'Roma' star Yalitza Aparicio pens article about racial discrimination in Mexico


PTI | New York | Updated: 26-05-2020 14:58 IST | Created: 26-05-2020 13:49 IST
'Roma' star Yalitza Aparicio pens article about racial discrimination in Mexico
File photo Image Credit: Instagram / yalitzaapariciomtz
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Mexican actor Yalitza Aparicio has opened up about the racism she experienced post her Oscar nomination for Alfonson Cuaron's "Roma", saying she never thought that the film would lead to open discussions about such issues. The 26-year-old actor made history in 2019 after she became the first indigenous performer to be nominated for the best actress honor at the Academy Awards. In her first article for the New York Times, Aparicio talked about a host of issues prevalent in her home country, including racism, the rights of domestic workers, and indigenous people.

"I never thought that a movie alone could prompt social awareness and change. But when director Alfonso Cuaron released his film 'Roma' in 2018, with me in the lead role, that’s exactly what happened. "Suddenly people in my home country of Mexico were talking about issues that have long been taboo here — racism, discrimination toward Indigenous communities and especially the rights of domestic workers, a group that has been historically disenfranchised in Mexican society," the actor wrote. Set in 1970s Mexico’s Colonia Roma, Cuaron's movie, which bagged three Oscars in 2019, revolves around the life of a middle-class family's live-in maid, Cleo.

Aparacio's Cleo was based on Cuaron’s real-life nanny and maid Liboria "Libo" Rodriguez, to whom he has also dedicated the film. The actor said though discrimination is "not often spoken about in Mexico", there are only a few people who are respectful towards the indigenous community.

"I have firsthand experience with this kind of discrimination. After I was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying Cleo, racist comments began to circulate on social media. Commenters questioned why I was nominated, making references to my social and ethnic background. An Indigenous woman was not a worthy representative of the country, some said. "It was hard for me to see and hear these sorts of statements. But real conversations were happening because of them. Eventually, these discussions highlighted the cultural and political importance of diversity in society, art and the media," Aparicio said.

The actor highlighted that in May 2019, just a few months after the Academy Awards ceremony, the Mexican Congress approved a bill granting two million domestic workers rights, protections, and benefits. "Cleo had a very profound effect on my life, and playing her placed me on my current path: I am using my newly discovered activism to improve social conditions in Mexico, champion gender equality and promote diversity wherever I can.

"In short, I’m trying to build a better world one in which we aren’t judged by our appearance or typecast for certain roles, and where we aren’t limited by what we see, read or hear," Aparicio said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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