Latinas Rule at 2018 Golden Globes

Robyn Moreno of Latina.com reports on Latinas at the 3018 Golden Globe Awards –

“Last night was a watershed moment in Hollywood history—and Latinas were front and center.

The Time’s Up movement, co-founded by Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, took over Golden Globes last night with their powerful message that the time is up for the domination and abuse of power by men in the film industry—and beyond.

The group which launched Jan. 1 with a powerful op-ed, urged Golden Globe attendees to wear black to the glitzy show. “For years, we’ve sold these awards shows as women, with our gowns and colors and our beautiful faces and our glamour,” Longoria explained to The New York Times. “This time the industry can’t expect us to go up and twirl around.” Celebs flooded social media and the red carpet with #WhyWeWearBlack.”

In addition to the blackout, the Time’s Up group organized eight leading actressees to take influential activists as their dates—two of whom were Latina. Puerto Rican powerhouse and Afro-Latinx activist Rosa Clemente, and Latina labor activist Mónica Ramírez (who was responsible for creating Latina Equal Pay Day) were the plus-ones of Susan Sarandon and “Big Little Lies” actress Laura Dern, respectively.

Ramírez, who is Board President of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, wrote emotionally about her red carpet experience:

“In a little while I will walk the red carpet with the amazing @lauradern…. I walk on behalf of my ancestors; my family; the hundreds of thousands of farmworker women in our nation; my community; and all of those who paved the way for this movement…. Each step I take with my sisters tonight is one step closer toward safety, equality and justice for all.”

To see changemakers like Ramírez and Clemente represented at the high-profile event was inspiring AF, and brought new faces and depth to the conversation around equal pay, gender disparity, and sexual harrassment in the workplace.

Above all, last night showed our real magic as Latinas: our deep love of community, our inherent resilience and ability to lead—no matter the circumstances or stage—and our enduring hope.

Our brown girl strength and shine is needed now more than ever. And last night’s wins (and lack thereof) spotlighted that.

Latinxs were largely shut out across the board, with only the Mexian director Guillermo Del Toro winning for “The Shape or Water” and “Coco” winning as Best Animated Feature. Latinas specifically were specifically ignored when it came to nominations, save for Mariah Carey’s nod for Best Original Song.

Nothing for Gina Rodriguez and Jane the Virgin, nada for America Ferrera and Superstore. Nil for the formidable Veronica Falcón and Queen of the South; the cast of OITNB; Kate Del Castillo and Ingobernable; Karla Souza; J Lo; Aubrey Plaza; the entire cast of One Day at a Time, and the sad list goes on.

Latinxs represent about 1 in 4 movie goers in America, but are onscreen less than 4%. WTF?! And behind the scenes it’s much, much worse. In fact, not ONE woman (of any color!) was nominated for Best Director. A point Natalie Portman totally nailed. Um… where was the brilliant writer and director Catalina Aguilar Mastretta for her hilarious film Everybody Loves Somebody?

CLEARLY, we Latinas have a long way to—in every industry. Still, as our hermanas Longoria, Ferrera, Hayek, Dawson, and others showed us, our time to stand up, speak out, demand better, and claim what we deserve is NOW. Because as Longoria said so succinctly on the red carpet “It’s not a moment, it’s a movement.””