Cuban actor Yul Vázquez plays mafia leader in successful American series

April 15, 2023

Just two scripts, a synopsis (criminal gangs in the 1960s) and the names of some actors in the cast (Forest Whitaker, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Giancarlo Esposito) were enough for Yul Vázquez to accept working on Godfather of Harlem, one of the best series currently airing.

In his most recent project, where he defends a role with quite a controversial story.

Yul Vázquez and the path that led him to be "America's favorite Cuban actor" explains:

"José Miguel Battle is a real character, a Cuban who was a police officer on the Island, left for the United States and returned to Cuba through the Bay of Pigs with brigade 2506. My uncle Ramón was in that invasion with him. I've known who he was for a long time. In 2018 a book about his story came out, called The Corporation, which is incredible. When the opportunity came up to play this man, I said yes immediately," Yul commented in an interview.

Regarding his characteristics, he added on another occasion: "he was an agent of Batista's police. He had already developed a taste for certain dark things, especially power. That was the truth. He had connections with the mobsters and when he left Cuba he got caught up in the web because he had everything close by. It's the story of an immigrant who chose a dark path to get ahead. It's a person who goes through many places and for me that's always interesting: seeing a character who has a conflict."

At that time, "Harlem was burning. In the series everything is well researched… the connection with Malcolm X, which is where my conflict with Bumpy began, since he protected Malcolm and Battle wouldn't tolerate any communism," he added.

According to Newsweek magazine, this man, after returning from defeat at the Bay of Pigs, became the leader of "La Corporación," a criminal group that operated in the USA and Latin America. Many knew him as "El Padrino" and the organization he ran made millions through illegal gambling, lottery, and drug trafficking.

TJ English, the author of the book Vázquez mentioned, told that American magazine that José Miguel held meetings, through Santo Trafficante, with key mafia figures in the New York and New Jersey area and started this lottery enterprise, which was quite extensive and profitable.

In 1977 he was accused of conspiring to murder Ernesto Torres, a member of his own criminal group. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but the charge and sentence were overturned on appeal and he only served two years behind bars, explained the journalist.

In March 2004 he was arrested again and in January 2007 he was found guilty of extortion. He was sentenced to two decades in prison, but he died in August of that same 2007 while under federal custody.

Godfather of Harlem, which premiered in 2019 and airs on MGM+, launched its third season in January and that's where Vázquez appeared. IMDb summarized the synopsis as follows: "a gangster named Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) makes his way in Harlem in the 60s. A television prequel to the American Gangster film, focused on the criminal enterprises of Frank Lucas."

This audiovisual, with roles based on people who actually existed, has received very good reviews. According to Ready Steady Cut, "it remains one of those series that nobody seems to talk about much, despite being consistently excellent in almost every aspect."

"Intelligent television, captivating, that only occasionally succumbs under the weight of its ambition in trying to tell too many stories at the same time," they also review among the references on the FilmAffinity portal. The latter is due, in large part, to the conflicts it develops, centered, among others, on issues such as racial discrimination, Malcolm X, traffickers…

On how he became the mobster José Miguel, Yul has clarified that the producer and writer wanted a real Cuban to play that character. "They gave me a lot of freedom and let me adjust script details; they would tell me 'say it however you want to say it,' because they know it's impossible for them to understand what it's like to be Cuban, how a Cuban says something. One of the directors, Mexican Guillermo Navarro, would tell me 'do it however you want to do it, nobody will know it better than you.'"

Vázquez, who started in the art world as a rock guitarist, since he fully dedicated himself to acting has built a long and successful career. His debut in 1992 with The Mambo Kings came just six months after starting as an actor and until now he hasn't stopped working. Last year he was in Severance, one of the best series of the last five years.