Dito Montiel

Dito Montiel – 2014 Tribeca Film Festival –  Photo Credit: Janet Mayer / PRPhotos.com 

Birth Name: Orlando Anthony Montiel, Jr.

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Birth: July 26, 1965

Ethnicity:
*father – Nicaraguan
*mother – English, Irish

Dito Montiel is an American author, filmmaker, and musician. He has directed the films A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Fighting (2009), The Son of No One, Empire State, Boulevard, Man Down, and The Clapper. He also wrote his A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, The Son of No One, and The Clapper, as well as the film Critical Thinking, and co-wrote Fighting.

Dito is the son of Orlando Anthony Montiel/Monteil, Sr. His father is from Nicaragua. His mother is American, from Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, and has English and Irish roots. Dito was raised in Astoria, Queens, New York.

Dito has stated:

My father is from Nicaragua, born and raised there, and my mother is Irish, from Coney Island in Brooklyn. My father used to call me Casper as a kid because I’m so white. But I pretty much grew up in an Italian-Greek neighborhood. It was always ignorance more than racism – a little more forgiving.

Dito’s paternal grandfather was named Roberto/Robert Miguel Montiel. Roberto was born in Granada, Nicaragua.

Dito’s paternal grandmother was named Virginia Quesada. Virginia was born in Granada.

Dito’s maternal grandfather was named William George/George William Chance. William was born in Birmingham, England.

Dito’s maternal grandmother was named Rosabelle/Rosabell West. Rosabelle was born in New York, to parents from England and Ireland, respectively.

Sources: http://www.independent.co.uk
http://www.nytimes.com

Dito’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – http://www.familysearch.org

Dito’s paternal grandparents, William George/George William Chance and Rosabelle/Rosabell West, on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org