Steven Spielberg missed an opportunity for inclusion when casting Chino in 'West Side Story'

The dance-off between the Jets, left, and the Sharks, right in Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story.'

West Side Story has always been one of my favorite films. As directed by Robert Wise, from its opening overhead shot of Manhattan, cinematically, it  was creative, groundbreaking and breathtaking to watch.

But it also had a soft spot in my heart because, back in 1961 when the film debuted, it featured one of the few Filipino American actors in a major Hollywood production.

Jose de Vega is not a household name and you won't find him in history books, but before Bruce Lee debuted as Kato in the Green Hornet, de Vega, who played the  pivotal role of Chino in the movie version of West Side Story, offered one of the few representations of an Asian male that didn't rely on the subservient, sexless stereotype.

Chino, in Mexican Spanish slang, is a nickname or adjective attached to anyone who has Asian features, although in certain contexts, could be interpreted as a racial slur. 

From today's perspective, the glaring error in Wise's version is the casting of non-Latinos for the Puerto Rican roles: Natalie Wood as Maria? C'mon.

Josh Andres River, left, is the new Chino. Jose de Vega, right, was properly cast as Chino in the Robert Wise's 1961 movie, West Side Story.

It is fully believable that like other Filipinos who grow up in communities or neighborhoods where there are not a lot of other Asian Americans, Chino would have  more in common and feel more comfortable with other people of color like the Puerto Ricans as embodied by the Sharks gang, than with the Jets, a white gang, which would probably have rejected someone like Chino.

So when it was announced that Steven Spielberg would do a reboot of the movie, it was assumed that he would cast an Asian as Chino, or at least someone who might appear to have Asian features.

I wrote an article about de Vega a few years back before the Spielberg cast had been announced.  It is a post that people keep on calling it up for some reason. This new post is to offer closure or answer the question posed by that original posting: Who would play the role Chino.

With the growing awareness of representation or inclusion and the wealth of talent within the AAPI community, I was sure that Spielberg would have no problem in casting that important role.

Alas, Spielberg whiffed. In his eagerness to be politically correct by recasting the film with real Latinos instead of brown-facing non-Latinos (aside from Oscar-winner Rita Moreno) to play the Puerto Ricans, the director missed a chance for further representation when he cast a newcomer, Josh Andrés Rivera in the role of Chino. It would be Rivera's first movie role and the limited info on him doesn't reveal any Asian heritage in his background.

Casting was before the 2018 success of Crazy Rich Asians and the cross-over acceptance of a number of Asian and Asian American projects by U.S. audiences since then. Any pressure for casting Chino with an Asian American would have been at that time.

I don't mean to cast dispersions on Rivera, I'm sure he's a fully capable actor and I hope his role as Chino brings him more roles. But to my mind, he ain't (my) Chino.

Be that as it may, filming is done. Bahala Na.

Spielberg's West Side Story was set to be released December 2020 but due to the pandemic, its premiere has been delayed. It is now set a Dec. 10 theaterical release. Most likley it will be on streaming network, too but it is uncertain when the movie would be made available on Disney+ or Neflix.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

FilAm History: Who will play 'Chino' in the 'West Side Story' reboot?

UNITED ARTISTS

Pioneer actor Jose de Vega never got another role as big as Chino in 'West Side Story.'

ONE OF MY FAVORITE FILMS, West Side Story, is getting a

remake 57 years after the 1961 premiere of the Oscar-

winning musical based on Romeo and Juliet.

Helming the project is another Oscar winner, Steven Spielberg. It will be his first musical but you can be sure the master moviemaker will create a movie that will live up to the groundbreaking Oscar winning original.

Only one role has been cast so far, that of Tony, the OG of the white gang, the Jets. He will be played by Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver). Casting for other roles is ongoing. Filming is slated for the summer of 2019.

One of the legitimate criticisms of the 1961 adaptation of the Broadway hit, was the lack of Latino actors playing the Sharks, the street gang rivals of the white Jets.

        UPDATE: Alas, Spielberg blew it in casting the new 'Chino.' 

The actors, including Russian American Natalie Wood as Maria,  had to have their skin darkened, a practice that would be frowned upon in the current climate of inclusion spurred by the #OscarsSoWhite social media campaign. Latino actors, like their Asian American peers, are among the most under-represented ethnicities on television and the movies beyond their stereotypes, according to a USC study.

One role that Asian American actors and activists will have to keep their eye on is that of Chino, a role played by Filipino American pioneer actor Jose de Vega on Broadway and in the film. He was the one Shark whose skin didn't need to be darkened.

(Chino, by the way, is a common Latino nickname for anyone who has, or appear to have, Asian ancestry in their heritage, but that's another story.)

The character Chino Martin is the best friend of Bernardo (played by George Chakiris in the movie) the leader of the Sharks. Chino character kills Tony Wyzek (played by Richard Beymer), leader of the Jets in an act of rage after Tony accidentally kills Bernardo in a gang fight. Chino is one of the few Sharks we know by name or has many lines. Chino is in love with Maria, and her brother Bernardo wants the two to get married. When Chino realizes Maria loves Tony, Chino tells Maria that Tony killed her brother.

Born Jan. 4, 1934, in San Diego to a Filipino father and Colombian mother, De Vega's role should have been a launching pad for bigger and better roles, but Hollywood, being Hollywood during that era, only had supporting roles for him in the Elvis starrer Blue Hawaii. His TV roles were in Bonanza, Dynasty, Mission Impossible and Hart to Hart.

For the last nine years of his ilfe, De Vega had choreographed, directed and performed in concerts and productions of Great Leap, a Los Angeles group of Asian-American artists working to end entertainment stereotypes.

UNITED ARTISTS

The Sharks was supposed to be a Puerto Rican gang but didn't have a single Latino in the movie.

Cinematically, production-wise and musically, the West Side Story was a landmark movie. It won 10 Oscars in 1962 including, Best Director (Robert Wise), Best Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), Best Supporting Actor (George Chakiris) and Best Movie. It earned a special  Oscar for its choreography by Jerome Robbins.

It's a movie Ive seen countless times and each time I watch it, I learn something new about filmmaking, from editing (ah, the dance at the gym), production values (filmed in the real streets of New York), cinematography and directing to its tremendous score and songs ("America," "Maria," "Somewhere").

That's quite a legacy that Spielberg has to live up to. Let's hope he gets the casting right this time with the Sharks, including a shoutout to Jose de Vega by casting another Filipino American.

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