Carlito Brigante
| Carlito Brigante | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Carlito's Way |
| Last appearance | After Hours |
| Created by | Edwin Torres |
| Portrayed by |
Al Pacino (Carlito's Way) Jay Hernandez (Carlito's Way: Rise to Power) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Charlie |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Drug dealer Club owner |
| Spouse(s) | Gail |
| Children | 1 unborn son |
| Nationality |
 American(of Puerto Rican descent) |
Carlito Brigante is an eponymous character and the antihero of Carlito's Way and After Hours, novels by Edwin Torres. Torres has stated that Brigante was a combination of several men he knew in his street days, as well as a compilation of several of his own personal characteristics.
Born in 1930 in Spanish Harlem, his parents were Puerto Ricans with his father being of Corsican ancestry. His father abandoned his family and returned to Puerto Rico while his mother, a fervent Pentecostal convert, died during Carlito's early teenage years. Carlito starts out as a small-time thief, eventually working his way up to being the heroin kingpin of the neighborhood. Around 1970, Brigante (at the age of 40) is arrested during a drug bust and is sentenced to 30 years in prison. This marks the end of the novel, Carlito's Way. After Hours, which is the source for the film version of Carlito's Way, begins with Brigante beating his prison sentence thanks to his lawyer David Kleinfeld. During After Hours, Carlito tries to leave his life of crime behind and retire in the Bahamas with his girlfriend Gail. Circumstances conspire against him when Carlito innocuously accompanies his young cousin to a drug trade which quickly goes awry. Carlito is forced to shoot his way out and kill the dealers to escape.
Kleinfeld asks Carlito to take control of a nightclub mismanaged by Saso (played by Jorge Porcel). It is at the club that Carlito is introduced to Benny Blanco ("from the Bronx"), a young up-and-comer in the drug trade who believes to be a young Carlito Brigante, which angers Carlito. An old friend named Lalin visits Carlito at the club, but is discovered to be wearing a wire, revealing the District Attorney still hasn't forgotten about Carlito.
Carlito crosses paths with Benny again when Kleinfeld finds a love interest in a waitress at the club named Stephie. Benny, who instead wishes Stephie to join him, and angered at Carlito's rejections for champagne, confronts Carlito at their table, with his henchmen and proceeds to manhandle Stephie. Carlito is forced to take action when Kleinfeld, under the influence of cocaine, snaps and pulls a gun. Blanco's henchmen draw weapons but are dealt with by the bouncers. Carlito threatens to kill Benny if he comes to the club again. Benny promises to kill Carlito if he ever sees him again. A furious Carlito knocks Benny down a staircase. The young gangster takes a severe beating at the hands of Pachanga and a bouncer from the club in the back alley until Carlito tells Pachanga to "let him go", subsequently realizing that he has made a fatal mistake sparing Blanco's life.
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Wikipedia