Juano Hernandez (1896-1970)

September 09, 2009 
/ Contributed By: Otis Alexander

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Juano Hernandez

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Juano G. โ€œJuanoโ€ Hernรกndez, Hollywoodโ€™s first Afro-Latino actor, was a polylingual self-educated Puerto Rican stage and film actor who was born Juan G. Hernรกndez on July 19, 1896, in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a father from San Juan and a mother from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He lived in both Puerto Rico and Brazil growing up.

In 1914, at 18, Hernรกndez made his silent picture debut as an actor in the film classic The Life of General Villa, produced by Mutual Film Corporation in Hollywood, California. In 1922, Hernรกndez appeared in a Rio de Janeiro circus as an acrobat. Hernรกndez then co-stared in radioโ€™s first all-Black soap opera, We Love and Learn, later in 1922. He was in the chorus of the show Showboat on Broadway in 1927 and Strange Fruits, about interracial relationships by Puerto Rican director Jose Ferreira.

Hernรกndez portrayed the only Latino character, โ€œGomez, the Cuban racketeer,โ€ in Oscar Micheauxโ€™s controversial film, Girl from Chicago in 1932, where the producer, Micheaux was accused of casting the principal roles based on skin complexion. It was Micheauxโ€™s first โ€œtalkieโ€ film. Hernรกndez portrayed a police officer in the crime drama/musical Harlem Is Heaven the same year.

In 1949, Hernรกndez played Lucas Beauchamp, a Mississippi Black farmer accused of killing a white neighbor in the film adaptation of William Faulknerโ€™s Intruder in the Dust. His performance garnered Hernรกndezโ€™s first and only nomination for a Golden Globe award for โ€œNew Star of the Year.โ€

In 1950 Hernรกndez was cast in the western, Stars In My Crown where he portrayed a formerly enslaved person who agitates an irate white mob by not selling his real estate. He also appeared in the drama Young Man With a Horn. Here he is a mentor and father figure who nurtures the principal characterโ€™s musical talents. In 1958, Hernรกndez was cast in the film 1958โ€™s Machete as an employee on a Puerto Rican plantation. He also appeared in two films, the Nat King Cole biopic St. Louis Blues and The Mark of the Hawk. This was followed by The Alfred Hitchcock Presents production of the Ambrose Bierce short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in 1959, where Hernรกndez was a principal actor.

Hernรกndezโ€™s last movies were in 1969 and 1970 respectively. He was in The Extraordinary Seaman, followed by They Call Me Mister Tibbs! in 1970.

Juano G. “Juano” Hernรกndez died from a cerebral hemorrhage. on July 17, 1970, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was 74. In 2017, Juano G. “Juano” Hernรกndez was posthumously honored at Paseo de la Fama (The Walk of Fame) in San Juan.

About the Author

Author Profile

Otis D. Alexander, Library Director at Saint John Vianney College Seminary & Graduate School in Miami, Florida, has also directed academic and public libraries in the District of Columbia, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia. In addition, he has been a library manager in the Virgin Islands of the United States as well as in the Republic of Liberia. His research has appeared in Public Library Quarterly, Scribnerโ€™s Encyclopedia of American Lives, and Virginia Libraries journal. Alexander received the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from the University of the District of Columbia and the Master of Library & Information Science degree from Ball State University. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from International University and studied additionally at Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership for Academic Librarians, Oberlin Conservatory of Music Voice Performance Pedagogy, and Atlanta University School of Library & Information Studies.

CITE THIS ENTRY IN APA FORMAT:

Alexander, O. (2009, September 09). Juano Hernandez (1896-1970). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/hernandez-juano-1896-1970/

Source of the Author's Information:

Angelica Jade Bastiรฉn, โ€œJuano Hernรกndez Should Have Been the First Afroโ€“Puerto Rican Screen Legend,โ€ https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/juano-hernandez-should-have-been-a-hollywood-legend.html; Mistake Pena, โ€œMeet Juano Hernรกndez, Hollywoodโ€™s First Afri Latino Actor,โ€ https://www.hola.com/us/celebrities/20211021312216/juano-hernandez-first-afro-latino-actor/; Roberto Carlos Ortiz, โ€œThat Distinguished Negro Starโ€: Juano Hernandez in Hollywood Cinema,โ€ https://centropr-archive.hunter.cuny.edu/centrovoices/arts-culture/%E2%80%9C-distinguished-negro-star%E2%80%9D-juano-hernandez-hollywood-cinema.

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