Character's Background

[mjcmmv]

 I know that Gina was supposed to be from Cuba, but what was Castillo's background? I want to say Cuban also, but I'm not sure. 

[vicegirl85]

That's what I think also, but am not sure why I have that impression.  Don't *think* it was ever stated on the show, but many here know every episode better than I do.

[Robbie C.]

Castillo was supposed to be Cuban, but the impression we're given is that he entered the US before the Revolution. That squares with his involvement with both the civil rights movement and the CIA in Southeast Asia.

[mjcmmv]

25 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

Castillo was supposed to be Cuban, but the impression we're given is that he entered the US before the Revolution. That squares with his involvement with both the civil rights movement and the CIA in Southeast Asia.

Thanks! It may explain why he was so sympathetic to Gina in "Heroes of the Revolution" and why Gina felt comfortable confiding in him about Claus's connection to her mother. 

[airtommy]

To be honest, Gina being Cuban just seems like something invented by the writer of "Heroes of the Revolution" .  The name Gina Calabrese is very Italian.

[Robbie C.]

15 minutes ago, airtommy said:

To be honest, Gina being Cuban just seems like something invented by the writer of "Heroes of the Revolution" .  The name Gina Calabrese is very Italian.

Very much so, but given the climate in the aftermath of the Revolution and the way her character was shaded it's also possible the last name was changed as a form of concealment. I seem to recall Gina speaking Spanish on more than one occasion, making her the only member of the squad aside from Castillo with any foreign language capability.

Gina is described in the pilot script as Italian, but it's possible that morphed with the casting of Saundra Santiago as Gina. After all, the same script describes Lou as a heavyset, ball busting Vice squad lieutenant and Switek as a longhaired bearded biker clone. Yerkovich's images didn't last long past casting for most of them.

[miamijimf]

Ya I always thought it was a little strange that she was a Cuban named Gina Calabrese.  But in thinking about it it's not that much of a stretch really because some Europeans did immigrate to Cuba.   Growing up in Miami I remember several Cuban immigrants whose family originated in Europe.  Remember Izzy's real name was Martin Ferraro.  Ferraro sounds more Italian than Hispanic to me.  He was born in NY but Dan J (an authority on Cubans) told me he was of Cuban extraction.  He was certainly convincing as a Cuban (although hardly a typical one).  Saundra Santiago, who lived in Miami a a teenager, was a child of a Puerto Rican family.

Edited June 10, 2019 by miamijimf

[airtommy]

8 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

I seem to recall Gina speaking Spanish on more than one occasion, making her the only member of the squad aside from Castillo with any foreign language capability.

Gina is described in the pilot script as Italian, but it's possible that morphed with the casting of Saundra Santiago as Gina.

True, Saundra usually pronounced Hispanic names with a thick accent.

[Robbie C.]

18 minutes ago, miamijimf said:

Ya I always thought it was a little strange that she was a Cuban named Gina Calabrese.  But in thinking about it it's not that much of a stretch really because some Europeans did immigrate to Cuba.   Growing up in Miami I remember several Cuban immigrants whose family originated in Europe.  Remember Izzy's real name was Martin Ferraro.  Ferraro sounds more Italian than Hispanic to me.  He was born in NY but Dan J (an authority on Cubans) told me he was of Cuban extraction.  He was certainly convincing as a Cuban (although hardly a typical one).  Saundra Santiago, who lived in Miami a a teenager, was a child of a Puerto Rican family.

Yeah. That's why I think the character concept changed without the name being changed. Like I said, the pilot script identifies her as Italian explicitly.

Taking the Heroes of the Revolution angle (and assuming there was some character concept continuity, which is always dangerous with Vice unfortunately), it's very possible Calabrese wasn't Gina's real last name at all. It could also have been her birth father's name, which I don't remember being used in HotR.

[BunMVO]

It's also interesting to note that Crockett's background is never, ever discussed at any length and we're left to believe he is probably the typical mixed bag of European ethnicity. I'm the same way. Then we have Tubbs who is even more mysterious - the name Tubbs is an odd one and not easily defined, and he looks to be black with a bunch of other things thrown in the mix.

[Dadrian]

2 minutes ago, pmconroy said:

It's also interesting to note that Crockett's background is never, ever discussed at any length and we're left to believe he is probably the typical mixed bag of European ethnicity. I'm the same way. Then we have Tubbs who is even more mysterious - the name Tubbs is an odd one and not easily defined, and he looks to be black with a bunch of other things thrown in the mix.

Good observations. Sexuality is certainly a key factor in the series (at least the earlier part). Maybe the mystique of C&T  helped lend to their appeal. 

Idk...Gina and Trudy would still be everything to me if they’d done a whole season on their life stories.  

