Ingrid Machado was a Filipino American when she was cast as the lead character in the acclaimed movie, The Filipino Playhouse. Born in San Jose, California, Ingrid is described as having an olive skin complexion with dark hair, brown eyes and a light-colored nose. As a result of her parents’ profession as teachers and school administrators, her accent and cultural sensibility were very accentuated. Her early years were spent primarily in the United States, after she was brought to live in Puerto Rico by her American father in the late 1940s where she attended school in both grammar schools in San Juan, Puerto Rico andinas, gas and Cebu.
However, during her early years in the United States, Ingrid’s ethnicity became more apparent as her two half-brother, Alon, became more identified as a Filipino. Ironically, her first name, Ingrid, did not sound like the first name of a Filipino. This ethnic identity gave way to her epithet of “The Queen of the Losers” in her book One Hundred Strong, written in a negative light towards her competition. She maintained throughout her life that she was originally from the Philippines but had always called herself “Mexican.” Ingrid’s fascination with the hierarchy in the teaching profession and her desire to be part of the team became the root cause of her ethnicity issues and personal bitterness towards her competition, Latina.
Eventually Ingrid formed a relationship with Jose Parra, who was the director of the drama department at the Catholic University in New York City. Ingrid fell in love with him right away. He gave her many romantic gestures and words of encouragement such as “You’re a good dancer”, “You’re a great actress” and “You’re the best.” Despite his insincere words, though, he loved her despite her being his employee and secretary.