It is indeed sad to announce the passing of Manuel Seferion Candeleria aka Rino Thunder (Ute) on September 27, 2003. A long time resident of New York City, the Lower East Side, Rino was one of the first successful contemporary Native American Indian actors in Hollywood and New York. Rino broke ground as a non-traditional actor playing many diverse roles in film, television and on stage. He was tremendously popular in Europe and was often specifically requested. His contribution to  the film world of portraying contemporary Native American roles will never be forgotten.

As friends of Rino's, we will miss him terribly.

IN TRIBUTE TO RINO THUNDER

by Steve Cowley

I experienced a New York moment one cool autumn day. I met a movie star. Moreover, I got to spend the whole day with him. Mind you, I had just moved to New York City at the time and was still adjusting to the incredible pace. It was so fast, fast cars, faster moving people.

I never felt the rush I experienced the day I stood outside one of the exits at Grand Central Station. I was amazed and wondered how it was humanly possible for that many people to move so fast. They just kept coming and moving.

Later that same day, still reeling from the experience, hoping no one noticed me, I walked down 8th Street in Alphabet City, the Lower East Side---I was going to meet a friend.

During the early 90's, before gentrification, the neighborhood was checkered with every kind of character. There were drug dealers, prostitutes, Gothic night crawlers, gangs, corrupt cops, wild dogs, and the homeless. It was a predominantly Dominican and Mexican neighborhood; they were apprehensive about outsiders and strangers. It was a hairy proposition to wander through Alphabet City at any time of day back then - but I did.

I was approaching Avenue A when I saw him. He was a small man. He had on a Hawaiian-patterned fiery shirt and he walked in cowboy boots. What made me notice him the most, was his straw Western-style cowboy hat. Long graying-silver ponytails slung down from either side of his hat. He smiled at me.

The man smiling at me had a calming effect; this just after having an unbelievable time at Grand Central. I walked up to him and as we approached one another he said a greeting in an Indian dialect I was unfamiliar with. I said "Hi" back to him.

He said his name was Rino Thunder and he said "Welcome." After a few minutes of small talk, he told me he was on his way to see his 'doctor.' My teeth are hurtin' somethin' awful and I finally got one of them f**kers to see me," he told me. "But hey, welcome. Come by my place later if you want. Have to stop by the store to get some food for the little ones but when I'm done, we'll sit, eat and shoot the s**t."

I thought he was speaking about his family. I later realized that he meant this in a different way. He said "Bye" and clomped down the avenue in his dusty leather boots. I spent the next few hours waiting on the sidewalk outside the building of the friend I was in Alphabet City to visit. He never showed up. Instead my newest friend appeared; he was carrying some bags and winced when he tried to say "Hi."

"F**ker took a  tooth. Ah...didn't need that many anyhow. Let 'em have it. Hope they choke on it" Rino said.

He asked me to grab a bag or two, and I did. We walked to his building and up ten floors to his penthouse. He didn't have a key. He gave his front door a heavy heave to push the door open. I heard dogs barking as we made our way up the stairs. They got louder as we got nearer. Rino and I finally walked through the door. There were at least twelve that I counted; twelve dogs. In a crescendo of affection, all of them jumped up and down, barking to greet him. Rino told the dogs to smarten up and to get away form the door and from him. Surprisingly and obediently, all of the dogs dispersed.

Rino described just finishing filming a movie in Italy. He was so glad to be home in his penthouse and was especially glad to get back to his dogs. "I got back from Italy a few weeks ago, he told me. "I swear, there's been some hanky-panky. Like bunnies these kids. I told the store to double my usual order."

When he said that, my curiosity was piqued. Who was this man? I knew my Indian actors and actresses but I couldn't place him. I decided, though, not to act like a groupie and avoided asking him if he knew this person or that person. He had invited me into his home and he was happy to be visited by another Indian.

I quickly found out that it was a rare occasion in New York life to run into another Indian in Manhattan on any given day. Days stretched into months for me. Rino was only the second Native American Indian I met, until I finally discovered the American Indian Community House in lower Manhattan on Broadway....much later.

I was glad to visit with him I did not hassle him with questions about the film business. Rino fed his dogs. Then...he started to drink. He gulped down some whiskey straight from the bottle.

"That should f**kin' kill anything swimming around there" he said and gurgled. He smiled at me again. "So what the hell are you doing here?" Rino asked me. I answered by saying 'you invited me in.' Rino laughed out loud.

"No man, that's not what I meant. What do you do? What's your f**kin' deal?" I told him I was from Canada. I had finished college and was here as a writer.

"Oh. Learned-ed f**ker," he said. He grinned to himself, muttering something I couldn't hear. As we talked more, I began to notice that Rino had a real affinity for profanity. It was "f**k this, f**k that," and a whole lot of "s**t." And---he did it as normally as putting on one's pants. Cussin' was something he just did without thinking. Like breathing. I got used to it real fast.

A small white scruffy dog jumped into Rino's lap and began to lick Rino's face. Rino became emotional. He took some more shots of whiskey. His eyes went red and I could swear I saw a tear drop.

"I know, but we have a visitor" Rino said to the dog." When he leaves we'll go for a walk."

Rino talked to me about how hard it is to live Indian in New York. "No one gives a s**t if you're alive or dead here," he stated. "Better get used to it, cause Cuz, you die here and nobody will know. Better f**kin' believe that. So you better f**kin' scream loud when you croak."

This was the way conversation went with Rino and I the rest of that day. He gave me 'the business.' After a few hours he quietly went to sleep. His favorite scruffy dog had made it's way to a spot under his arm, and was asleep as well. I left them and went up to the roof of the building. It was dark as I looked up at the sky and saw the stars.  The sky was clear and the stars bright. I was awestruck.

"F**k!" I heard Rino scream. I ran back to see what was happening. His dog had pissed all over him. That's how I left Rino Thunder that day.

I would bump into him now and then over the next ten years. Every time we ran into each other, he would smile at me and say he had "to go to town."

"Have to take care of business," he would say.