The Change Mariner

Latino Roles On The Rise

SignOnSanDiego.com:

As Hollywood moves to capture the burgeoning Latino market at the box office -- and the hiring of more Latino talent to work on and off-camera -- Latino actors are increasingly hiring dialect coaches.

Indeed, the numbers show a slight rise in available roles for Latino actors. A recently released Screen Actors Guild report shows the total number of available parts in TV and movies for Latino actors climbed from 4.8 percent to 6 percent, from 2001 to 2002. That, the report said, represents a gain of nearly 400 roles, the biggest improvement of any ethnic minority group.

"Being Latin is a hot thing right now," Weber said. The Spanish market is getting a lot bigger. Look at artists like Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Eva Mendes.