Actor delivers keynote at Latino festival

John Leguizamo, famous for his roles in movies such as Carlito's Way, and A Whisper in the Dark, had his audiences in stitches last night when he spoke in Houston Hall. The speech was one of the many activities that is part of this week's dedication to the "expression of Latino culture," in the annual "Festival Latino De Penn," said Festival co-coordinator Maria Fernandez, a Wharton senior. Leguizamo, who is also known for his critically acclaimed roles in the off -Broadway plays Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama, spoke to an audience of about 100 people at Bodek Lounge last night. He candidly talked about his rough childhood and how he was kicked out of high school. "I was told by a therapist to rechannel my energy," Leguizamo said. After performing in some student plays, he got his "first big break in a Miami Vice role," said the Latin American actor. Leguizamo said the stereotypical portrayal of Latinos in film is, "disappointing and disturbing." However, he expressed a positive outlook on the progress of available roles for Latinos, citing that actors and actresses such as Andy Garcia and Rosie Perez have helped to pave the way. On the success of his own career, the actor said that it has grown because he is now able to have more control over it. "I choose which roles I take and what I want to do now," said Leguizamo. The discussion did not always tackle such serious issues. In fact, most of the question and answer session was filled with laughter after the actor's witty replies. His sense of humor was fully exhibited in his impressions of such co-stars as Al Pacino and Perez. "I loved the part where he says that Latinos make up parts of the English language to make it more interesting," said College senior Josefina Jimenez. Many female audience members said they appreciated his speech so much that they would not mind dating him. "It doesn't matter that he's not ten years younger. I would marry him because he's pretty hot anyway," said Jimenez. Fernandez said she believes that the events of the week long festival have thus far been successful. "The celebration started on Sunday, with a mass given in Spanish at the Newman Center," said Fernandez. "[It] was followed by a reception afterwards filled with Latino food." The close of "Festival Latino de Penn" promises activities such as a Puerto Rican folklore music performance and a free Latino dance where students can dance the salsa and the meringue to the music of a live band later this week.