[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RITA MORENO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2004

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding 
performer, actress, and entertainer Rita Moreno for receiving the 
``nation's highest civilian award recognizing exceptional meritorious 
service,'' the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  Rita Moreno has been an inspiration to many throughout her remarkable 
career as an actress on screen and stage. Her performances have been 
recognized with Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Awards, and she received an 
Oscar in 1961 for her performance as Anita in West Side Story. She has, 
in fact, been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her 
achievements and being the only female performer to have won all four 
of the most prestigious performing arts awards. Today, June 23, 2004 
she will be honored at a White House ceremony with the presentation of 
the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  A dramatic actress, singer, dancer, comedienne, Ms. Moreno has 
portrayed a variety of different roles going beyond traditional 
limitations and proving that Latino performers are not limited to 
``ethnic'' roles. Her versatility has led to decades of success on 
stage, screen, and television.
  Ms. Moreno was born Rosa Delores Alverio in Humacao, a small town in 
Puerto Rico. At the age of five years old, she joined her mother in New 
York and the following year she started her dancing lessons. Rosita's 
immense talent became evident at a young age. By the age of thirteen, 
Rita Moreno had made her Broadway debut in ``Skydrift''. She signed her 
first movie contract at the age of seventeen.
  Ms. Moreno made some thirty films early in her career, and was often 
typecast as a Mexican spitfire or an Indian maiden. After a decade of 
these stereotypical roles she was cast as the strong-willed and 
independent Anita in the movie version of West Side Story. It was only 
after Rita Moreno won an Oscar for her outstanding performance as 
``Anita'', which gained international acclaim, that she was 
finally recognized as a major talent. Indeed, the film's depiction of 
ethnic division and urban violence can be seen as a foreshadowing of 
the civil rights struggles and general social turbulence of subsequent 
years. Rita Moreno's depiction of a young woman believing in and 
pursuing the American dream was vivid and memorable.

  In the early 1970s Ms. Moreno appeared in children's television 
programs providing inspiration to Hispanic children, with the intent to 
assure them of their value as citizens of society. Rita Moreno has also 
been the guest star on a wide variety of television productions, both 
here and abroad, including highly regarded educational television 
programs as well as starring in her own TV series.
  Becoming engaged in so many facets of entertainment, Rita Moreno, 
early in 1978, turned her attention for the first time to live 
performances, creating an act that has attracted outstanding critical 
acclaim. All things considered, Rita Moreno's success goes far beyond 
her ability to act and sing or win awards. She has strived throughout 
her career to push past the boundaries that have marginalized actors 
who did not seem to represent mainstream America and cast Latinos and 
other minorities in menial roles. She continues to keep busy performing 
concerts across the country as a guest artist with symphony orchestras. 
In addition to her film, stage, television and concert careers, Ms. 
Moreno fills her spare time by lecturing to various organizations as 
well as to university audiences. She is also involved with a number of 
civic and charitable organizations and events.
  Rita Moreno is a member of the Board of Directors of Third World 
Cinema, a company which is interested in creating opportunities in the 
film industry for minority groups, and has served as a member of the 
Board of Directors of the National Foundation for the Arts, the Alvin 
Alley Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet and the Los Angeles Theatre 
Center, as well as many other worthwhile organizations. Ms. Moreno is 
currently a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and 
Humanities and a commissioner of the very prestigious Presidential 
Fellowship Committee.
  It is a special honor for me to recognize Rita Moreno and her great 
work in performing arts and to salute her leadership and achievements.

                          ____________________