Olmos Interview

Edward James Olmos, is an outstanding actor in stage, film and television. Olmos currently directs films for his own production company. He is also an activist and spokesman for the Latino community in Los Angeles. He is best known for portraying math teacher Jaime Escalente(once called the best teacher in America for his ability to teach high mathematics to Latin immigrant students.) in the film "Stand and Deliver," and for his portrayal of Lt. Martin Castillo on the 1980s hit NBC television series Miami Vice. He currently promotes Latino culture fairs and is author of the book Americanos. This interview was by LA based contributor Dave Geisler.

What was the experience of playing Jaime Escalente like for you and why don't we see more films like Stand & Deliver?

I did a lot of research for the part and got to know Escalente and his family. They are national treasures. The most gratifying thing that has happened to me as a result of the film is that I have had people come up to me and say that because they saw that film that they want to become a teacher. Teachers are so not understood. Our society needs to value them more. Without teachers there will be no doctors or lawyers or anything. We made the film as a labor of love for 1.3 million dollars, but the people in the Hollywood machine told us that films like this couldn't make any money. The box office results from New York and Los Angeles kept it going. You'll have to ask Warner Brothers whether it made any money theatrically. Fortunately PBS(The Public Broadcasting System) backed us and every time they show it, they raise a lot of money. We tried to get NBC to show it and they said it would never get ratings because all another network would have to do is show" Rambo" against it. They said what would you watch "Rambo" or "Stand and Deliver?" I said I would prefer to watch" Stand and Deliver," and make films like "Stand and Deliver."The prevailing philosophy in Hollywood though is that studio executives would rather make a blockbuster that returns two times or more or its investment.

Hollywood understands and would rather have films that cost 75 million dollars, than ten "Stand and Deliver" type films. I would love to see more positive stories and films about Latin culture and about its strong family values. I want to make those kinds of films. Hollywood doesn't want that though. There is no desire in the entertainment industry to accurately and positively portray the cultural fabric of America.

a think tank called the Cato Institute published a study a couple of years ago showing that immigrants give back more to the economy of America than they take That being the case why is there such hostility particularly in southern California toward Latin immigration to America.

I think its because of numbers. The rate of Latin immigration to America is about a 75 percent increase compared to other ethnic groups with increase rates of more like five percent. It's scary to people who don't understand. Latins and Asians will dominate the human experience. If we don't teach about the strength and beauty of all ethnic cultures we are going to have a problem.

What was your immigrant experience like?

I am a third generation Angelino from a Chicano/Mexican background. I was raised by my great grandparents, but one of my most hurtful experiences was as a child in school there was a sign in my classroom that said: If something is worth saying at all it is worth saying in English. I think one of the most hurtful concepts ever is the idea of "English Only." You might want to ask a linguist like Noam Chomsky, what that communicates to people, but what it communicates to a lot of people from the time they are children is that their culture and language they've come from isn't worth much compared to English. The only way that racial hostility will be overcome is to teach and realize that there is only one race-the human race and that different ethnic groups are all part of it.

Why did you want to write and publish your book Americanos?

"Americanos" is a gift because it celebrates the beauty of the American tapestry. Every single culture among Latino Americans is represented.

You put together Latin Culture Fairs and are an activist in the Latino community in Los Angeles. There are Brazilians who feel the Portuguese language is more beautiful than Spanish, and that their culture is better. Is it hard to get Latinos from different countries to work together and come together in unity?

To some extent Latinos will always identify with the culture and people of the country they are from and prefer that. They will prefer the language and music from their culture and hang out with people from their home culture. But as you can see from the book we all come together and we are all a mix and we are all Americanos.

There seems to be a growing conservative middle class that emphasizes family values among Latinos why?

Because of the necessity to survive. We have always valued family and sticking together and helping one another. The Asians do it too. You can see how Asians help one another in business.

You made your name as an actor in theater in the role of a gangster El Pachuko in the play "Zoot Suit," was that perpetuating a stereotype?

Yes, El Pachuko was my first big break. He was more of a cultural symbol of the 1940s and 50s of the soul and spirit of a zoot suiter who defines and era. There were zoot suiters in Italy and zoot suiters in Greece. It was a style taken up by people other than gangsters.

DG