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" The reason there weren't any, I am surmising, is that a lot of Latin kids, Latino kids, in those days didn't have the money to take those kind of classes. "
Rita Moreno
Latino
Kind
I Am
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" My first American experience was in the harbor of New York City when I saw that amazing big, tall lady. I remember thinking, 'Oh my goodness, a lady runs this country.' "
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" You see a script, and you say, 'Oh, I can play the heck out of that,' talk to your agent, and he says they don't want to see you. That's heartbreaking. "
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" I was brought up on animal grease. "
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" I had a very poor image of myself because I believed too much of the people around me when I was very young. "
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" Smell the roses. Smell the coffee. Whatever it is that makes you happy. "
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" 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. "
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" If you're going to write about your life, you must write about your life. "
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" I'm one of those performers who has done just about everything except juggle, and I'm working on that. "
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" Most people don't know that dancing auditions, you learn the steps right now. "
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" I auditioned for 'West Side Story' just like everybody else, and I nearly had a heart attack, because I hadn't danced in about - oh, I don't know, about 15 years. "
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" I am not exactly Mrs. Good Housekeeping, although I love to cook, bake, even iron, but only because it's not mandatory. "
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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 can't dwell on past mistakes. "
Rita Moreno
Past Mistakes
Dwell
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" Any character who had dark skin, I got all those parts. I could play a Polynesian, East Indian princess, whatever. "
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Dark
Skin
Play
" It's not easy having a partnership in this business. "
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Having
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Business
" 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. "
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Own
Choices
Me
" My mother's feeling about men in general were always a bit of a mystery to me. She had difficulties in Puerto Rico with the men in her life. Her brothers abused her. It's very easy to be judgmental, but more often than not, there are mitigating circumstances, and children are not usually aware of those. "
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Life
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Mother
" What musical performers bring to straight characterizations is that physical flexibility that comes with knowing your body so well. A lot of actors are terribly awkward. Terribly. And I think it's so important for them, when they're young, to work on their physical selves. "
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Body
" 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. "
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Movies
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Truth
" I love performing for kids, but you can't play down to them, of course. Then it would be 'Captain Kangaroo.' "
Rita Moreno
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" I'm proud of me. "
Rita Moreno
Proud
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" Elvis was a sweet darling, shy fellow, but he was really boring. "
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Sweet
Boring
Darling
" 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. "
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Kind
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" Let's face it. How often do you see an Asian face in films and television? They are practically invisible. Now and then, you will get one, and, interestingly, he gets the role of a scientist. Isn't that interesting? "
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" I was born in Puerto Rico - I used to sit in the sun until I looked like a piece of bacon. It's a wonder now that I don't look like an old wallet. I'm a very fortunate person. "
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" If I get a hangnail, I don't dare complain! Life is good. I wake up humming. "
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" There are some fabulous treasures of photos of me during the early days of my career; there are these pin-up photos that make me laugh: I look like the poor man's Maria Montez. But there are some I look at, and I didn't realize how sexy I looked back then. "
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Sexy
Early
Laugh
" Beyonce moves a lot. She's astonishing, dances and sings at the same time. She is buff. "
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" I'm a person who perseveres. You know, you fall down, you get up. "
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" Oh, I think Scarlett Johansson is a terrific actress. I think she's just marvelous. "
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