Latina actress, choreographer, and activist Rosie Perez shared her personal story with students Wednesday night with a singular goal in mind: to inspire them to “step into your greatness.”
Perez, in her trademark voice that shouts “Brooklyn,” urged the Love Auditorium audience to push through their fears to become the person they can be, a person who makes a difference.
“It’s hard, there isn’t that ‘Oprah’ moment where it magically happens,” she said. “But you need to understand the power that you have to change the world.”
Perez was candid and disarming, whether it was talking about growing up poor in Brooklyn, providing a quick history lesson on Puerto Rico, explaining how the Hollywood paparazzi work, or showing some dance moves from her early days on Soul Train.
She also talked about the moment that changed her life.
While attending college in California, she returned home to New York for a visit and went to a nightclub that, unknown to her, was sponsoring a “big butt” contest for women. She strode up to the stage and told the women it was degrading, becoming furious when bouncers pulled her away.
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| Rosie Perez speaks in Love Auditorium on Wednesday night. Behind her is the partial title of the documentary she directed, Yo Soy Boricua! Pa’ Que Tu Lo Sepas!, which highlights Puerto Rican culture. (Photo by Andy Daddio) |
She was brought over to the contest sponsor, a man named Spike Lee. She had never heard of the now-famous director, and dismissed him, calling him a pig for sponsoring the contest.
Lee asked if she was an actress, and even though she said no, he insisted she take his business card. She landed a role in his film Do The Right Thing, and would later appear in other movies such as White Men Can’t Jump and Fearless, which earned her an Oscar nomination.
“I had stepped into a different world,” she said.
Becoming well-known was just the platform she needed to tackle issues such as Puerto Rican rights, AIDS awareness, better education in inner cities, and women’s rights.
It is Perez’s philanthropic work as much as her Hollywood achievements that made her the perfect speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month, according to Jessica Medina ’10, president of the Latin American Student Organization (LASO).
“She is this A-list Latina star, but she also does so much community work, and that’s what we want to be doing as a group and reinforcing among our membership,” said Medina.
Medina and other LASO members were able to have dinner with Perez before her public lecture.
“All the things she’s done and the progress she’s made in her life, it was great to be able to talk with her in that personal way,” said Alex Restrepo ’12.