With the great success of his theatrical ap- pearances, Olmos began to take small roles in films. The small appearances only made way for the larger and more important roles in movies. By 1982, Olmos was filming along- side Harrison Ford in Blade Runner and by 1984 joined the cast of the popular Miami Vice as Martin Castillo. The popularity of his role in Miami Vice gave him great fame and opened doors to many more opportunities on and off the screen. In 1980, Edward James Olmos began Olmos
Productions a production company that assists production of many public service announce- ments as well as movies such as My Family (Mi Familia), Stand and Deliver, American Me, Walkout and American Playhouse. He also pro- duced several documentaries focusing on the violence and the impact on America’s youth. The production company has an astonishing community service record and is involved in extensive outreach projects that range from gang violence to AIDS awareness in communi- ties all across the country. Despite the tremendous fame Edward
James Olmos gained, Olmos remains a hum- ble individual and focused on devoting his time to the causes that interest him, particu- larly working with the rights and needs of the young individuals. Proud of his Mexican heritage, Olmos is a big supporter of Latinos everywhere and over several years, has writ- ten a book entitled, Americanos: Latino Life in the United States. In his book he discusses the way society sees Latinos as strangers and the problem of Latinos not seeing themselves as Americans. Edward James Olmos claims that Latinos work very hard and regardless of what title is given, “Latinos are a proud and diverse people interwoven with indigenous, Spanish/ European, African and Asian roots. We are not only of the United States of America, but also of all the Americas and of the Latin American countries around the world”. Literacy and education is a fundamental as-
pect of a person’s life. In 1997, Edward James Olmos co-founded the non-profit organization Latino Literacy Now whose goal is to improve literacy throughout the Latino Community by promoting reading as a means of improv- ing lives both personally and professionally. This organization has created the Latino Book and Family Festival, a series of events held around the United States as a means of giv- ing large and small companies direct access to
66 HISPANIC NETWORK MAGAZINE Celebrating 19 Years of Diversity
www.hnmagazine.com
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