Source: Craig Sjodin / Getty
One thing is for sure: Latinx folks in the entertainment industry did not come to play at the 2018 Oscars. From making history to honoring their roots, here are the ways the Latinx community showed up and showed out at the iconic award show.
1 Coco Wins Best Animated Feature
Disney Pixar’s colorful and culturally significant film Coco won the Oscar for the best animated feature. The film’s song “Remember Me” also won best original song, written by songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
“The biggest thank you of all to the people of Mexico,” the film’s director, Lee Unrich said in his speech. “Representation matters.”
2 Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water Wins Best Picture
Along with the award for Best Director, the Mexican mastermind also brought home the award of the night for Best Picture. The story has been lauded as a “powerful pro-immigrant statement” and that’s exactly what del Toro addressed in his acceptance speech.
“I am an immigrant,” he said. “And in the last 25 years, I’ve been living in a country all of our own. Part of it is here, part of it is in Europe, part of it is everywhere. Because I think the greatest thing that art does, and that our industry does, is erase the lines in the sand when the world tells us to make them deeper.”
3 Daniela Vega Is The First Openly Trans Presenter
Chilean actress Daniela Vega, the breakout star of the Oscar-winning film A Fantastic Woman, made history as the first openly transgender person to present at the award ceremony.
4 Miguel’s Iconic Performance of “Remember Me”
Afro-Mexican-American singer Miguel performed his rendition of “Remember Me” with Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade in a vibrant performance. Surrounded by ballet folklórico dancers, the singers brought the liveliness of the award-winning film to life on stage.
5 Rita Moreno Wears Her Dress From 1962
The legendary Puerto Rican actress took the stage in the same black and gold gown she wore when she won best supporting actress for her role in West Side Story in 1962. She presented the Oscar for best foreign language film after a powerful highlight reel of her iconic career.
6 Denice Frohman’s Twitter Commercial Makes Powerful TV Debut
Puerto Rican and Jewish poet Denice Frohman narrated an empowering TV spot for Twitter during the commercial break. Highlighting the hashtag #HereWeAre, Twitter took a stand to elevate underserved voices, featuring faces such as Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, and Julie Dash.
7 Dolores Huerta Honored on Stage With Common
Common and Andra Day performed the Oscar-nominated song “Stand Up for Something” and in turn honored ten extremely deserving activists on stage. Along with them stood the likes of Chicana activist Dolores Huerta, joined by others such as Janet Mock, Patrisse Cullors, and Tarana Burke.
8 Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani Send Message to DREAMers
Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani presented the award for best production design and delivered an important message for one of the U.S.’s most vulnerable populations right now: the DREAMers.
“Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood and dreams are the foundation of America,” Nyong’o said.
“To all the DREAMers out there, we stand with you,” Nanjiani continued.
