Rita Moreno, Oscar-Winning Actress, Says Latinos Aren't Cast Enough In Big Nomination Roles

Oscar-winning actress Rita Moreno has an answer for those lamenting the lack of Latinos touting the same award. She said at a panel with the Television Critics Association that the answer is actually quite simple: Latinos aren't regularly cast in big nomination roles. Moreno spoke at the panel to talk about a PBS documentary she speaks in called "Latino Americans," which is preliminarily being hailed as the first comprehensive look at Latino history to be featured on television.

The 3-part program's narrator, Benjamin Bratt, echoed Moreno's sentiments. Bratt, whose mother emigrated from Peru as a teenager, said the focus of mainstream media in the U.S. has been skewed to exclude Latinos from discourse, Fox News Latino reported.

"American history always is from a Eurocentric point of view, and the real American history is so much richer than that," he said during the panel discussion. "Even in 2013, we are still seen as the mysterious, exotic 'other,' even though we are as American as anyone else."

Moreno extolled Latino artists as "terrific performers" as she suggested their skills are not featured in large enough roles for audiences to appreciate. Moreno won best supporting actress in 1961 for her role in "West Side Story." The first installment of the documentary is expected to air in September on PBS.