ma and is the zany counterpart to his more talented and sophisticated male presence. Ricky Ricardo (and Desi Arnaz, the real-world Ricky who bore a striking resemblance to his fictional character in all important aspects) is a "Cuban dreamboat" and Lucy is often quite aware that her husband is so attractive to other women that she must be constantly vigilant. The "other" in this instance û and today as well û is far more "exotic" than the typical American man-next door such as Fred Mirtz.
This point was echoed by Firmat (2, 62-63), who characterized Desi Arnaz, the real life Cuban bandleader who played and was Lucille Ball's husband as very much the quintessential Latin lover. This "mixed race" married couple was a novelty in the conservative cultural environment of the 1950s, but in no sense unique today. The stereotypical image of Latin men is that they are focused on machismo and likely to dominate women. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz debunked this myth and, more recently, the Tejano singer and dancer Selena demonstrated that Mexican-American women are challenging male hegemony in many ways (Limon, 1, 87). Like Ricky Ricardo/Desi Arnaz, Selena was a pop cultural icon who brought to her stage performance a combination of Anglo and Mexican/Hispanic cultural tradition.
In the film Lone Star, love at the border is recognized as occurring within a raci
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