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Fresh Air Weekend: Rita Moreno; 'The Kissing Bug'

Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film <em>West Side Story. </em>
Courtesy of MGM Media Licensing
Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film West Side Story.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

Rita Moreno On 'West Side Story' And Becoming The Role Model She Needed: Moreno moved to New York from Puerto Rico as a child. She says her West Side Story role is "the only part I ever remember where I represented Hispanics in a dignified and positive way."

'In The Heights' Is The Perfect Backdrop For A Joyous Summer Of Togetherness: Set during a record-breaking New York City heat wave, this vibrant screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage musical pulses with musical numbers that blend of hip-hop, Latin pop and salsa.

'Kissing Bug' Tells A Personal Story About Race, Sexuality And A Deadly Insect: When Daisy Hernández was 5, her aunt in Colombia came down with a mysterious illness that caused her large intestine to swell. Hernández details her aunt's story — and her own — in a new memoir.

You can listen to the original interviews and review here:

Rita Moreno On 'West Side Story' And Becoming The Role Model She Needed

'In The Heights' Is The Perfect Backdrop For A Joyous Summer Of Togetherness

'Kissing Bug' Tells A Personal Story About Race, Sexuality And A Deadly Insect

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