Moreno to reflect on her accomplishments and role promoting diabetes awareness.
By T. L. Hupfer
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Award-winning, ground-breaking, record-setting actress Rita Moreno will lecture as the last event of Hispanic Heritage Month at this college at 7 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium of McAllister Fine Arts Center.
A free screening of the 1961 film “West Side Story” starring Moreno will be open to the public at 7 p.m. Monday in McAllister on the auditorium’s new big screen.
Moreno’s career started in her teen years when she first appeared in “A Medal for Benny” in 1945. She is best known from her roles in the Broadway and movie versions of “West Side Story,” the PBS children’s series “The Electric Company” and the television series “Oz.”
She is the first and only Hispanic actress to receive an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, a Golden Globe and a Tony.
She is the national spokesperson for The Heart of Diabetes, a program developed by the American Heart Association. She travels nationwide educating audiences about diabetes and its high risk in the Hispanic population.
Diabetes became a big issue for her when she lost her mother and sister-in-law to complications from Type 2 diabetes.
Moreno has been the face for Hispanic heritage since she became a household name. Her roles have opened doors for minorities and she has proved time and again that her ethnicity will not stop her. She has appeared in more than 30 television shows and 50 films.
Moreno will receive the 2013 Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild for her career and humanitarian accomplishments. This will be presented live on networks TNT and TBS at 7 p.m. Jan. 18 at the 20th annual SAG awards show.
She also became a New York Times bestselling author with her autobiography, “Rita Moreno: A Memoir,” published in March. The book will be for sale in the lobby before the show.
At “An Evening with Rita Moreno,” she will discuss her Hispanic heritage, her book and her career and ways she has over come obstacles involving her ethnicity.
Theater Coordinator Paula Rodriguez said Moreno speaking at this college is exciting.
“She’s a living legend; she’s one of the best. She’s worked with everybody, and everybody’s worked with her.”
The event is sponsored by the Fine Arts and Cultural Events Series and is free to the public. The auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, call 210-486-0901.