[vicegirl85]

23 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

Yeah. That's why I think the character concept changed without the name being changed. Like I said, the pilot script identifies her as Italian explicitly.

Taking the Heroes of the Revolution angle (and assuming there was some character concept continuity, which is always dangerous with Vice unfortunately), it's very possible Calabrese wasn't Gina's real last name at all. It could also have been her birth father's name, which I don't remember being used in HotR.

I also seem to recall Gina saying at one time that she was raised by her aunt and uncle... if the aunt was her mom's sister, the uncle could have had an Italian heritage even if the aunt (and both of Gina's parents) was Cuban/Hispanic.

[BunMVO]

3 minutes ago, Dadrian said:

Good observations. Sexuality is certainly a key factor in the series (at least the earlier part). Maybe the mystique of C&T  helped lend to their appeal. 

Idk...Gina and Trudy would still be everything to me if they’d done a whole season on their life stories.  

Trudy was a good cop in the series but her character was very undeveloped and there wasn't much for personality there. Probably why Olivia Brown didn't make it far in showbiz. And like they say, there's no biz like showbiz.

[Robbie C.]

Given the names of Tubbs and his brother I'd suspect they have a healthy shot of Puerto Rican or possibly Dominican in their background as well. The last name Tubbs looks to be mostly English in origin, and it was fairly common in New York City in the 1840s or so. It's possible Tubbs' father was a descendant of Freedmen of some sort in NYC and his mother was Hispanic or Puerto Rican (hence the first names Raphael and Ricardo). I'd say she'd be second-generation at least to account for Tubbs' lack of foreign language competency. Crockett actually has more general background than anyone other than Castillo, but it focuses almost exclusively on him and says little about his family writ large. As I said before, the nickname Sonny speaks to rural origins and a more traditional family. I think he was intended to be the classic rural Southern boy.

43 minutes ago, vicegirl85 said:

I also seem to recall Gina saying at one time that she was raised by her aunt and uncle... if the aunt was her mom's sister, the uncle could have had an Italian heritage even if the aunt (and both of Gina's parents) was Cuban/Hispanic.

Yeah, and it's also possible the aunt was her father's sister and Calabrese came from there. Either way, given what we're shown in HotR from a holistic show standpoint it makes sense her name would be changed to hide her from anyone seeking revenge. From a writer's standpoint I'd say Calabrese is a relic of Yerkovich's original conception of the character.

Edited June 10, 2019 by Robbie C.
added Tubbs info

[Robbie C.]

3 minutes ago, pmconroy said:

Trudy was a good cop in the series but her character was very undeveloped and there wasn't much for personality there. Probably why Olivia Brown didn't make it far in showbiz. And like they say, there's no biz like showbiz.

Trudy also suffered from the original show concept, I think. In the pilot script the character's clearly tertiary. I actually thought Olivia Brown played Trudy quite well as a strong, determined female character in a show dominated by male characters and which (quickly) became one person's (supposed) star vehicle. Actually if you get right down to it guest stars on MV tended to have better long-term careers than the actual stars...

[Dadrian]

1 minute ago, Robbie C. said:

Actually if you get right down to it guest stars on MV tended to have better long-term careers than the actual stars...

True story!  

[BunMVO]

3 minutes ago, Robbie C. said:

Trudy also suffered from the original show concept, I think. In the pilot script the character's clearly tertiary. I actually thought Olivia Brown played Trudy quite well as a strong, determined female character in a show dominated by male characters and which (quickly) became one person's (supposed) star vehicle. Actually if you get right down to it guest stars on MV tended to have better long-term careers than the actual stars...

Painfully true! I don't think Don was nearly as successful as most of the guest stars. Of the primary cast, Olmos probably had the most successful career thereafter.

[mjcmmv]

2 hours ago, airtommy said:

To be honest, Gina being Cuban just seems like something invented by the writer of "Heroes of the Revolution" .  The name Gina Calabrese is very Italian.

Interesting. Not surprising the writers made this up. But back then, who would have ever checked.

Now they have us to deal with!!! 

Edited June 10, 2019 by mjcmmv

[mjcmmv]

14 hours ago, miamijimf said:

Ya I always thought it was a little strange that she was a Cuban named Gina Calabrese.  But in thinking about it it's not that much of a stretch really because some Europeans did immigrate to Cuba.   Growing up in Miami I remember several Cuban immigrants whose family originated in Europe.  Remember Izzy's real name was Martin Ferraro.  Ferraro sounds more Italian than Hispanic to me.  He was born in NY but Dan J (an authority on Cubans) told me he was of Cuban extraction.  He was certainly convincing as a Cuban (although hardly a typical one).  Saundra Santiago, who lived in Miami a a teenager, was a child of a Puerto Rican family.

Okay, just saw this and it's a good explanation! Thanks miamijimf!