Film Aims to Unite Latinos, Anglos EFE
go to original May 5, 2012

"The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez," starring Ernest Borgnine, Barry Corbin and Carla Ortiz is, according to its actors, a bridge of respect between the Latino and Anglo cultures.

In the film, 95-year-old Oscar winner Borgnine plays Rex Page, a old man bitter because he never achieved fame and lived what he considers a pointless life. When he suffers a stroke, he ends up in a nursing home where he is looked after by Latin American immigrants.

"He puts all his energy in getting out, which at first causes conflict with workers at the home, most of them Latinos," Ortiz, who plays the part of Solena, a physiotherapist nurse, told Efe.

"But their relations take on new significance when it is discovered that he once shook hands with Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez. In a certain way this small incident gives his life some meaning," the Bolivian actress said.

"One of the most beautiful things about the film and specifically about my character is that it shows, once again, the dignity of the Latino woman. Solena is a hard-working lady with great dignity and dedicated to her profession - she sees in each and every one of her patients a chance to make life more meaningful for the person she is treating and to enrich her own life," Ortiz said.

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