Talk:Edward James Olmos/Archive 1

Height and weight
Although I personally think the 5'1 is bogus, in any event it is irrelevant information for an encyclopedia so I deleted this whole line. 23skidoo 05:40, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

I didn't notice any mention of his very significant role in "Triumph of the Spirit"... and much admiration and praise for his triumph, "Stand and Deliver." —Preceding unsigned comment added by WoundedEgo (talk • contribs) 01:57, 20 April 2010 (UTC)

Photo....Why Battlestar Galactica?
I'm a huge Battlestar Galactica fan so came to Olmos' page to learn more about him. It seems bizarre, though, that the main photo of him is from BSG. Isn't there anyone who has a regular photo of him, one that wouldn't turn away most people with its sci-fi-ness? - Keithustus 03:57, 25 October 2006 (UTC)
 * A regular photo would be good to have, but in the meantime, at least the current photo is of his current role... And while the photo shows him in a BSG uniform, it's not as if there's anything too sc-fi about it. It looks more or less like it could be an ordinary modern uniform. If you can find a normal photo of him, great. If not, it's probably not a big deal. -- Fru1tbat 15:46, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Link
Please leave the new link www.unofficialolmos.com, thanks - anon


 * Removed. Wikipedia do not exist to promote your own personal websites. Ben W Bell   talk  08:41, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a fan website, wiki is full of them on cleb links.

Original name
Is there a source for his original name being Olmosh ?--Dami 17:12, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

At http://www.answers.com/topic/edward-james-olmos there is mention of the fact that his father is half Hungarian. I recall reading a few interviews and speeches where he discusses his feelings about being partially Jewish. I'm not sure why someone keeps removing this fact from the Wikipedia article unless the real ethnically diverse nature of the Mexican people interferes with someone's idea of a homogeneous "Raza". I recall my Grandma's stories of the different kinds of people she saw in Mexico when she lived there after leaving Hungary. She saw Mayan Indians, Mestizos, Spaniards, Germans, Russians, Hungarians and Italians. They were actively assimilating, particularly Catholics like Hungarians and Italians. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.233.96.171 (talk) 16:34, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

In an interview in the Népszabadság daily, 2008-10-03 ([http://www.nol.hu/cikk/509180/}) he says:

Családom Magyarországról vándorolt ki Spanyolországba, onnan Mexikóba, végül az Egyesült Államokba, én már ott születtem. Mindig ki kell javítanom az embereket, hogy a nevem nem "Olmosz", hanem "Olmos".

My family emigrated from Hungary to Spain, from there to Mexico, finally to the United States, I was already born there. I always have to correct people that my name is not "Olmos", but "Olmosh".


 * Based on Edward's own account, it sounds like he has very little information about his Father's side. He didn't clarify how many generations of family lived in Spain after emigrating from Hungary, or that if it was just a 2 year lay-over before hop-scotching over to Mexico. He also doesn't break down how his Father is "half-Hungarian" in the first place. for all we know, Olmos could be disambiguated Hungarian surname carried down over 5 generations until Eddie's birth which would make him 1/16 or 1/32 Hungarian. Case in point, I myself have a Sicilian Great-Grandfather, but I don't necessarily consider myself Sicilian.--208.179.153.163 (talk) 23:59, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

It is clear in the Hungarian that he is talking about the pronunciation, not the spelling. In Hungarian 's' is pronounced as sh in English and the English s is represented as 'sz'. Ólom is lead in Hungarian and ólmos would mean someone who works with lead, or leaden. The long ó (pronounced as in the English word old) was apparently simplified to just the o (which in Hungarian is the short o, as in the English word original). --kovesp (talk) 10:17, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

And, once again, someone removes the comment about Olmos' ethnic background in the Wikipedia article. Someone needs to remember that Mexico is not only about the Aztecs and Mayans. But I guess that a depiction of a Hungarian hussar would seem out of place amongst all the Aztec images on the lowrider murals. Oh well, you can't take someone else' ignorance personally. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 51.233.149.189 (talk) 07:33, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

I can't speak for the person that wrote about the lowriders or understand why that person thinks there is a conspiracy involved...but I can say that I disagree that Olmos is 1/16th Hungarian. Through interviews that I came across over the last seven or eight years I read at least twice that his father was 1/2 Hungarian. I also read one interview that states his father as being 1/4 Hungarian, but that was not an actual quote of Olmos'. Regardless, Edward James Olmos should not be considered as an ethnic Hungarian from Mexico but as a Mexican-American of partial Hungarian descent...at least that's my opinion.

