By Jan Wahl–
Once in a while a fascinating female comes into my life and takes me on an amazing journey. Most recently that was Tina D’Elia, who is a self-proclaimed “mixed race Latina lesbian queer artist.” As she explained, “I’ve always wanted to know my ancestors and celebrate others, especially combined with my passion for classic Hollywood.” You are definitely in my wheelhouse, Tina!
It would be a challenge to find someone who loves classic Hollywood as much as I do, but Tina is right with me. As an award-winning solo performer, she opens the glamorous, gutsy, politically repressed, and scandalous worlds of Dolores del Río, Rita Hayworth, Lupe Vélez, and others to us in her show presently at the Marsh in Berkeley, Overlooked Latinas. It is, she adds, the new queer telenovela farce of our century!
As much as I loved the two books The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood by Diana McLellan and Axel Madsen’s The Sewing Circle: Hollywood’s Greatest Secret, Tina brings the characters she presents to new heights. She captures their colorful struggles to thrive and survive in Hollywood through the silent days until the treacherous world of the McCarthy Era.
She told me for the San Francisco Bay Times: “It started for me as a child when my parents took us to see the Marx Brothers and Kate Hepburn (hey, me too!). I became driven to uncover the Hollywood Red Scare, Rosie the Riveter, the icons, and unsung heroines. I could not stop studying and devouring. It was usually these fascinating women, but Ramon Novarro lived openly as a gay man, coming to a tragic end. Had Lupe Vélez found Lucille Ball fame, or Dolores del Río (cousin of Novarro) not had her visa taken by the right wing for being ‘soft on international communism,’ or if Rita Hayworth chasing male dominance (had been) allowed to speak freely about her pinup being used to bomb Hiroshima, there may have been a slightly level playing field.”
Dolores del Río is fascinating; she was the first major Latin American crossover star. We are talking glamour on par with Dietrich and a career spanning more than fifty years. Her marriage to legendary MGM production designer Cedric Gibbons, partnership with Orson Welles, outspoken political beliefs, and her worldwide fame as a sort of feminine Rudolph Valentino (she lasted much longer) is quite remarkable. She constantly attacked Hollywood for stereotyping Mexicans and Latinos, furious at the movies for regarding her people as uneducated or bandits. She wound up going back to Mexico to make films that are regarded as classics today. I highly recommend Linda B. Hall’s book Dolores del Río: Beauty in Light and Shade.
Tina and I ended on a positive vibe, deciding Hollywood is still a poisonous jungle for out lesbians but they might have less to struggle with. It is still possible to be blacklisted, but the police raids, breach of contracts, oppression, and harassment have changed. Now if I can just get Tina to make a documentary. This is too good! Her show is directed by Mary Guzmán, who has collaborated for two decades with her. Their seamless sync clearly makes for a Latina lesbian dream team. Do not miss a chance to see the amazing Overlooked Latinas.
Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian and film critic on various broadcast outlets. She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com
Off the Wahl
Published on July 24, 2025
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