Friday, January 24, 2014
Actress Maria Conchita Alonso did a commercial with the anti-immigration and Minutemen Project-affiliated California governor Tea Party candidate Tim Donnelly and the internets exploded—oh, and possibly Vagina Monologues' author Eve Ensler. Some have said a little bit of theater possibly died, too.
The result was that everyone forgot the name of the actress's chihuahua. It's Tequila by the way.
What was all the hoopla about? According to a CBS Channel 5 SF Bay Area report, Alonso was set to perform in a San Francisco Spanish-language production of the Vagina Monologues. But backlash from SF's Latino community forced the actress to resign:
Donnelly has voiced strong views against illegal immigration and was once involved with the Minutemen Project, a group that patrolled the border with Mexico to catch immigrants coming across.“Politicians and big government are killing our prosperity, pushing welfare costs through the roof and driving our schools into the ground,” Donnelly said in the ad.
Standing next to Donnelly, Alonso jokingly translated in Spanish, “We’re screwed.”
Alonso is an actress of Cuban and Venezuelan descent. She is perhaps best known for her role in the movie “Moscow on the Hudson” with co-star Robin Williams.
The actress was to perform next month at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco’s Mission District in a Spanish-language version of “The Vagina Monologues,” scheduled for a run from February 14th through 17th. The show is being produced by none other than Eliana Lopez, wife of San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
“We really cannot have her in the show, unfortunately,” Lopez told KPIX 5. She said Alonso abruptly resigned from the cast on Friday, given the backlash on the immigration issue.
“Of course she has the right to say whatever she wants. But we’re in the middle of the Mission. Doing what she is doing is against what we believe,” Lopez said.
Alonso received an earful from listeners of Spanish-language radio station KIQI 1010 AM in San Francisco on Friday, after she said in an interview that she supported many of Donnelly’s views on illegal immigration. Several listeners took her to task after she used the term “illegal” to describe undocumented immigrants.
Sure there's freedom of speech ... but it goes both ways. Further more, the advertisement only further proves what we've suspected all along — say no to botox. Apparently, as one friend told me, it makes you crazy and supportive of Minutemen douche bags. That it does. That it does.
Tags: Maria Conchita Alonso , Vagina Monologues , San Francisco , Tim Donnelly , tea baggers , Video