Name Change by Santos Herrera

Latinos have made history and reached extraordinary heights in the world of entertainment; however, not all of them did so with the names they were given at birth. Name changing is a practice that was created during times of racial segregation. “In the old days of Hollywood,” reports Miguel Perez, an opinion columnist for Creators.com, “many Latinos often had to choose between hiding their ethnicities and losing acting jobs.” Perez added that “for them [Latinos], it was a matter of survival.”   

Rita Hayworth, one of Hollywood’s legendary actresses, was actually born with the name Margarita Carmen Cansino. As a young girl, she shortened her name to Rita Cansino and kept the name through her early career. Her first husband, who was also her manager at the time, convinced her to change her name. She dyed her hair and changed her name to Rita Hayworth. Soon after, Hayworth landed a career-changing role in the 1939 film “Only Angels Have Wings.” Critics praised Hayworth, and shot her into a stratosphere of stardom. 

While Hayworth etching her name in the history books, Richard Steven Valenzuela was making a name for himself, becoming the first Mexican-American star to hit the rock n’ roll stage during the late 1950s. However, few people ever knew was of Mexican descent. Bob Kean, the head of the Del-Fi record label that signed Valenzuela, convinced the young star to shorten his name from Richard Valenzuela to Ritchie Valens. Kean had insisted that the radio DJ’s would not be able to pronounce his name, and would, therefore, not play his records. Furthermore, Kean thought that the name change would also allow Valens to appeal to a larger audience. Valens went on to record several hits during his brief career (cut short by a tragic plane accident which also took the life of rock ’n roller Buddy Holly), which included “Come on Let’s Go,” “Donna,” and “La Bamba.

Almost ten years later, in 1965, Martin Sheen was nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the stage play “The Subject Was Roses.” Sheen’s given name was Ramon Estevez, a name that was kept under wraps, so much so that one of his sons adopted the new name as his own for his acting career as well. His son, of course, “Mr. Tiger Blood” himself: Charlie Sheen. The name “Estevez” didn’t surface until Martin Sheen’s other son decided to build and maintain an acting career with his father’s given Spanish name. Emilio Estevez is primarily known for his roles in films such as “The Breakfast Club” and “The Mighty Ducks;” however, some may remember his name as the highlight of Steve Butabi’s (Will Ferrell’s character in the film “A Night at the Roxbury”) story, with the signature yell: “EMMMIIIILLLLLIIIIOOOOO”.

                In present day, a Latino/a changing his or her name for “success” in the entertainment industry is still common practice. One of today’s hottest pop stars is Peter Hernandez. He is the son of a Puerto Rican Jewish percussionist from Brooklyn and singer/dancer from the Philippines who met in Hawaii. Hernandez, better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, said in an interview with GQ that he changed his name to avoid being stereotyped by race. “Your last name’s Hernandez, maybe you should do this Latin music, this Spanish music… Enrique [Iglesias] is so hot right now,” recalled Mars. He added that the name Bruno was a nickname he picked up as a kid. The pop star also said he chose the name “Mars” because he figured the “best way to avoid being stereotyped by race is to sound as though you come from a different planet altogether.”   

                Unfortunately, celebrities aren’t the only people whose names can affect their careers. According to a study conducted at MIT and the University of Chicago, “names that sounded African American got the short end of the shrift when it came to the hiring process.” The researchers found that out of the 5,000 fake resumes they sent out, the ones with names like Tyron or Tamika were less likely to get calls than the Anglo-sounding names. In addition, researchers found that qualifications did not seem to have much of an impact. Furthermore, Tammy Kabell, a resume consultant, reported that following 9/11 she noticed a particular bias against Muslim/Arab sounding names. She recalled a Pakistani electrical engineer named Raheem who tried looking for employment for a year and a half and was only able to land a job as a cleaning staff supervisor.

On Learn to be Latina, Hanan will go from a Lebanese name to a Latina name, facing herself in the same position that this stars have face. Com and see her story at Mialgro Theatre until May 31st. For tickets call 503- 236-7253, click here or  visit www.milagro.org