A Great Lack of Latinos at the Academy Awards
Oscar nominations came out this week. Once again, the list is so chockablock with Latinos that we can assume the ceremony will be telecast in Spanish.
Actually, I'm being facetious. None of the twenty acting nominees is Hispanic. And with the exception of Spain's Penelope Cruz (who is European and therefore not a Latina), an accented name is hard to find on the list of anyone nominated for anything.
Now, I'm certainly not denigrating the talent of this year's Best Actress front-runner, the lovely Kate Winslet (for the last time, I am not obsessed with her, no matter what my wife says). But the dearth of Latinos, despite our standing as the biggest minority in America, is glaring. More telling than the actual scarcity of nominees is the fact that few people even notice that we're underrepresented.
To prove my point, simply browse any list of Oscar trivia, which will reveal the names Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Halle Berry -- all the first African Americans to win Oscars in their respective categories. It was even big news a few years ago when Denzel Washington became just the second black man to win Best Actor. When one thinks about it, that is quite the specificity.
In contrast, the first Hispanic to win an acting Oscar in any category was... well, anybody know off the top of their heads? In fact, acres of Google research are required just to find out which Latinos have been nominated.
My admittedly crude investigation uncovers that, in the eighty-one years the Academy has been handing out awards, just fourteen Hispanics have been nominated for acting Oscars. The last was Adriana Barraza in 2007 for Babel. That year was a supposed watershed for Hispanics, with over a dozen Latinos nominated for Oscars in various categories. The sublime Pan's Labyrinth, from Mexican auteur Guillermo del Toro, even won a couple that year. But in the two years since then, finding a Latino at the Academy Awards is as common as seeing a low-rider bounce past while blaring Aimee Mann.
So why aren't more Hispanics getting into the winner's circle, or even receiving invitations to the party in the first place? Well, many filmmakers seem to believe that the only appropriate settings for cinematic drama are upper-middle-class suburbia or Victorian England. As such, Gael Garcia Bernal just isn't going to pop up that often. An openness to other stories, especially ones that reflect the actual twenty-first century, is an important first step to seeing more Latinos onscreen.
Still, we can't ignore the progress that has already been made. After all, we're long past the days when Charlton Heston was deemed suitable to play a Mexican (it's true; check out Touch of Evil).
By the way, the last Latino to win an acting Oscar was Benicio Del Toro in 2001 for Traffic. And since you're probably wondering, here are the first Hispanic winners in each acting category.
• Best Actor: Jose Ferrer, 1950, Cyrano de Bergerac
• Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn, 1952, Viva Zapata!
• Best Supporting Actress: Rita Moreno,1961, West Side Story
No Latina has ever won Best Actress.
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What about poor Asians, especially Asian men, they are the new "invisible men" of America!
I noticed a lack of Finnish-Americans as well. Must be racism against my people.
Dude Latinos aka Hispanics come from 20 Spanish speaking countries, "Spanish speaking " being the key word and qualifier.
from Argentina all the way to Venezuela and that includes Spain.
Sure in Spain they speak Espanol Castellano, and the rest Espanol Latino Americano- but both still qualify.
That's like saying that Brits from the UK are not Caucasian because they are in "Europe" and speak the queens English compared to their United States counterparts.
Precisely. See my coments below...
See Daniel Cubias's Profile
Who is Hispanic or Latino is a debate that’s been going on for a long time. It was the subject of my first piece for the Huffington Post. I consider Hispanics to be from, or have their roots in, countries south of the Texas border and/or the islands in that general vicinity. If language is the common denominator, then Spaniards are Latinos but Brazilians are not (they speak Portuguese). In any case, people on both sides of the arguments have valid points, which is what makes it so messy.
If Hispanics want awards, they need to either start making better movies that can compete with American movies - like Pan's Labyrinth. Or start your own Latin Oscars. Quit crying.
Good god, get a life. Oh boo hoo, Hispanics aren't given as many award as blacks. And poor Penelope Cruz, because she's Spanish, she doesn't count. I guess Javier Bardem (last year's winner for Supporting Actor) doesn't count either since he doesn't fall into the category NARROWLY defined by YOU! What about Benicio Del Toro (winner in 2001)??? He's from Puerto Rico. Oh wait, it hasn't been in the last 5 minutes!
Well, why don't we cry for the lack of Middle Easterners who haven't been nominated. Or South Asians or those born on the isalnd of Somoa?
