Latina Broadway legend Chita Rivera leaves behind a lasting legacy in theater
On January 30, 2024, Latina Broadway legend Chita Rivera died at 91. She was best known for her role as Anita in the original 1957 Broadway cast of West Side Story—but her contributions to the world of theater spanned more than 50 years.
"It is with immense personal sorrow that I announce the death of the beloved Broadway icon Chita Rivera. My dear friend of over 40 years was 91," her rep, Merle Frimark, said in a statement, per People.
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Chita’s daughter, Lisa Mordente, revealed the performer died in New York “after a brief illness.” Her statement continued, "She is also survived by her siblings Julio, Armando, and Lola del Rivero (her older sister Carmen predeceased her), along with her many nieces, nephews, and friends. Her funeral will be private. A memorial service will be announced in due course.”
In the wake of Chita's death, let’s take a closer look at her life and the impact she made in theater as a Latina performer
Chita got her start on Broadway in the 1950s.
Chita, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, was born as Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, DC, in 1933. At just 16, she moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet but eventually dropped out to pursue theater. Chita’s early Broadway roles included Guys and Dolls in 1953, Can-Can in 1954—and of course, West Side Story in 1957.
Her impact on Broadway spanned decades.
After West Side Story, there was no stopping Chita. She went on to play a number of iconic Broadway roles, including Rose in Bye Bye Birdie (1960), Velma Kelly in Chicago (1975), Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993), and Liliane La Fleur in Nine (2003), among many others. Her last Broadway role was in 2015’s The Visit as Claire Zachanassian.
Chita made history as a Latina.
In 2002, Chita was named a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor—becoming the first Hispanic woman to be given the award. She went on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. President Barack Obama used Chita’s full name before presenting her with the medal, noting that she “knows the adversity that comes with a difficult name.” He later declared that Chita “captured America’s imagination with her magnetic presence and radiant voice.”
She was a trailblazer for Latinx commercial theater performers.
Roles in commercial theater have been hard to come by for Latinx performers, as NBC News pointed out. Just 4.1% of union contracts in the US went to Latinos from 2016 to 2020, according to a 2022 Actors Equity Association report. But Chita was able to find success on Broadway despite the odds stacked against her.
Chita was a highly-decorated Broadway performer.
In her lifetime, the triple-threat talent (acting, singing, dancing) snagged a whopping 10 Tony Award nominations. Out of those, she won for 1984’s The Rink and 1993’s Kiss of the Spider Woman. To top it all off, Chita received the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2018, alongside composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber. "I wouldn't trade my life in the theater for anything, as the theater is life," she said upon accepting the honor.
She was widely respected by peers and theater-lovers alike.
Performance historian Brian Herrera of Princeton University called Chita a “treasure of the American theater” in an interview with NBC News. “She was a performer, through and through,” Herrera said. “She was remarkable, not only for her achievements, but because she was extraordinarily beloved.”