

Mexico City (AFP) – A year after the movie “Roma” catapulted her from obscurity to an Oscar nomination, Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio is using the spotlight to promote causes close to her heart: indigenous and women’s rights in her country.
Taking a break from film sets, the 26-year-old from the Mixtec community in the southern state of Oaxaca is dedicating this year to working as a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for indigenous peoples.
In her new role, Aparicio — the first indigenous woman ever nominated for a best actress Oscar — returned to school this week to give a talk at Harvard University’s Mexico Conference 2020.
In an interview with AFP in Mexico City, she said she understood that fame and her career would be “a series of ups and downs.”
“So the thing is to use this current high to lend visibility [to indigenous communities] and to explain to more people the things that I have been concerned about,” she said.
“It’s been gratifying.”
Aparacio became an inspiration to many Mexicans when she earned rave reviews for her role in “Roma,” by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron. The film ended up winning three Oscars.
Her “Roma” character Cleo is a domestic worker inspired by Cuaron’s own childhood nanny.
The film’s success not only brought her international plaudits, but she ended up doing interviews and photo shoots for top magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair — where indigenous faces are rare.
Of course, the praise was accompanied by some vitriol on social media.
Many with indigenous roots in Mexico have experienced discrimination, in a society that has been reluctant to acknowledge its own racism.
“We are not new faces, we are simply the people we always were, but who nobody had ever bothered looking at before,” she said.
“May we never again be afraid to say, ‘Enough! We exist too!'”
– ‘I am a feminist’ –
On the back of “Roma,” Aparicio connected with many ordinary women in Mexico, and pushed celebrities to lend their support to the Latin American feminist movement.
more recommended stories
Yucatecan artisans take CDMX by storm
The Yucatan Entrepreneur Institute (IYEM) took.
These are the dates for the clean-up campaign in Mérida and its districts before the rainy season starts
This Saturday, May 27th and Sunday,.
Yucatan returns to the trampoline podium
Trampoline gymnastics contributed gold, silver and.
Yucatan restaurateurs are finally recovering after 3 years of the pandemic
The Cámara Nacional de la Industria.
Gasoline prices rising in Yucatán
According to the forecasts of the.
Yucatecans: the most discriminated in Mexico (gender, age, and clothing) among the factors
32.1% of Yucatecans reported having experienced.
Yucatán Congress ‘Pauses’ Loan to Finance the Expansion of the Progreso High Port
The members of the Budget, State.
An outbreak of Histoplasmosis is detected in a Yucatán cenote
The federal Ministry of Health reported.
Ie-tram: A glimpse inside
In Mérida, the launch of the.
Santa Claus arrives in Mérida (in May?)… He will visit Las Coloradas
Santa Claus, also known as Papá.
Leave a Comment