As a newly arrived Cuban immigrant, 10-year-old Carlos Álvarez felt the sting of discrimination, but soon found a way to combat it: football. Excelling at a sport few immigrants played, “the Cuban Comet” became a record-smashing receiver at the University of Florida and an inspiration to others struggling to adapt to life in a new country.
Playing at the height of the turbulent 1960s, Álvarez spoke out for athletes’ rights and civil rights and against the war in Vietnam, positions that often put him at odds with university administrators, his coaches, and the media.
THE ALL-AMERICAN chronicles the story of this forgotten trailblazer — one of only three Latin-born members of the College Football Hall of Fame — who showed everyone that being an American has less to do with where you are born than fighting for what you believe.
