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Norma Zúñiga is a Cuban-American comedy and drama actress. Born in Havana, Cuba, on October 20, 1940, Zúñiga’s flair for the arts was perceptible from an early age; at the age of eight she began dancing in her uncle’s theater tent called Carpa Alegría, and by the age of 14 she was a part of Enrique Arredondo’s - a comedic actor famous for Teatro Bufo among many other enterprises - theater company.1 Later, she joined a group of dancers who participated in the Palette Club show in Havana. In 1960, Zúñiga left Cuba and pursued a life in South Florida.

Zúñiga has had a prolific career, starring in multiple comedy shows and soap operas on television. In 1962, as well as much later in her career, she participated in Sábado Gigante (1962-2015), which was an eclectic entertainment show that was not only Univision’s longest-running TV series, but also the longest-running television variety series in world TV history. She also featured in the TV adaptation of La Tremenda Corte - originally a comedy radio show broadcast during World War II - in which she played the role of Nananina. In 1977 she appeared as a guest star on the program "¿Qué pasa, USA?,” which was significant in that it was the first bilingual television program (English / Spanish) produced by the WPBT channel, Miami's public television station. For her starring role in the play, "Enriqueta se ha puesto a dieta (Enriqueta Has Gone on a Diet)," described by Rodolfo J. Cortina as “address[ing] the ideal of feminine beauty in both cultural realms (Cuban/American) and explor[ing] the problems of culturally derived models of behavior,” (15) Zúñiga won an award in 1985. In addition, she has also acted in countless soap opera roles, including on the shows "Morelia;" "Acuamarina;" "Gata Salvaje;" "Enamorada;" "Bajo las riendas del amor;" and "Ángel rebelde," among others.

In terms of her personal and political views Zúñiga was anti-revolution, which led to her leaving Cuba for Miami; in 2001 she stated that she would never return to Cuba while Fidel Castro was still there. However, despite living happily in Miami since 1960, Zúñiga has never lost her sense of Cuban identity. She stated, “All the time I am thinking about Cuba and I cry to return … I constantly listen to Cuban music, I read Cuban literature, I watch television in Spanish … anything that reminds me of my homeland.” Though she has extended family still in Cuba, her closest family - including her two children, Ramiro and Barbie, and her grandchildren - reside with her in Miami.

Laura Bass
UGrow Fellow for the Department of Manuscripts and Archives Management, 2019-2020

1. Teatro Bufo or Theater of the Baffoon is a form of Cuban musical theater that developed in the middle of the nineteenth century at the peak of the slave trade. As part of the show, white actors would perform in blackface - similarly, but distinct, to minstrel shows in the U.S. - and portray three main characters: el negrito, la mulata, and el gallego, who represented the three distinct social and ethnic groups of the Cuban nation. From the age of 17, Arrendondo played the role of el negrito. For more information see: Jill Lane. "Blackface Cuba 1840-1895." U of Pennsylvania Press, 2005.