By Gabriela Resto-Montero and Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Staff
EAST HARLEM — The news that Sunday’s Puerto Rican Day Parade would honor a girlfriend-battering soap opera star had Spanish Harlem buzzing Tuesday, and while some Latina women were outraged, others were more forgiving because they "love him in the novelas."
After it emerged that actor Osvaldo Rios, 49, had served three months in a Puerto Rican prison for beating up his girlfriend in 1996, the “International Godfather” stepped down from his role under pressure from local and national officials.
But some East Harlem residents were a bit more forgiving than the politicians who lobbied against Rios, arguing that the parade is bigger than just one person.
"They should let him be,” said Cristina Carvallo, 25, of East Harlem, adding that Sunday's festivities are a celebration of Puerto Rican culture — not of Osvaldo Rios.
Just over half of the Puerto Rican women interviewed on the streets of Spanish Harlem Tuesday afternoon agreed with Carvallo, and were willing to allow Rios to stay in the parade.
“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” said Vanessa Vasquez, 26. “I love him in the novelas. He’s good at what he does and like everyone else he makes mistakes.”
While those on the other side of the debate held the minority opinion, they had stronger feelings on the matter. They said that honoring a person with a history of violence against women reflected poorly on the community.
“I think it does make a difference,” said Leeza Tirado, 15. “Because it looks like, ‘If he can do it, then I can do it.’ It just makes the community look bad.”
Annie Torres, 51, said she thought he should step down.
“I’ve experienced being in an abusive family. I don’t want to condone it at all, I don’t want to excuse it at all. It’s unacceptable no matter what,” Torres said.
Although the majority of women interviewed did not want to see Rios step down, waning interest in the parade was partly to blame for their apathy.
Martha Delgado, 31, said she doesn't plan on going to the parade because she believes it's not a family event anymore. Delgado said that the parade had moved away from Puerto Rican pride and become just a party scene.
