These Latinos died in 2023, remembering these Hispanics' legacy
We remember Latinos who died in 2023, including Hollywood icon Raquel Welch, Hispanic statesman Bill Richardson, baseball legend Willie Hernández and pioneering Latina politician Gloria Molina.
An iconic film star. A global diplomat. A World Series champion. A street activist turned crusading journalist. A female political pioneer. They were among the Latinos who left us in 2023. They were artists and activists, dreamers and politicians, renowned personalities and heroic people working away from the spotlight.
As we do every year, NBC Latino takes a look back at the lives and legacies of Hispanics whose contributions enriched the country in different ways.
KAMAR DE LOS REYES, 56, actor. Although he appeared in dozens of TV series and films, de los Reyes was best known for portraying Antonio Vega on the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live.” Beginning in 1995, his character helped introduce the working-class, Puerto Rican Vega family to the show, at a time when Latinos were scarce on daytime television. For this role, de los Reyes won a 2008 ALMA Award for Outstanding Performance of a Daytime Drama Series.
Actor Kamar de los Reyes accepts the award for Outstanding Performance in a Daytime Drama Series for 'One Life to Live' during the ALMA Awards pre-show in Pasadena, Calif., in 2008.Vince Bucci / Getty Images for NCLR“His confidence and ease and charm immediately made me feel welcome and eager to play,” said Florencia Lozano, playwright and former “One Life” star. “As an actor, he (de los Reyes) was so much fun to spar with, and as a person, he made me feel right at home and one of the gang ...I will miss Kamar’s generous, radiant presence.”
Of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent, de los Reyes won acclaim for his role as a tormented boxer in “Blade to the Heat,” a 1994 Off-Broadway play. In a review, the New York Times praised him as the play’s “most arresting figure.” De los Reyes also appeared opposite Patrick Stewart in “The Tempest” in New York’s Shakespeare in the Park and voiced the character of Raul Menendez in the video game “Call of Duty.”
Rating: 5