Hispanic Icon Series 2

Desi Arnaz (1917-1986)
Desi Arnaz was instrumental in the creation and the production of one of the most beloved TV sitcoms ever made. Soon after Arnaz arrived in America at the age of 16, he joined the Siboney Septet and later put together his own rumba band. In 1940, Desi appeared in both the stage and movie versions of Too Many Girls. It was on the set of this movie where he met his future wife, Lucille Ball. Later that year, Desi and Lucille got married. When the couple came up with the idea for a TV Series, they fought to do it together in spite of the reluctance of the network’s executives: They didn’t think the TV series would work because Desi was Cuban. In the summer of 1950, they went on tour, performing for live audiences to prove that the show savings of $5,000. In no time, he and Lucy became the most famous couple in TV history. He convinced the show’s sponsor that Lucy having a baby on the show would give them great publicity. He was right. The Birth of Little Ricky drew 44 million viewers. As a successful executive at DesiLu productions, he also produced many other shows for television.





Luis Buñuel (1900-1983)
Buñuel was one of the greatest European directors of the 20th century. He was the founder of surrealist cinema, a man who enjoyed a career as diverse and contradictory as his films. He was a master of both silent and sound cinema, of documentaries as well as features. His greatest work was produced in the two decades after his 60th year, a time when most directors have either retired or gone into decline. Although frequently characterized as surrealist, many of his films were dramas and farces in the realist or neorealist mode. Yet despite all the innovations and permutations of his work, Buñuel remained surprisingly consistent and limited in the targets of his social satire: the Catholic Church, bourgeois culture, and fascism. His friends included several of Spain’s great artists and writers, including Salvador Dalí and Federico García Lorca. Some of his famous films are Un Chien Andalou 91928), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), and Belle De Jour (19670, starring Catherine Deneuve.