Rita Moreno was one of the first prominent Puerto Ricans in Hollywood—one of the first , period—and remains a source of inspiration as one of Hollywood’s most talented. The first boricua to EGOT—Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, though no doubt Lin-Manuel Miranda’s up for that next—Moreno’s first iconic role was Anita in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story. (She won an Oscar for that, and was one of just a small handful of Latinos in a film whose characters were largely Puerto Rican immigrants, which gives you an idea of the kind of racial disparity and discrimination she was up against.)
