Activist and actress Rosie Perez will give a lecture, Speaking Out: AIDS in the Latino Community, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hamilton College Chapel. The lecture, sponsored by the C. Christine Johnson Voices of Color Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.
Perez is an Academy Award-nominated actress and Emmy-nominated choreographer. She began her career as a choreographer for such artists as Bobby Brown, LL Cool J and Diana Ross. She also choreographed and directed the "Fly Girls" on Fox Television's In Living Color, for which she received an Emmy nomination.
In films, Perez has starred in comedic and dramatic roles. She starred opposite Tim Robbins and Patricia Arquette in Michel Gondry's Human Nature after making its debut at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. She also starred in Penny Marshall's Riding in Cars with Boys with Drew Barrymore, starred in and produced Nancy Savoca's The 24-Hour Woman and lent her voice to Dreamworks' animated film, The Road to El Dorado. She also starred in Peter Weir's Fearless opposite Jeff Bridges for which she received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.
As a producer, Perez's credits include Nancy Savoca's 24 Hour Woman for The Shooting Gallery and HBO's Rosie Perez Presents Society's Ride which ran as three parts and Subway Stories, an anthology of short films that she created. Most recently, Perez entered into a unique deal with Art Television Group (ATG) to develop, star and executive produce a comedy series.
Throughout her career, Perez has been a vocal activist for a number of causes, especially those related to AIDS and inner city youth. She has spoken at several AIDS conferences (including Harvard AIDS Institute) and hosted numerous AIDS fund-raisers. Organizations such as AIDS Action Foundation, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and the Latino Commission on AIDS have honored her with awards. Perez is also active with the Working Playground, which is an arts education organization that brings dance, theater, film, poetry, and fine arts to students in Harlem, the Bronx and the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
