Juan Rodriguez is an actor seen by millions upon millions of people in his role as a very nasty hitman in the movie Crocodile Dundee II, as well as in many other movies in which he plays the ?bad guy,? like A Man Apart or The Savage. But, Rodriguez is also a man from the heart of Santo Domingo who has become a Hollywood star, and for the first time he is making a movie in his native land, in which he is playing the role of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista in the movie ?The Lost City? by Andy Garcia. Sipping a red soda, reminiscing on how good the ?mabi? and cane juice are, Fernandez told El Caribe reporter Alicia Ortega that this is the first time in five years he has visited the city. The reporter noted how the people around the corner of Padre Bellini and La Estrelleta stopped to exchange abrazos with their former neighbor and to hear him tell of his ?adventures? as a young man. Rodriguez, who worked for many years in Italy before making it to Hollywood, certainly has some strong opinions on the stereotyping that has attended his career as antagonist. He told Ortega that it was ?a part of the racism that accompanies the business, which exists in Santo Domingo and in the entire world.? Amelia Vega, the Dominican Miss Universe 2003, also has a short role in the film.
For more on “The Lost City,” see
http://www.southbeach-usa.com/columns/movies/movies1/lost-city-garcia.htm