Mexican-born Yalitza Aparicio Martinez has been in the spotlight since 2018 for her role in Roma, an Alfonso Cuaron-directed film. She has won three film awards and was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. While it is evident Yalitza is an extremely successful and talented actress for a twenty-eight-year-old, her story of how she rose to fame is quite unique.
Yalitza never aspired to be an actress, and actually studied to become a preschool teacher, her former occupation. Her sister intended on auditioning for Cuaron’s film, but when she got cold feet, Yalitza decided to step up and give acting a try. Much to her surprise, she actually received the role!
In Roma, she played Cleo, the main protagonist, and an Indigenous character. This representation is quite important, as Yalitza is an Indigenous woman and even spoke in native language for the film.
Yalitza has embraced the spotlight and has demonstrated the importance of representation in the media. She is outspoken on discrimination in the industry and has already begun filming her second movie. One of her most impressive feats for a new actress is the fact that she is the first Indigenous woman to have ever been nominated for an Oscar!
Yalitza Aparicio’s career may have just begun, but her impact is already invaluable for Indigenous peoples and Latinas everywhere.