This is a stupid and pointless exercise.
I get your point; however, remember that the woman who wins Miss America is not necessarily the most beautiful woman in her neighborhood, let alone America. Who are the ones determining which actors and actresses should win? Some of those actors and actresses deserve to win; however, some were not even close to being the best in the years they were chosen. I once heard from some say that the Golden Rule means that those who have the most gold rules. Since in the Hollywood context, whites have the most gold, they rule. It does not necessarily follow that their rulership would be fair. One issue I take with your post is that you jumped around the issue of race. Say what you mean, if it is the objective reality that race has a lot to do with it, you don't need to avoid it. Rcae has a lot to do with it. There, I said it!
Some day people will learn that awards ceremonies are not places where equal representation is ( or should) be considered. Or maybe they won't.
"By the way, the last Latino to win an acting Oscar was Benicio Del Toro in 2001 for Traffic."
Not true. Javier Bardem won Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for No Country for Old Men. But apparently both he and Penelope Cruz do not qualify as Latino, which is as preposterous as it is plainly wrong.
Anyway, if we operate under this article's premise and decide on behalf of all Spaniards that they are not Latino, the fact that Javier and Penelope have consistently reached the podium of several major awards shows in recent years should still be recognized as a step forward for Spanish-dominant actors.
The question this article should be asking is not, why can't more Latinos be nominated for acting awards; it should be, why aren't there more amazing Latino actors? Because guess what...after you exclude all the "Spaniards," they're simply aren't many, and that is the sad truth. Perhaps we'll start entering the Oscar race when we start to address this larger issue instead of rehashing the same cliche-ridden question that can be easily refuted or brushed off by naysayers with one word: quota.
"The last was Adriana Barraza in 2007 for Babel."
JFC!!!
The LAST one was ... 2007??? You make that sound like ancient history!
That .... was ... last ... year!!!
2 yrs ago
You mean to tell me Beverly Hill Chihuahuas got snubbed by the academy?
the nerve of those people!!!
Thank you! I am shocked on more than just the Latino level. Not only is the failure to include this movie racist, it's speciesist! How DARE they?
Penelope Cruz is European and thus not Latina? I guess I'm not Latino cause I'm North American....
A Latino is technically someone born in Central or South America, Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean or has roots in either of those places. Penelope Cruz was born and raised in Spain and since Spain is in Europe, that makes her European.
Really. And you've come by this definition how, exactly? I ask because last time I checked, "Latino" or "Latina" was an ethnonym (thus transcending region or place of birth- this is with or without taking a primordialist view). Pedro Almodovar and Victoria Abril identified themselves as Latino during Q&A's after the screening of Kika in Seattle 1993 (I had the good fortune to be present). Javier Bardem has identified himself as Latino in televised interviews, and.. when he was assailed by a variety of ethno-centric political groups for playing Zorro, so did Antonio Banderas. As someone who is of Mexican descent; I share an obvious and measurable racial and ethnic commonality with the afore-mentioned artists. Latino is not a technical term (unless you work for the census bureau - which coincidentally allows ANY person of Spanish speaking heritage to self-identify as Hispanic or Latino) and it's meaning is hotly contested. Latino (to me, a Latino) is a cultural term. A very personal term. I have no idea what it means to Mr. Cubias.. or you for that matter.
You can't quota award shows. Yes, there should be more visible Latin actors. It happens in waves, doesn't it? I remember when Latin leading men were all the rage. There are other ethnic groups in America besides Blacks and Latins. Should we be concerned that we hardly see Asians in American films? There has been a movement of late to only pick actors of certain ethnic groups to portray those same ethnic groups. I saw a film about American Indians, and in this case, they used a young Indian boy to play the key part. The kid, however, could not handle the part. The whole movie was a bust because of it. It might sound hip to make fun of Charlton Heston for playing Mexican, but try watching Black people portrayed in old Mexican movies. It's not pretty. If you want to pick an award segment that is blatantly unfair, let's look at comedic actors, they never get their just desserts. History has proven that comedians have the chops to handle big league drama. How many "serious" actors can make a room full of people laugh? Okay then, can we move on to something more important in the world?
See Brenda Scott Royce's Profile
Charlton Heston is about as believable as a Mexican as Mickey Rooney was authentically Japanese in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'!
It is surprising that a Latina hasn't won Best Actress yet. Interesting post, Dan.
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