A Historic Oscar Night for Latinos in Images: Cuarón, Lupita, ‘ el Chivo’ and more “12 Years as Slave” won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a great film that depicts the historic struggle of the African American community in this country. But the 86th edition of the Oscars was unforgettable for another minority, Latinos. Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón wasn’t the only recipient in a night where, ironically, the organizers only had one person from the community as a presenter, Penelope Cruz. From the hundreds of photographs provided by the Academy (©A.M.P.A.S.) to the press I have selected a few that show some of the most talented artists from the diverse Latino world crafting golden memories. The Best Foreign Language Film, “The Great Beauty,” came from a Latino European country. Italian director Paolo Sorrentino thanked Fellini, Scorsese and soccer legend Maradona in his acceptance speech. The filmmaker is from Naples after all. Gravity’s Emmanuel “el Chivo” Lubezki finally took his golden statue home for Best Cinematography, after being one of the best in the industry for the past two decades. Lupita Nyong’o was raised in Kenya but the Best Supporting Actress for “12 Years as Slave” was born in Mexico, speaks Spanish and loves tacos. Every person that received an Oscar for his or her work in “Gravity” mentioned his name, proving that Alfonso Cuarón played an essential role in all of the departments that created the cinematic achievement. Like he did onstage, we should all thank “the wise people at Warner Bros.” for supporting his vision. Like Lupita said: “No matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.”
