Latinos Didn’t Win Any Awards at Golden Globes
(Photo : reutersconnect.com)

At a time when Latinidad is confronted by underrepresentation in Hollywood, this year's Golden Globes didn't recognize any Latino artists or filmmakers, according to an article by Remezcla.

The 77th edition of the awards has nominated only two Latinas in the name of Ana de Armas who was nominated as Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Knives Out and Jennifer Lopez as Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Hustlers.  The two were earlier thought to triumph in their respective category since the Knives Out has been a box office hit and the Lorene Scafaria-directed film has earned JLo the best reviews of her career.

When Latinos across the board were mostly shut out on nomination morning even on Best Motion Picture in Foreign Language category, de Armas and Lopez went home empty-handed on a night that heard plenty of speeches tackling climate change and women's reproductive rights and saw the Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarding Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical honors to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino and Best Drama to Sam Mendes' 1917.

It was a testament that Hollywood struggles to honor Latinx filmmakers and talent and there was not a Latin American film by Cuarón, Iñárritu or del Toro in the list of nominations. Moreover, only Awkwafina (for The Farewell) and Ramy Youssef (for Hulu's Ramy) were the non-white acting winners of the night, considering there were 14 different performance categories.

A study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, found that for Latinos, underrepresentation and stereotypical portrayals in Hollywood remain rampant. Additionally, whenever they are depicted in major Hollywood movies, their cultural and ethnic heritage is rarely explored onscreen.

Among 1,200 popular films released between 2007 and 2018, only 4.5 percent of more than 47,000 speaking or named roles went to Latinx actors while only 3 percent were lead or co-leads, the study found.

Nevertheless, de Armas and Lopez each got a chance to shine on stage and show off two of the most showstopping looks of the night - de Armas in a sparkly navy blue dress, alongside Daniel Craig presented the clip of Knives Out while Lopez, wrapped up in a big golden and emerald bow, alongside Paul Rudd presented the Best Score award.

Despite being unable to nab the best supporting actress trophy, Lopez remains a winner for her fiancé, former professional baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez who released a heartfelt message on Instagram.

"Jen, it doesn't take a trophy, medal, or plaque to identify a true champion," the caption read. "To millions of young women who have watched you and have been inspired and empowered to do amazing things in their lives, you are a champion."

Latina actress Salma Hayek also stunned her fans and fellow artists during the ceremony on Sunday evening with her blue and white Gucci dress featuring a plunging neckline with matching blue dangling earrings to complete her look.

The 53-year-old actress co-presented one of the evening's awards alongside Tiffany Haddish. Hayek and Haddish alongside Rose Byrne star in the 2020 movie Like a Boss.

Meanwhile, fans and artists alike would agree that the most memorable part of the ceremony hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was the speech of South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho upon accepting the Best Motion Picture in Foreign Language award for Parasite: "Once you overcome the one inch tall barrier of subtitles, you'll be introduced to so many more amazing films." It was a message of welcome and inclusion that reminded viewers to look beyond borders and to see in cinema a truly universal language.