys in film.

The interesting thing, Banderas added, was that when he starred in the 1998 film "The Mask of Zorro," the bad guy was blond and "had blue eyes."

Hispanics who have made a career in movies or in any other professional sphere in the United States "have struggled a lot, have come from countries in conflict, where many difficulties have occurred" with the aim of having their children go to college, Banderas said.

The children of those pioneers "currently are in positions of power (and that) had to be reflected in Hollywood," he added.