by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
MAKING PROGRESS: Tejano star Emilio Navaira was expected last week to move out of the intensive care unit at the Houston hospital where he has been treated since suffering a serious head injury in a March 23 bus accident.
Last week, Navaira was able to sit up, stand up and talk, according to Memorial Hermann Hospital neurosurgeon Alex Valadka. “We’re happy to report Emilio has made a lot of progress,” the doctor said at an April 18 press conference.
A full recovery is still uncertain and will take many months, Valadka added.
“Will he sing again? I understand those are natural questions, but at this point we are more concerned about him returning to the most important job, which is being husband, father, a son and a brother.”
Navaira was driving his band’s bus after a Houston show when it crashed into a highway barrier and he was thrown through the windshield. Doctors have performed surgeries to relieve pressure on his brain and to repair a lung injury.
‘BEISBOL’ EXPERIENCE: A documentary premiering this week on public television offers a portrait of the fi rst Latino baseball superstar. Roberto Clemente aired April 21 at on most PBS stations as part of the American Experience biographical series. For the film, independent fi lmmaker Bernardo Ruíz interviews Pulitzer Prizewinning authors David Maraniss and George F. Will, Clemente’s widow Vera, and Baseball Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda.
Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Clemente was 38 when he died in an air crash while attempting to deliver relief supplies to survivors of the Dec. 23, 1972, earthquake in Nicaragua, on Dec. 31. The accident put an end to a spectacular, 18-season career with the Pittsburgh Pirates which included two World Series championships.
The film details how Clemente, a black Puerto Rican, faced discrimination as a young player and how sports journalists often mocked his heavy Spanish accent. Eventually, he was able to use his fame to talk about human rights and help underprivileged youth in Puerto Rico.
ON BROADWAY: Mario López joined the cast of the A Chorus Line revival on April 15, making his New York theatre debut in the role of the non-singing director, Zach. Director Bob Avian has said that López adds a ”macho swagger” to the character, who has an expanded presence in the production. Unlike previous Zachs, the character played by López now dances in the show’s opening number. “He has natural authority and natural command of the stage, and he’s very macho,” the director said. “Where many times (Zach is) buried near the wings, I’m putting him more center stage.” Hispanic Link.
