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In John's standup like 25 years ago, when I think everyone thought he was a full Puerto Rican, he talked about his role in Casualties of War--getting too dark after being tanned in the jungle. Its a Vietnam War film.
I admire his career, but he's known to exaggerate a lot. I'll also never quite understand who they got on Carlos Mencia for pushing himself as Mexican, but John got little heat for always trying to push himself as Puerto Rican.
I admire his career, but he's known to exaggerate a lot. I'll also never quite understand who they got on Carlos Mencia for pushing himself as Mexican, but John got little heat for always trying to push himself as Puerto Rican.
Exaggerate? John Leguizamo makes **** up. LIES. He was concocting detailed stories about his fictional Puerto Rican heritage for decades, saying that he has family Aguadilla, etc. 100% was not true.
There's no reason to believe anything that he says.
Problem with your argument is that the lies tend to revolve around the same theme. He has to manipulate his ethnicity and appearance to get roles.
I'm generally quite dismissive about claims of racism etc, but I'm not stupid. Branding himself as a Puerto Rican-New Yorker gets far better mileage than saying he's Colombian, when you consider the roles he's gone for and succeeded in.
We live in a society that incentivizes claims of racism. You can lie about discrimination and use that to get ahead. This story he's telling about having to stay out of the sun to get roles is just bull****.
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I'm also not sure how anyone is determining the difference between a Columbian and a Puerto Rican.
Are you serious? Puerto Rico has nothing to do with Colombia. There's no overlap.
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Would you be offended if an Irish kid growing up in India told everyone he was English?
It's not about it being offensive. It isn't true! A grown man telling a lie like that for decades is crazy!
Interesting enough is that there is an area of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (close to Aguadilla) that is called "Leguizamo" (also appears as Leguisamo), very similar if not the same as his last name which he inherit from his father.
What is the likelihood of that, particularly when it isn't a very common last name or name of a place? Usually, though not always, places take the name of the family that once owned that land. It would be interesting to see how that place came to be named like that.
At times this could be very old, even generations ago. For example, in Santo Domingo there is a neighborhood called Gascue (also spelled Gazcue). Now a neighborhood, in the late 1700's much of that land was a cattle ranch that belonged to the Spaniard (he lived in SD, but he was from Spain, probably the Canary Islands) Francisco Gascue. That place has been called Gascue ever since it was his cattle ranch. Descendants of Francisco Gascue could be scattered within the DR and/or abroad and no longer own that land, but the name stuck as a reminder of who owned it once upon a time.
I think there is something fishy about his case. Most likely he could be of partial Puerto Rican descent from part of his father. It isn't unknown for Puerto Ricans to immigrate to places like Colombia and naturally have a kid there. It isn't very common, but it's known to happen. A Puerto Rican immigrating to say Katmandu, Nepal or Nairobi, Kenya or Cochabamba, Bolivia; now that isn 't heard of. To Colombia? Not as far fechted.
In many sources it also says that his father is estranged from him and this was prior to what his father did. If true, an estranged father definitely would do something to hurt the image of his son, especially if the son is well known or famous. In anycase, his father did show that he was born in Colombia. There is no mention of his grandparents though.
Then there is that "coincidence" of a neighborhood in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (on the western part, near Aguadilla) that has the same or a very similar name as his paternal last name. Add to that the rarity of that last name or that a place woukd be named like that.
Like I implied already, there seem to be more to this story that hasn't reached the public yet.
Like Mencia, who was Honduran and raised in East L.A. Leguizamo was raised in 70s and 80s NY Nuyorican culture. In John's standup he spoke with a thick Puerto Rican accent, and his dad came out with the fact that they were 100% Colombian. This isn't about "overlap". You're just a product of the neighborhood you grew up in. Sen Dog is Cuban. He's one of the most iconic Cholo rappers there is.
I grew up on John, when he did a lot to highlight Latin culture. But he is what he is. He conflates a lot. Call him a liar if you want, because there's no defending the fact he pretended to be something he wasn't. The sad part is, all he ever had to do was highlight his NY background, instead of hiding his Colombian culture. From Mambo Mouth, House of Buggin, to Freak, he did do a lot in the 90s the represent urban Latin culture in the U.S.
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