Rita Moreno has often spoken about the impact that "West Side Story" had on her life, telling NPR in 2021 that her character, Anita, was "the only part I ever remember where I represented Hispanics in a dignified and positive way."
But Moreno still objected to some aspects of the fan-favorite movie musical, revealing that she was "this close" to quitting over her original line in "America," which was reportedly, "Puerto Rico, you ugly island, island of tropic diseases." Despite genuinely wanting the role, she recalled thinking to NPR, "Oh my God, I can't sing that! ... I can't do this to my people." Luckily, lyricist Stephen Sondheim altered the line for her to, "Puerto Rico, my heart's devotion, let it sink back in the ocean."
Another issue Moreno had with the movie? The "extremely dark makeup" that all the Puerto Rican Sharks had to use, as she informed The Hollywood Reporter. "One day, I remember saying to the makeup man, 'I hate this makeup. It's so d**n dark.' And he actually said to me, 'What are you, a racist?'" Moreno recalled. The actor wasn't going to be silenced by him, however. "I had to remind him. Puerto Rico was colonized by the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish," she explained. "That's why there are Puerto Ricans who are white as milk and the color of charcoal." She argued, "We are everybody," adding that "the makeup man didn't know quite what to say to me."
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