Cynthia Tarrago is a celebrity that is well known in the United States, particularly around Los Angeles. However, in Mexico, her prominence is somewhat legendary. Born in Texas, Cynthia Tarrago is the daughter of a Mexican American father and a Portuguese mother. Tarrago’s career began in television as a model, but her appearance on The Carol Burnett Show earned her a reputation as an actress. She appeared in several other popular shows, including Miami Beach and several others, before landing a role on the series The Perfect Score opposite Matthew McConaughey.
What is interesting about Tarrago’s ethnicity is that even though she is Latino, she is also of Italian heritage. The fact that she married a white man who was not of the same ethnic background may have had this unintended consequence: by marrying an individual of a different ethnic background, she seemingly converted to the “white” race. While this detail is not shown in the film itself, it does highlight the lack of awareness among some actors and actresses when it comes to the possibility of them actually being of another race.
Although Tarrago has seemingly switched her ethnicity, the truth is that she is still very much the same person that she was during the second half of the seventies. Her appearance has simply allowed her to adapt an ethnicity that was once foreign to her. In an age where a great deal of diversity is lampooned, it is refreshing to see an African American woman to take on the accent of a Spanish or Portuguese man. This subtle shift does not suggest that Tarrago considers herself to be of a lower class or is of a different ethnicity. Instead, her accent is a very fitting compliment to her character and allows her to function as an individual with some depth.