This weekend saw the Oscars take place, with the 91st Academy Awards returning to LA’s Dolby Theatre, bringing award season to a close.
While Olivia Colman and Rami Malek made the most noise with their Oscar nods - Rami even fell off the stage in excitement - one of the people of the night was undoubtedly Roma actress Yalitza Aparicio.
Roma is 25-year-old Yalitza’s first ever film, with her role of Cleo earning the Mexican actress an Oscar nomination. And yes, it was a record-breaking one.
Yalitza has become the first indigenous woman from Mexico or North America to ever receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination, not to mention, the fourth Latina and second Mexican woman to receive the honour.
Fellow Latina actress and activist Eva Longoria was thrilled that Yalitza and Roma were nominated, opening up about it on Sunday night at the National Domestic Workers Alliance Awards Night Watch Party.
‘A movie like Roma is very important for our community, for the Latino community,’ Eva explained. ‘We get villainised every day by this administration, by this country, and to see a story humanise the role that a domestic worker has – the impact she has, the way she is needed not only by the children but by the mother in this film – it's important for us to see that storytelling in the media.’
When asked if she had any advice for the indigenous actress who had been catapulted to fame, Eva responded, ‘I think she's been handling it beautifully and I think she has an amazing mentor in Alfonso Cuarón.
Going on to talk about getting into Hollywood, Eva continued: ‘I think everything's a possibility if you prepare for it. Be educated, whether it's acting or becoming a lawyer. You have to be educated and prepared for the opportunities that are to come.’
Can Eva Longoria be a career mentor for all of us, please?
