John Leguizamo was born on July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia. He spent the mid- to late-1980s performing in comedy clubs. He made his film debut in Casualties of War (1989). Other film roles followed in quick succession. He turned to live theater as a means of blasting Latino stereotypes through fierce comedic caricature. Leguizamo’s onstage success led to television opportunities.
Watch his latest one-man on Netflix!
Leguizamo is known for personal, one-man plays that often draw from dark moments in his life, including “Spic-O-Rama” and “Mambo Mouth.” “Latin History for Morons” is no different. The play, which debuted in 2017, was inspired by Leguizamo’s son, who was bullied for his race in school. In response, Leguizamo, who is of Colombian and Puerto Rican descent, set out to write about the influence of Latin America and the Caribbean on the formation of the United States and its subsequent centuries of history.
Though only 90 minutes long, the play covers 3,000 years of history, starting with the Aztec and Incan empires.
“I started to think why people feel comfortable disrespecting us in a way that’s just not normal or natural,” Leguizamo told NBC News in a previous interview. “And I started to think that it’s because our contributions aren’t in history textbooks.”
The show highlights unsung heroes of Latino history, from pioneering Mexican-American journalist and education rights-activist Jovita Idár, to entertainer Desiderio Alberto “Desi” Arnaz, known as Ricky Ricardo on the sitcom “I Love Lucy.”
Idár, in particular, resonated with Leguizamo because of their shared passion for education.
“Education is the first step to empowerment,” Leguizamo told NBC News in an earlier interview. “We need to see the power of our contributions to feel more inside ourselves, more inside our bodies, more inside our culture. And now [after the experience of putting together “Latin History for Morons”] I feel like we Latinx people created America.”
