Carmen Zapata

Who was Carmen Zapata?

Carmen Margarita Zapata was an American actress. Zapata was born in New York City to a Mexican father and an Argentine mother. She appeared in over one hundred movies and shows, including Batman: The Animated Series, Married... with Children, Sister Act, and she was Carmen Castillo in Santa Barbara. One of her longest-running roles was on the bilingual children's program Villa Alegre, where for nine years she played the lead character, "Doña Luz."

In 1972, Zapata co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee with actors Ricardo Montalban, Edith Diaz, and Henry Darrow. The Bilingual Foundation of the Arts was founded in 1973 by three prominent personalities in the world of theater: Mexican-American actress Carmen Zapata, Cuban-born actress, playwright, and director Margarita Galban, and Argentine-born, award-winning set designer Estela Scarlata.

In 1976, Zapata joined Rodolfo Hoyos, Jr., in starring roles in the 12-episode ABC situation comedy summer replacement series, Viva Valdez, about a Mexican-American family living in Los Angeles.

Zapata died on January 5, 2014 from heart problems. She was eighty-six.