Most Mexican-Americans that I know (I live in California) that have extensive knowledge of their family roots in Mexico also have knowledge of their ethnic background. There are local Mexican-Americans of partial Spanish, German or Irish descent, but it is rare for European to be the primary or predominant ethnic background, though. The population of Mexico, I've read, is 10% European, 60-70% Mestizo (European and Indian) and 20-30% Indian. That sounds about right.

I'm not sure what role the lowrider pictures have to do with any of it, and any attempt to emphasize European over Native American smacks of something unrealistic and reminiscent of what led to the Mexican civil war of the early 1900s.

On a side note, the image of old-style Hungarian cavalry alongside Aztec warriors on a lowrider car makes me smile a bit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.15.224.139 (talk) 00:44, 17 October 2008 (UTC)


 * What you've read about Mexico's ethnic percentages comes from a conjectured report by the CIA "Factbook" which in itself cannot cite it's own source (making it just as dubious as a Wikipedia "fact link" I suppose). I might also add that the definition of Mestizo is different based on who you ask and where you ask it. For example, in the United States we don't call Chuck Norris, Val Kilmer, or Heather Locklear Mestizos even though they have European and Indian ancestry, regardless of the percentage of their Indian ancestry they can get away with being labeled White due to their light colored eyes and hair. Now, can a Mexican "Mestizo" go around claiming that they're European (part of that 10% figure) because their hair and eyes resemble that of people from Europe? There lies the problem with racial classification.--71.177.237.57 (talk) 06:21, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

His face
Anybody know what happened to his face? its all scarred up. user:wolfofwar
 * It's acne scarring. --76.100.200.168 (talk) 03:52, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, according to Hungarian culture it's known as the Scar of Atilla. Some kind of Hun mysticism.

I have heard the same thing. Hungarians view this as a throw-back to the nation's one-time status as home base for Atilla the Hun. Long live Hungarian-Mexicans!

Nationality
Surely he should be described as Mexican and not American - "In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican citizenship." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.154.226 (talk) 15:29, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

This is incorrect. Edward James Olmos was recognized like mexican because is son of Mexican Father (Art. 30.A.II. Constitucion Politica Estados Unidos Mexicanos) http://info4.juridicas.unam.mx/ijure/fed/9/31.htm?s 19:57, 05 jun 2012 Aenriquezf (talk) 02:59, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

I have reverted a changed regarding his nationality. The editor of this changes suggested that "just because he now has Mexican citizenship as well as US doesn't make him Mexican." Could someone explain the logic behind this statement? If he has taken Mexican citizen ship then he is Mexican. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.153.170.191 (talk) 16:44, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Dual Citizenship -- Scuzzmonkey (talk) 12:08, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

I thought when you naturalized in most countries, you renounce your citizenship from the previous country. At least that's the case when you naturalize to the US. 76.232.64.209 (talk) 08:57, 7 February 2009 (UTC)SeanB

Info for SeanB: very many (most?) countries allow dual citizenship. For example I have both Hungarian and Canadian. You are probably correct about the US as a point of law. In fact the law also says that if a US citizen acquires other citizenship then he/she looses their US citizenship. The latter is "not being enforced". Someone I know who is a US citizen but married to a Canadian, and living in Canada for close to 30 years is being told this by the US consulate here (so not wanting the risk it has stayed with permanent residency in Canada).kovesp (talk) 18:04, 22 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Bullshit, US citizens do not lose their US citizenship simply because they acquire other citizenship. That's not the way US citizenship law works.

I am changing the "citizenship" word. Someone born outside of Mexico can never be a citizen of Mexico, only receive nationality. The quoted/linked article also says he received nationality. Trentc (talk) 12:20, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Can we get some further clarity on this issue? Is he still American or not? 69.92.198.92 (talk) 14:50, 29 July 2009 (UTC)


 * Sure. According to the Mexican Constitution, only those born in Mexico can be citizens. Their laws recognize citizenship and nationality. With citizenship you can be in the military, run for public office, and vote. People with Mexican Nationality cannot do any of those. Only way a natural born citizen of the US can loose citizenship if by offically renouncing it. Trentc (talk) 14:23, 31 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I personally know quite a few people who have dual citizenship, both US and other nationality. The US accepts that, as do many other nations, even Saudi Arabia. As for Mexico's citizenship requirements, there MUST be SOME form of immigration process or nobody could immigrate there, which obviously has happened many, many times over the centuries and even recently.Wzrd1 (talk) 05:16, 11 February 2012 (UTC)

Pumping Iron
Was he really in Pumping Iron as himself? He had barely started acting when the mockumentary was made. I'm going to have to watch it again now to check this.Bdforbes (talk) 11:12, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 14:11, 29 April 2016 (UTC)