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" If you're in a business where Latinos only play Indian maidens and what I call 'Conchita Lolita' parts - the little fiery spitfires - you do what you have to do. "

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" I have played Polynesian. I have played an Arabian girl. I played an East Indian girl. And what was so confusing about that, which I mention in my book, is that I assumed I had to have an accent. Nobody said anything, so I made up what I call the universal ethnic accent, and they all sounded alike. It didn't matter who I was playing. "

Rita Moreno

Nobody

Said

Matter

" I live in the moment. The moment is the most important thing. That's my entire philosophy: Make the best of the good moments. "

" I make a lot of soups and stews at home, and I always have fresh bread with it. "

" No one's going to tell me how to make my own choices. For too many years, everybody told me what to say and what to do and how to be. "

Rita Moreno

Own

Choices

" I think it's important to be reminded that that's what this country is comprised of - people from other countries. "

" Then there's the story of ill-fated love. It's universal. "

" They made me use an accent, which I wasn't thrilled about because a lot of us, obviously, don't have them. "

Rita Moreno

Thrilled

" I love being onstage, I love getting applause, and I love the love that comes across the footlights. It's so much a part of what I do and what I've done most of my life. "

" Being in service and being involved in something that is greater than you is what makes a person complete and whole. The very first thing I ever did in terms of activism was for an anti-atom bomb rally. "

" I call myself the hardware shelf. There's a lot of awards and honors there. And I have earned that. I didn't ask for it, I didn't beg for it, I didn't pay for it. I earned that. People see the accomplishments - but it's good to remind people that so much strife and labor and tears and heartbreak came before that, that it really is earned. "

" A lot of young Latino actors have said to me, 'Why can't we get an Oscar? Why can't we be nominated?' And the terrible truth is that if you don't get the right parts, you're not going to be. Are you going to get an Oscar nomination for one of those Judd Apatow movies? Not likely, no matter what nationality you are. "

Rita Moreno

Movies

Truth

" The one thing I really learned, and learned well, in group therapy was that you don't die if someone doesn't like you. "

" I sing Broadway stuff in the shower, mostly. "

" Doing 'Life Without Makeup' onstage is what inspired me to do a book in the first place. "

Rita Moreno

Book

Place

" Most people don't know that dancing auditions, you learn the steps right now. "

" Is there a grandmother that isn't spunky on television? Is there such a creature? "

" I've been neurotic in my life; I've had neurotic relationships with men. What else is new? But you really have to learn to be resilient - able to bounce back, pick yourself up, and just keep moving. "

" A friend of my mother's, Irene Lopez, was a Spanish dancer. She saw me bopping around the room and said to my mother, 'Rosita might have talent. Can I take her to my dance teacher?' There was no thought of a career at that time, but I knew I loved the attention, and that's so much a part of being a performer. "

" I am the happiest Hispanic I've ever met. Truly. "

Rita Moreno

Met

I Am

" You've got to make a decision when you write about your life, and I decided I was going to be honest, and some of those things will be embarrassing. "

" I get embarrassed when I go to an actor or actress's home and it's filled with pictures of them. "

" I played a Siamese girl from Thailand. I played an Arabian girl. I did a lot of American Indians. I never, ever was able to do a part without assuming some kind of accent. "

" I first became aware of Gina Rodriguez when she was just starting out starring on 'Jane the Virgin,' and a friend sent me an article in which she mentioned me. "

Rita Moreno

Friend

Just

" If I get a hangnail, I don't dare complain! Life is good. I wake up humming. "

Rita Moreno

Good

Wake Up

" I was never offered enough, and that's the truth. "

" Smell the roses. Smell the coffee. Whatever it is that makes you happy. "

" When I was girl, you could still get certain jobs if you didn't have a diploma. "

" Any character who had dark skin, I got all those parts. I could play a Polynesian, East Indian princess, whatever. "

" I knew what my scripts would say before I opened them: 'Enter Conchita.' I played handmaidens, Indian squaws, and Mexican dancers. "