Salma Hayek turns 60 at the peak of her unstoppable Latin legacy
Mexico City, Sep 2 (EFE)
When Mexican actress, producer, and activist Salma Hayek was putting the pieces together for ‘Frida’ (2002), the project that earned her her first and only Oscar nomination, Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez told her something that would mark her unstoppable rise in Hollywood: “The hardest thing is to start, and you’ve already started.”
The Colombian writer was right. Hayek had reached her first major milestone in the U.S. and would continue to reap success throughout her nearly 40-year career, spanning six decades of life, which she celebrates this September 2.
On her birthday, the Mexican actress, born in Veracruz (eastern Mexico), stands out for challenging prejudices against the Latino community through successful films, television programs (‘Ugly Betty’), and series for platforms like HBO (‘Like Water for Chocolate’) and Netflix (‘Monarca’).
At just 25 years old, Hayek set out to do the impossible: defy the American entertainment industry, marked by xenophobia and misogyny. At that time, the actress barely spoke English, and her Latin accent was stigmatized by major Hollywood productions.
Although everything seemed stacked against her, she packed up her life in Mexico and migrated to Los Angeles in 1991, leaving behind the fame she had achieved in her country with the telenovela ‘Teresa’ (Televisa, 1989).
“Hayek could have had a great career as a telenovela star in Mexico; however, she decided to take the risk of crossing the border. That step will always set her apart from the rest,” Hugo Villa, director of the Film Archive of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told EFE.
Villa uses two words to define Salma Hayek: “patience and stubbornness,” qualities she forged during her childhood in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and inherited from her father, a businessman of Lebanese descent, and her mother, opera singer Diana Jiménez Medina.
This determination led her to take her first steps in Hollywood with the film “Pistolero,” which she starred in alongside Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, and later to found Ventanarosa, the production company that spearheaded “Frida,” the feature film about the life of the Mexican painter that shaped her career path.
In an interview with CBS, she stated that her “personal satisfaction” came from promoting productions that challenged preconceived notions about Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Hayek has embraced that philosophy, which today makes her a cultural icon capable of navigating the Marvel universe (‘Eternals’), topping the lists of Vogue and Time magazines, and even attending the morning press conference of the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.with whom he recently promoted a plan to strengthen national cinema.
Her status as a cultural and business icon has allowed her to pave the way for new Latino talent and support causes linked to her activism, such as when she spoke out against the recent mass deportations in the U.S. or denounced the harassment by American producer Harvey Weinstein in an article published in The New York Times.
Hayek’s personal life is also enriched by a wide range of cultural experiences.
Three languages are spoken in her home: Spanish, English, and French, the latter thanks to her husband, billionaire François-Henri Pinault, president of the Kering conglomerate, which includes luxury brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, and is considered one of the richest men in the world.
“I try not to swear at the children, but my favorite language to swear in is Spanish,” the actress confessed in an interview about her family dynamics, highlighting Valentina, her only biological daughter.
At the top of the sixth floor, Salma Hayek bids farewell to projects like ‘Without Blood’, a film directed by Angelina Jolie, and starts new ones alongside Adam Sandler (‘Grown Ups 3’), while promising to continue consolidating the legacy she built in defense of Latin identity.
