HILL STREET BLUES/NBC/1981-86
**(Rene Enriquez) Lt. Ray Calletano, Hispanic police officer of Colombian ancestry who was second-in-command at the fictional Hill Street Blues police station. During a 1982 episode Ray Calletano was honored as the department's "Hispanic Officer of the Year". Angered at the fact that his colleagues had mistaken him for Puerto Rican and not Colombian, Ray asked his audience "Why is it...that I look around this room full of high ranking officers and the only Hispanics I see are waiters and busboys?" Trinidad Silva occasionally appeared as Jesus Martinez, a cocky Puerto Rican street tough/gang leader of the Diablos with a talent for sweet talking his way out of trouble. His character softened a bit when he got married. He later took up the practice of law, however there was a small problem. He didn't have a law degree.

HOT L BALTIMORE/ABC/1975
**(Jeannie Linero) Suzy Marta Rocket, a "bad" Colombian prostitute living in the "Hot l Baltimore," a dilapidated hotel in the downtown Baltimore. Also featured was Cochata Ferrell as fellow hooker, April Green, a "good" prostitute.

HOUSE OF BUGGIN'/FOX/1995
*(John Leguizamo) Colombian-born comedian who hosted this half-hour comedy sketch show that pushed racial boundaries by poking fun at a number of ethnic groups. Leguizamo was backed by a Latino cast which included Jorge Luis Abreu, Yelba Osorio, Sixto Ramos, Rosie Perez, and Luis Guzman. One of Leguizamo's characters was a credible drag Latina showgirl, ala Flip Wilson's Geraldine. He also appeared in a successful HBO special "Spic-O-Rama" broadcast May 15, 1993.

Back to Top