Actress of Puerto Rican origin Chita RiveraStar of Broadway musicals, He died this Tuesday at the age of 91.his daughter, Lisa Mordente, told the New York Times.
Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was an actress, dancer and singer. An influential Broadway figure after rising to fame in 1957 For her role as Anita in the original premiere of ‘West Side Story‘.
He made his debut in New York’s famous theaters in 1952 and began a long career that would see him star in hit films such as ‘Chicago’, ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’, ‘Nine’, ‘Bye bye Birdie’ and more. ‘Bring it back ‘Birdie’.
To win two Tony Awardsconsidered the Oscars of theatre, and has been nominated ten times more than any other actor in musicals; He was also given an honorary Tony award in 2018 for his life achievements.
It is in the exclusive ‘EGOT’ club with the greatest privileges in the entertainment field in the USA: Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy; His list of awards includes the Presidential Medal of Freedom, his highest civilian honor.
“I guess I’m blessed because I was able to play many rolesand when ‘West Side Story’ came along it was the perfect musical,” he said in a 2013 interview with EFE before leading the Puerto Rican Parade in New York that year.
Rivera, who has never hidden her Latin feelings and love for Puerto Rico, added the following about her role as Puerto Rican Anita: “We were able to tell our story and draw attention to the problems we had at that time.”
She got something else from ‘West Side Story’: she married her co-star Tony Mordente in 1957; She divorced him nine years later, but together they gave birth to her only daughter, Lisa, who devoted herself to musical theatre.
She started ballet at the age of 11.
Rivera was born on January 23, 1933, in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Puerto Rican musician Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero and Katherine Anderson, of Scottish, Italian, and Puerto Rican descent, who worked at the Pentagon after being widowed. His daughter was 7 years old.
“My father played the saxophone and clarinet and my mother always wanted to dance but she had five children“Her mother enrolled Rivera in a ballet school at age 11, she recalled, channeling a talent that would soon come to fruition.
At the age of 15, he was accepted to the American Dance School in New York, founded by George Balanchine, and, as he said in an interview, it was here that he laid the technical foundations of the dance that would accompany him on stage forever.
Besides theater, Rivera also had an active career. His music covered the small and big screen: His most recent plays are the musical ‘The Visit’ (2015) and the Netflix series ‘One Day At a Time’ (2017), for which he spent three seasons.
Eleven years ago, the artist told this medium: “I worked hard. I am a positive person who forgets the negative. You should trust God, have a sense of humor and laugh at yourself, enjoy life.”