The Latin Image

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The Latin Image

"The romantic and erotic Latin image implied recognition that Latin Americans and Romance peoples produced persons of great beauty and attractiveness."(Rios-Bustamante,21) The most predominant stereotype that surfaces in "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and "The Mark of Zorro" is that of the Latin Lover. This stereotype may be portrayed in a more positive light because in comparison to other demeaning Latino roles in early American film, the Latin Lover is characterized by "suavity and sensuality, tenderness and sexual danger."(Ramirez Berg,115) According to Ramirez Berg, "this stereotype we owe to one star: Rudolph Valentino."(115)

In "The Four Men of the Apocalypse", Valentino plays the character of Julio, a man "destined to bear the burden of allowing both his grandfather and his father to relive their lives through him." Alexander Walker speaks of the classic scene. "Few film entrances are as stunningly designed as Valentino's in 'The Four Men of the Apocalypse'…..the sequence loses nothing by being so calculatedly staged: the impact on audiences was instantaneous." This description shows the impact that Rudolph Valentino had on audiences as the original Latin Lover of the American cinema(even though he wasn't Latino.) Julio is suave and sensual throughout the film, particularly while seductively dancing the tango. Although he is portrayed as this dangerous lover who is "worshipped by his models", he is not depicted as a true hero until he offers to fight for his father's country in the war. It seems as though "he actually changes into a man of honor-what anyone least expected from this spoiled son of privilege…"

http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/FeaturedVideo/video16.1.htm

In "The Mark of Zorro", Douglas Fairbanks plays the role of the dashing Zorro, the "almost mythical superhero who battles tyranny…defends the rights of both gentry and rabble equally." This film is a good example of the sensuous, desirable Latin Lover stereotype because Fairbanks is portrayed both with and without his "mask". When Fairbanks is playing the role of Zorro, he is strong, valiant, and romantic. "The girl is much more attracted to the dashing Zorro, who romances her in her garden one day." When he embodies the character of Don Diego Vega, he acts timid and weak, and has trouble winning Lolita's affection. The much stereotyped Latin Lover image was portrayed only by the masked man until the very last scene when Don Diego reveals his identity and protects the woman he loves.

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