Yalitza Aparicio

Yalitza Aparicio was 2018’s biggest breakout actresses in Mexico. Her role in Roma got her nominated for an Oscar for best actress and landed the cover of Vogue Mexico. She has created lots of buzz in the media, many praising her for being the first indigenous Mexican woman to be nominated for an Oscar. She has also been receiving lots of criticism and backlash concerning her roots and acting abilities.
Most of the hate she has received has been due to her appearance and indigenous background. Many light skinned Mexican actors and actresses have been targeting Yalitza saying she does not deserve her award nominations along with other racial slurs. Even with all the hate she receives she maintains a positive attitude and responds respectfully saying she is proud to be an Oaxacan indigenous woman.
This is only one of many cases of colorism throughout the Mexican community. Colorism is a problem embedded not only in the Mexican culture but in all of the Latino culture. Too often is dark skin associated with being less attractive or big noses and dark hair seen as less appealing due to not being European features.
This social construct was invented by Europeans intended to divide people and holds no scientific merit. To this day the racial divide is very apparent, although now it’s not as racially motivated it still keeps the people from pressing as a society. Small remarks of peoples appearance engrave these social standards of what Latinos should look like. Latinos are a truly diverse and different group of people with all kinds of skin tones, hair types and facial features.
Yalizta is a role model to me because she stands up for her indigenous background and is proud of her appearance. She does not try to hide who she is but embraces it. She’s especially a great role model for younger Latina girls who feel discouraged by the lack of diversity in films. Yalizta is what the film industry needed, a strong and empowering woman of color.