Leon Ichaso (August 3, 1948 – May 21, 2023) was a Cuban-born American writer and film director. Some of his prominent works included '' El Super'', ''

Crossover Dreams ''Crossover Dreams'' is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Leon Ichaso. The film follows salsa singer Rudy Veloz (played by musician Rubén Blades) on his rise to fame as he tries to break into the mainstream music scene. The film m ...

'', '' Bitter Sugar,'' '' Piñero'', and '' El Cantante''.

Biography

Early life

Leon Ichaso was born in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

at the age of 14, then to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his mother Antonia Ichaso and sister Mari Rodriguez Ichaso. His father, poet and journalist Justo Rodriguez Santos, who had affiliations with the ''Orígenes'' literary group, initially stayed behind in Cuba to support the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. Five years later, Ichaso's father joined his family in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

As a director, Leon Ichaso's first movie was the Spanish-language feature '' El Super'' (1979), based on an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

play about an immigrant building superintendent trying to make his way in New York, which he co-directed with Orlando Jiménez Leal. When entering the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

scene, Ichaso told stories of the big city slotted into action series on TV (e.g., ''Miami Vice'', ''Crime Story'', ''The Equalizer'') and TV movies such as '' The Fear Inside'', ''The Take'', ''A Table at Ciro's'' and ''A Kiss to Die For''. Ichaso later directed Wesley Snipes's '' Sugar Hill'' (1994), a character study wedded to a violent crime drama of a New York drug empire. Ichaso made '' Azúcar Amarga'' (''Bitter Sugar''), a Spanish language film about a disillusioned Cuban Communist, in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in 1996. According to César A. Salgado, "the film registers the impact, at the human level, of neoliberal globalization on a Cuba made harrowingly vulnerable after losing the Soviet subsidies that had made its brand of socialism more or less sustainable for thirty years." For the next several years, Ichaso worked on several TV movies, some of which were adaptations of plays. ''Zooman'' (Showtime, 1995) was an adaptation of an Off-Broadway play dealing with a family coping with the murder of a child. ''Execution of Justice'' (Showtime, 1999) was also derived from a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

of the same name by Emily Mann which detailed the events behind the murders of San Francisco mayor, George Moscone, and supervisor,

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...

. Ichaso next directed small screen biographies '' Ali: An American Hero'' (Fox, 2000) and '' Hendrix'' (Showtime, 2000). He later wrote and directed '' Piñero'' (2001), a biographical movie about the life of

Nuyorican Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...

author Miguel Piñero. After working for Showtime ('' Sleeper Cell'', 2005), ''Cane'', '' The Cleaner'' (A&E), ''Persons Unknown'' (Fox/Televisa 2008 and 2009), developing his own future projects ("Monk"), and teaching movie directing in France, Ichaso started working on the screenplay of salsa singer,

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

's, biography, '' El Cantante'' in 2004. This movie was shot in 2006 and stars

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

and

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

. His last movie ''Paraiso'', was filmed in Miami in 2008 and opened during the 2009 Miami International Film Festival in March 2009.

Death

Ichaso died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, on May 21, 2023. He had successfully beaten cancer two years prior.

Filmography

León Ichaso directed numerous full-length films, including films made for television. This is a partial list.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichaso, Leon 1948 births 2023 deaths Film directors from California American television directors American people of Cuban descent People from Havana Cuban expatriates in Mexico