Dolores Cantu
From appearing in the Miss USA pageant to wrestling John Travolta to becoming a Hollywood trailblazer for Latinas, Dolores Cantu has come a long way since she had to repeat first grade at Refugio Elementary School.
Cantu, 75, fulfilled her dream of becoming an actress, landing roles in films like Saturday Night Fever and The Renegades and numerous television series, including Dallas, Benson, Fantasy Island, Falcon Crest and Diffrent Strokes.
She became the first Latina to be a regular voiceover on an animated series and now, thanks to her Los Angeles-based talent agency Candu Management, she has gone from dreamer to dream maker.
Cantu will be honored in the 4th of July Parade on Saturday, June 29. The parade will begin at 4 p.m. at Refugio High School Stadium, next to Jack Sportsman Bobcat Stadium, and proceed to the Refugio County Community Center.
Cantu will speak at a ceremony to be held at 4:45 p.m. at Heritage Park.
Passion for cinema
Cantu was born and raised in Refugio until she was 13. Coming from a household that only spoke Spanish, she struggled to learn English and was held back for a year.
I have the report cards to prove it, Cantu said of his failure as a freshman. I was harassed because I didn't speak a word of English. I barely made it out of first grade the second time around.
The Cantus family moved to West Orange when she was 13.
I went to an all-white school, so I definitely didn't fit in there,” Cantu said. To escape all the bullying and everything else, I went to work at the local cinema. I was only 14 or 15, but I was responsible for the whole theater. I shined the flashlight on people who were kissing. I learned early on to get rid of bullies, strengthen myself, and not let anyone crush my life.
Cantu developed a passion for acting while watching movie trailers.
I fell in love with Elizabeth Taylor and Rita Moreno, she said. So it became my dream to come to Hollywood.
“Miss Debit Clerk”
Cantu graduated from high school in 1968. Once she discovered that a neighboring rock star, Janis Joplin, had left home to develop her music career, Cantu followed suit and moved to Houston. She worked for a construction company and at MD Anderson Cancer Center before landing a job at Prudential Insurance.
Believe it or not, they had a beauty pageant at this insurance company, Cantu said. I became Miss Debit Clerk.
The owner of the Houston apartment complex where Cantu lived convinced her to interview for a job as a flight attendant at Eastern Airlines. At the age of 19, Cantu became one of the first Latina flight attendants at a major airline.
Cantu quickly became an ambassador for the airline, which sent her as a representative to the 1972 Miss USA/Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico.
I was named Miss Hospitality, Cantu said. One of the competition judges, Bob Lardin, said I was as beautiful as the contestants and asked me if I had ever thought about becoming an actress.
Lardin offered Cantu the opportunity to audition in Hawaii for a role on The Brian Keith Show.
The casting director asked me if I had ever taken acting classes, Cantu recalls. I smiled and said: No. Do I have to do it ? She told me that if I intended to work in acting for a very long time, I should take classes. So I’ve been taking theater classes for 53 years.
Cantu immediately began taking acting classes in New York.
I was never nervous on a plane as a flight attendant, but in my first acting class I fainted, Cantu said.
Business career
After overcoming her fears and honing her skills, Cantu was selected to appear in an Eastern Airlines commercial targeting Hispanic customers. She also became the first Hispanic in a Sears eyewear commercial.
During my time in New York, between modeling jobs, acting jobs and commercials, I did about 300 jobs between 1972 and 1978, Cantu said.
One such job was as a Puerto Rican gang girl in the 1977 hit film Saturday Night Fever.
Cantus' scene put her in a gang fight with Travolta, the film's star.
I had to slam his face into the ground and lay on top of the man, Cantu said. It made my day.
Cantu said she gave herself two weeks to find a job when she moved to Los Angeles. She quickly landed a role in the television series What Really Happened to the Class of 65, which aired in 1977-78.
In 1979, she played the character Nita in the Hanna-Barbera animated series Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo.
“Florist to the stars”
While landing other roles on various television series, Cantu decided to open a floral business on Sunset Boulevard.
On my first day as a florist, this girl comes in and asks me if I would like to become Jerry Buss' (owner of the Los Angeles Lakers) personal florist in exchange for tickets to the Forum games.
Over the next five years, Cantu was a regular on the court at Lakers games alongside Jack Nicholson and other Hollywood celebrities. Until 1983, she also served as personal florist to musician Bruce Springsteen, comedian Rodney Dangerfield and other prominent artists. She eventually became a florist for Paramount Pictures.
I became Dolores the florist to the stars, she declared. I just kept reinventing myself. I always tell people it's not about things you can't do, it's about things you can do.
This philosophy led her to create Candu Management. In 2001, Cantu met an aspiring actress who wanted Cantu to become her manager.
She said she felt I could change and help young people thrive in the entertainment industry, Cantu said.
Cantu accepted the offer and has been managing budding talent for 23 years.
I love what I do, Cantu said. I can help change children's lives.
I am still working
Cantu is still a model. You can see her in magazine ads for Always Discreet adult incontinence underwear.
I went from swimsuits to diapers, Cantu said with a laugh.
Cantu said she doesn't see herself slowing down anytime soon.
I feel like I'm 45 years old, said Cantu, who recently received the Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Beaumont Boomtown Film & Music Festival. My life is about energy. I am so grateful to God that my faith brought me here. So many doors were opened for me because people were willing to take a risk with me.
There was a little Mexican-American girl from Refugio, Texas who didn't speak a word of English, but look at her today. That's what I tell everyone. My message is to never give up.
