After watching last week’s Oscars, I decided to look into how many of my fellow Latinas have actually won the supposedly prestigious award. According to Wikipedia, NO LATINAS HAVE EVER WON FOR BEST ACTRESS. None. Zero. Zip.
Do you hear me, chavalas? That means any of us right now could technically start acting tomorrow and if we make it to Hollywood (and somehow get chosen for a starring role in what a bunch of mainly old, cis het, white dudes decides is a “good” film), we could very well be the first mujer to win an Oscar for Best Actress. By the way, the Oscars have been running for 88 years now…which is just how old my abuelita is turning this yet. Just saying.
Now, for Best Supporting Actress, Susan Kohner was the first to receive a nomination back in 1959 (surprising, right?) for her role in Imitation of Life. Perhaps her lack of Latina-sounding name helped out, or the fact that she was the daughter of another Latina actress, Lupita Tovar.
The only other Latina nominee was the incredibly talented Rosie Perez for Fearless, where she plays an airline crash victim who lost her baby boy in the accident (though unfortunately the film isn’t as much about her as about a white dude who decides to shirk life’s responsibilities after the crash…Alright, I haven’t seen it but that’s what the descriptions appear to depict). Anyway, for all her fierceness, Ms. Perez did not win.
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The first win by a Latina for Best Supporting Actress was by the infamous Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno for her role in West Side Story. That was in 1962. Nearly 30 years later, they threw us another bone by giving the award to Mercedes Ruehl for her work in The Fischer King. No latinas have been nominated since. Not Dominican/Puerto Rican Zoe Saldana, or Mexican actress Dolores del Rio, or Cuban/Venezuelan Maria Conchita Alonso, or the talented America Ferrera, or even the beloved Salma Hayek. Shameful? You bet it is.
No Latinas have ever so much as been nominated for Best Screenplay let alone Best Cinematography, Best Original Song, or Best Direction. What does that tell us, hermanas? For one, we need to pay more attention to all the talented Latina directors and actresses who are out there and aren’t getting recognized by the Academy. We need to watch their movies and read and write about them and share their films with everyone. And then, maybe it’s time we all strive to make our work known, our talents recognized. Because I’m sure our stories are just as beautiful and relevant and relatable as those directed by Scorsese and Spielberg, as those played by Christian Bale and Tom Hanks and yes, even Leonardo DiCaprio, who finally won his award (kudos). We just have to keep beating down Hollywood’s door, despite the odds. They can’t ignore us forever.
