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Latinos Breaking Barriers: Jimmy Smits

10/01/2010 By 2 Comments

 


Brooklyn born Jimmy Smits first hit the scene in 1986 portraying Victor Sifeuntes on L.A. Law. We haven’t been able to take our eyes off him since then. His professional life began in Off-Broadway and traveling companies, prior to making a name for himself on television. As with many television entertainers, Jimmy went on to make movies and made a return to the theater in 2003’s Anna In The Tropics.

Being an award winning actor was not enough for, our own, Jimmy Smits.  He gave back to his gente when he, along with Esai Morales, Sonia Braga, and Felix Sanchez, founded the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. The foundation has awarded a million dollars in scholarships to Latino students.

Two weeks ago, many of us met Cyrus Garza. Following a family tragedy, he spiraled into alcohol abuse and gambling problems. Cyrus resigned his position on the U.S. Supreme Court and devoted his career to helping defendants in high profile cases. Cyrus Garza is Jimmy Smits’ newest creation, the show is called Outlaw; Jimmy is the star and executive producer and I invite you check out the show. It airs Friday night on NBC.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7SAy09PVTU]

 

Filed Under: Entertainment
About Eileen Rivera

Eileen was born in The Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents. She grew up thinking the whole world was Latino. Moving to Rockland County in upstate New York taught her it wasn’t. One more move in 1976, brought her to Hudson County, New Jersey where she currently resides. She attended Rutgers-Newark where she majored in Social Work with a minor in Puerto Rican studies. Eileen credits her history professor, Dr. Olga Wagenheim, for the spark and impetus to search out her roots in a pre-computer era. The daughter of a minister, she credits her father for the activism, volunteerism and search for justice that have characterized her adult years.

The mother of two adult daughters, Eileen has worked in the Juvenile Justice system for twenty-eight years. She acts as a liaison between the Juvenile Detention Center and the Juvenile Court.

Writing was something she shared with family. Stories and songs for her children and Christmas tales for the extended family. She now shares her writing with a larger family, the Being Latino family.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

Comments

  1. Jesse Goodin says:
    10/01/2010 at 10:10 pm

    I discovered your homepage by coincidence.
    Very interesting posts and well written.
    I will put your site on my blogroll. :-)

  2. MARK VIRELLA says:
    10/02/2010 at 3:10 pm

    Jimmy has always been one of my favorites. Such a class act through and through. Thanks Eileen.

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