Rita Moreno shows no signs of slowing or quieting down
December 21, 2022 - 8:03 am
Updated December 22, 2022 - 7:03 am
Put the eggnog and presents on hold. Rita Moreno’s ideal holiday celebration starts with a Christmas Eve parranda through the dark streets of New York City.
“Groups come together — two, four, 10 or 20 people — and you go from house to house and make a lot of noise by banging on cans. You’re very loud and you sing at the top of your lungs,” Moreno explains of this Puerto Rican tradition.
“Even if it’s 1 in the morning on Christmas Eve, you have to open the door if someone comes calling with a parranda. You literally invade people’s homes and drink coquitos, which is cream, egg yolk and rum,” she continues. “The drink seems so mild and it’s so delicious that you can easily drink too much of it. You really do have to be careful!”
“I’m still a raucous Puerto Rican!” Moreno, 91, says in a Zoom call from her New York home.
Slow down? Not in this lifetime. This EGOT (winner of an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony) is busier than ever with a new Lifetime holiday movie called “Santa Bootcamp,” now airing, plus a plum role opposite fellow legends Jane Fonda and Sally Field in “80 for Brady,” about a group of friends who fulfill their lifelong mission to go to the Super Bowl and meet NFL superstar Tom Brady.
Moreno even gets her action hero on with a role in next summer’s “Fast X,” in which she stars with Charlize Theron, Jason Momoa and Vin Diesel.
“I never want to slow down,” Moreno says. “There are people who are older than I am and they’re only 25. It really is mind over matter.”
Her tips for living a good life:
■ Celebrate good times: Moreno plans to spend Christmas Day with her daughter, actress Fernanda Gordon, and grandchildren. Her beloved husband, cardiologist Leonard Gordon, passed away in 2010. “We have a fabulous Puerto Rican Christmas. We have roast pork, and the food is abundant,” Moreno says. “There are the Three Kings instead of Santa and a parade in New York. It’s so beautiful to see tons of homemade parades with the Three Kings.”
■ Be a believer: She was late to Mr. Claus. “I found out about Santa when I came to America, and I wanted to get to know him, too,” Moreno recalls. “I told my first Santa in a department store, ‘I’d like to have a dolly with lots of curly hair, please Santa.’ And I got it!”
■ Don’t be a cliche: In “Santa Bootcamp,” she plays Mrs. Claus. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an easy role. “I was afraid she was going to end up a very cliché character that you see in so many Christmas movies. And in my life, I try to avoid clichés. … I’m a very mischievous person, and I love to improvise and make up things. It was wonderful that I was allowed to do that, which gave the character some sauce.”
■ Keep it positive: Even during the tough times when she struggled to get a job after winning an Oscar for the original “West Side Story,” Moreno managed to look on the bright side. “I’m one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. You can sink or swim, and I choose to swim,” she says with a laugh. “I’m just a buoyant person. That’s in my DNA. … The key is to look for the good moments, and if there aren’t many, then make your own good.”
■ Stop comparing: Comparing yourself to others is a major life-defeating mistake, Moreno insists. “So what! Maybe they actually are better than you. What are you going to do about it? Just try to get terrific pleasure out of what you’re doing and you are living a happy life.”
■ Stay on a healthy track: Moreno says her lifelong love of dance continues to keep her healthy. “All I do is put on some music I love and wave my arms and move my legs. Put everything into it and you’re exercising,” she says. “My knees aren’t so great after all the years of dancing, but I walk whenever I can.” She also does crossword puzzles and word games to keep her mind sharp. “I play a mean game of Scrabble!” One last health tip: “Don’t sit in the sun. You will look like a piece of bacon.”
■ Don’t look back: “In Cuba, where I grew up, we have this word called resolver,” Moreno says. “It means to get things done. You don’t have the privilege of reminiscing when you have to think about the next day and the next job and the next paycheck. I try to be someone who always looks forward.”
■ You just have to laugh: “I look for things in life where you can get a giggle out of it,” she says. “There is nothing better than stopping to laugh at the absurdity of it all.”
■ Celebrate aging: “I’m an old woman now — what is the alternative? I’m not ready to drop the mic,” Moreno declares. “My favorite pin reads: ‘No whining.’ ”