Our Biggest Oscar Snubs

By Lee Hernandez | 02/25/2011 - 10:40 | 2 Comments

With the exception of Biutiful’s two nominations—one for Best Leading Actor (Javier Bardem) and another for Best Foreign Language Film—Latinos were ignored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences in 2011. And we’re not just talking about the actors—of the 10 films nominated for Best Picture this year, not one was produced by a Latino, and clearly, our position behind the camera is as important (if not more so) as it is in front of the camera. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Oscar has overlooked our talents. Here’s a look at some of the biggest Oscar snubs in history, as they relate to Latinos in Hollywood. 

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Jennifer Lopez, Selena

Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla was murdered in 1995, but Jennifer Lopez brought her back to life in the biopic, Selena (1997). Considered by fans to be the breakthrough role of her career, J.Lo’s performance was also loved by the nation’s top critics, including The L.A. Times’ Kenneth Turan, who wrote that the movie, “turns out to be a celebration not only of the singer but also (as What’s Love Got to do With It was for Angela Bassett) of the actress who plays her, Jennifer Lopez.” But despite the praise—and in spite of her Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical—Lopez wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. Some said that part of the reason she was overlooked had to do with the fact that she lip-synched to original recordings of Selena’s music—but that’s a weak argument: Jamie Foxx easily won the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray (2004)—and he didn’t do the singing, either.
 


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