How Will Hispanic Talent Fare At The Oscars?

This year the Golden Globes had three opportunities to recognize Hispanic talent, yet they took only one giving the Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón the award for Best Director. Now with the Oscars soon arriving will Hispanics have a better chance?

For years the Globes have played somewhat of a fortuneteller role for the The Academy Awards and if this year that remains true, Hispanics will suffer a dire fate yet again.

Let’s start by one of the Academy’s biggest snubs, not nominating Oscar Isaac for best actor. Many critics, including myself, are shocked that the Guatemalan actor didn’t make it on to the list of nominees for Best Actor. Come on, Even the Globes nominated the guy! His performance as Llewyn Davis on the Cohen Brothers directed piece was stellar, emotional and raw. It managed to break your heart but at the same time make you laugh, which was apparently the problem. The Daily Beast spoke to some of the Academy members who said that they were “put off by the film’s somber, cynical tone,” according to the publication.

In an even bigger shocker, Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim was not nominated for Best Visual Effects. That was an utter slap in the face to one of the most visually impressive films, in size and scale in recent memory.

Although it’s a damn shame the upcoming award show has overlooked such great talent, all is not lost as they have four Hispanic nominees this year.

For Directing and Film Editing, Cuarón is nominated for his film “Gravity” – which is nominated for Best Picture – about a medical engineer and a veteran astronaut who are left adrift in space after their shuttle suffers a massive accident.

For Cinematography, the Mexican director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki for his work in “Gravity.”

And for Short Film Live Action, the Spaniard Esteban Crespo for his “Aquel No Era Yo” (That Wasn’t Me), about a Spanish aid worker who has an encounter with an African child soldier.

This might be a bit of a stretch, but hey, it’ a fact. For Actress in a Supporting Role, Lupita Nyong’o, who was born in Mexico, but of Kenyan descent. Her work in “12 Years a Slave” is as emotionally brutal a performance as you’ll see in all of 2013.

I have little doubt that history will be made when Cuarón will take the award for Best Director because his work is masterful, entertaining, artistic and most important of all believable, not to mention that it has escalated filmmaking to a new level through the use of new technologies. There is also a high possibility that he will also win for Editing and that Lubezki will win for Cinematography because the film simply works on every level, we here at ShowBizCafe literally couldn’t find a thing wrong or negative about it, sorry McQueen.

In terms of Nyong’o, I am positive that the Academy will not make the same mistake as Golden Globes and give the award to Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence’s performance was good, but it doesn’t even begin to measure up to the work of the Mexican born actress who allowed audiences to experience and feel very deep-rooted emotions through her character.

Finally, it’s tough to say if Crespo will be blessed with an award for his short since I haven’t seen any of the nominated works, but judging from the trailers it’s safe to say he has shot because his film looks to be action packed and emotional. At the same time he does face rough competition especially from “Helium” which seems incredibly imaginative, surreal and visually astounding; as well as from “Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?” which appears to be very simple yet tremendously humorous.

Who will you be rooting for at this year’s Academy Awards? Share your thoughts on the comments below.