Leon Ichaso was a Cuban-born filmmaker whose gritty, realistic portraits of urban living explored life as a Latino in North America.
- Died: May 21, 2023 (Who else died on May 21?)
- Details of death: Died in Santa Monica, California of a heart attack at the age of 74.
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Leon Ichaso’s legacy
Ichaso was born in Havana, Cuba. His family emigrated to Mexico when he was 14, and then to New York City while his father, Chilean-born poet Justo Rodriguez Santos, fought in the Cuban Revolution. Driven by his experiences as a young man, Ichaso gravitated towards film as a way to tell stories.
His 1979 debut, “El Super,” explored the difficulties of an immigrant trying to build a life in New York City. This focus on the hardships of urban life would become a hallmark of his work, even when directing episodes of television shows like “Miami Vice” and “The Equalizer,” as well as in the 1994 Wesley Snipes film, “Sugar Hill.”
Ichaso would examine the life of a disillusioned Cuban communist in 1996’s “Azúcar Amarga,” before moving into TV movies and biographies, including films about Muhammad Ali and Jimi Hendrix. His final film, “Paraiso,” opened the 2009 Miami International Film Festival.
Notable quote
“I go around life and I don’t look at the flowers. I look at the bum on the sidewalk. The things that grab my attention are always depressing. I’ve never really understood that.”—Slant Magazine, 2001
Tributes to Leon Ichaso
Full obituary: The New York Times
