Hollywood has taken a major step forward in recent years in terms of recognizing Latinx actors and filmmakers. However, there is still a long way to go.
During a conversation with Variety, groundbreaking Latinx actor Rosie Perez revealed that she hadn’t been invited to the Academy Awards in over 25 years.
“Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing — and I’m a member. I love the Academy Awards. I cheer on my peers, but it hurts,” she explained.
Perez starred in the film Fearless and was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the 1994 Academy Awards. She lost the award to then-11-year-old Anna Paquin for her role in The Piano. Since then, Perez has not received an invitation to attend the ceremony. Perez believes that either subtle or overt racism has stopped her—and people from similar ethnic backgrounds as her—from being properly recognized by The Academy.
“The biggest struggle has been navigating through other people’s shortcomings,” the Brooklyn native explained to Variety. “Other people’s bigotry, racism — and specifically the ones that don’t understand that they are bigots or racists.”
The Academy may claim to strive for inclusivity, but according to Variety, only four of the 23 categories at the 2021 Oscars have Latinx representation. (Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, and Carlos Cortés for Best Sound, Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibañez for Best Documentary, and Shaka King for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay). Also, only 4.5% of all 47,268 speaking or named characters in the top-grossing films of the last 12 years are Latinx. As a result, Perez is urging the movie industry to do more to open its doors to Latinx creative and actors.
“Yes, change is happening,” she admits. “But it’s too damn slow.”
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