A Girl Named Rosita Flashcards

1
Q

After days of wobbly decks and stormy seas, a stature of a woman wearing a crown rises up to greet them.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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2
Q

Out of the cold and away from the noise she returns to a home that isn’t home.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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3
Q

If she only knew more ingles, she could tell the bullies: Denjenme en Paz!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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4
Q

Clap Clap Clap

A

A Girl named Rosita

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5
Q

The music begins. Strum Strum Strum!

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A Girl named Rosita

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6
Q

Her palms are sweating as she shakes the hand of the man who can change her life.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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7
Q

Please, she prays. Anything but Orchid!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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8
Q

One day she will play an authentic character who is bold, proud, strong.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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9
Q

Some days she wants to quit. But she’s come too far to give up.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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10
Q

Run! Out of the schoolyard, past the bullies in the streets.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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11
Q

Then - Cue the music: Horns, Strings, Percussion!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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12
Q

A sacred silence descends.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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13
Q

In a tiny cottage tucked between El Yunque Peak and a wild fragrant rainforest lives a girl: a girl with the rhythm of the rainforest in her feet and the sweetness of the sugarcane fields in her swishing skirts.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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14
Q

Step, turn, snap-kick, swish, jump, twirl!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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15
Q

I am taking you first because you are a big girl and you won’t cry.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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16
Q

Corre! She tells herself each day on her way home from school.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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17
Q

Run! So the bullies don’t catch you.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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18
Q

Out of the cold and away from the noise, she returns to a home that isn’t home.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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19
Q

Pronto, pronto!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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20
Q

Leave me alone!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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21
Q

Is leaving behind her native Spanish like letting go of her native island and all the things she loves?

A

A Girl named Rosita

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22
Q

Day after day, she practices until she can speak ingles perfectly.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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23
Q

And dances!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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24
Q

Forward, forward, back, back, kick…pasada!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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25
Q

Right, swing, back, side, hold…ole!

A

A Girl named Rosita

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26
Q

Onstage, she is home.

A

A Girl named Rosita

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27
Q

Why not me?

A

A Girl named Rosita

28
Q

I can be a leading lady, too.

A

A Girl named Rosita

29
Q

Then - a miracle happens.

A

A Girl named Rosita

30
Q

Her palms are sweating as she shakes the hand of the man who can change her life.

A

A Girl named Rosita

31
Q

This time, the movie studio chooses.

A

A Girl named Rosita

32
Q

“I’ve got it!” says the casting director.

A

A Girl named Rosita

33
Q

metro-goldwyn-mayer studios

A

A Girl named Rosita

34
Q

Years after teaching herself to speak perfect ingles, she must fake an all-purpose accent to play maidens, slaves, and Spanish spitfires: the only roles Hollywood will give a Latina.

A

A Girl named Rosita

35
Q

Some days she wants to quit.

A

A Girl named Rosita

36
Q

But she’s come too far to give up.

A

A Girl named Rosita

37
Q

In 1959, the newspapers announce the Hollywood is making West Side Story, the hit Broadway musical, into a movie!

A

A Girl named Rosita

38
Q

For a month, she practices.

A

A Girl named Rosita

39
Q

Step, turn, snap-kick, swish, jump, TWIRL!

A

A Girl named Rosita

40
Q

Corre! Run! Out of the schoolyard, past the bullies in the streets.

A

A Girl named Rosita

41
Q

Tears. Anger. Fear, And…scene.

A

A Girl named Rosita

42
Q

Then - cue the music: horns, strings, percussion!

A

A Girl named Rosita

43
Q

The role is hers.

A

A Girl named Rosita

44
Q

In barrios throughout the city, Puerto Ricans gather around their television sets to watch the 34th Academy Awards.

A

A Girl named Rosita

45
Q

No Puerto Rican, or any Latina, has ever won an Oscar.

A

A Girl named Rosita

46
Q

A sacred silence descends.

A

A Girl named Rosita

47
Q

A collective breath is held.

A

A Girl named Rosita

48
Q

Who will take home the award?

A

A Girl named Rosita

49
Q

“May I have the envelope, please?”

A

A Girl named Rosita

50
Q

“She won! She won! She did it!” her fans cry.

A

A girl named rosita

51
Q

But who was she before all that?

A

A Girl named Rosita (Book jacket)

52
Q

She makes a conscious choice to keep working, but it means signing with 20th Century Fox and playing more “dusky damsels”.

A

A Girl named Rosita (Timeline)

53
Q

On set, she is uncomfortable with makeup used to make all the Puerto Ricans the same shade of brown, yet she remains proud to be a part of the historic film.

A

A Girl named Rosita (Timeline)

54
Q

Fed up with being offered demeaning roles, she refuses to play them and instead tackles stage roles in London and New York.

A

A Girl named Rosita (Timeline)

55
Q

She joins the cast of The Electric Company, a children’s television show, where she coins the memorable catchphrase, “Hey, you guys!”

A

A Girl named Rosita (Timeline)

56
Q

My fame is her fame. Therefore, this beautiful, precious honor is also in her honor.

A

A Girl named Rosita (Timeline)

57
Q

She is one of three entertains, and the only Latinx performer, to have earned a Peabody, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

58
Q

Another was having to endure Hollywood’s racist and sexist attitudes - which meant accepting secondary roles rooted in gender stereotypes and riddled with cultural inaccuracies.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

59
Q

I was one of those young women.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

60
Q

Overwhelmed (and underdressed) to meet one of my childhood idols - I froze!

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

61
Q

Oh, how I wished I’d found the courage to tell her that for a Puerto Rican kid from Queens who loved the performing arts, she’d been a much-needed role model and inspiration.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

62
Q

She still inspires me today.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

63
Q

Not just for her groundbreaking achievements but for how she continuously uses her voice to help others.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

64
Q

I do believe with all of my heart and soul, that yearning masses will always huddle on the border of hope.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)

65
Q

And I pray that America will always be that beacon of those people’s dream.

A

A Girl Named Rosita (Author’s Note)