The Hollywood Reporter (Weekly)
LATINO NOMINEES’ ROAD TO THE GOLD
The organization reflects on this year’s landmark nominations and shares how their mission helps put their community first.
Latino directors, producers, and actors are set to take this year’s Oscars, with nominations across categories like Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Animated Feature. The nominations are a huge milestone for Latino representation in Hollywood—like America Ferrera’s nomination for Best Supporting Actress (and her first-ever Academy Award) for her powerful and moving portrayal in Barbie.
For Equis, a set of organizations dedicated to creating long-term change and advocacy for Latinos, these wins are just the beginning. By leveraging the transformative power of Latino culture in music, films, TV, sports, and digital content, their work amplifies progressive Latino narratives and forms strategic partnerships with the long-term goal of shaping a more equitable future in entertainment.
Many of Equis’ strategic partnerships—with notable targeted commitments in projects like Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot and Barbie, among others—are designed for high visibility impact that puts Latino influence at the forefront. Other pivotal work, like the Equis-sponsored La Cena LA event that took place earlier this January, enhances diversity across industries—bringing together the top talent in Latino entertainment, media, sports, and politics.
While Equis’ focus on mainstream Latino stories isn’t surprising, it is highly strategic: By capturing a wide and diverse audience segment, the organization ultimately hopes to make Latino power the new standard through their amplification of key Latino icons and narratives. The move echoes Equis’ intentions to not only influence today’s current entertainment landscape, but also to future-proof equity in entertainment as a whole by investing in the infrastructure of Latino cultural engagement—and creating that meaningful and lasting change.
Equis’ strong, continued support for Latino representation and diversity in Oscar-nominated films and talent clearly underscores that commitment—especially at this year’s awards, when so many Latinos are up for nominations that showcase their consistency and prowess. (Cuban-American producer Phil Lord is up for his third nomination for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in the Best Animated Feature; Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto received his fourth Oscar nomination for his work on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.)
“This year’s show of Latino talent at the Oscars is a significant milestone in an industry that’s embracing and recognizing the true power and scope of our communities, and our place in American society and culture,” says Jess Morales Rocketto, Chief of Moonshot Strategies. “The work we’re doing at Equis is about embracing the strength and breadth of people and having our stories, voices, faces, talent and culture reflected across industries. We’re excited to be a part of the movement to build up our own stories that will give our communities the sense of power and belonging that propels us forward.”
In addition to celebrating Hollywood’s veteran talent, this year’s Academy Awards also honors Latinos who are breaking boundaries—like David Hinojosa, who earned his first-ever Oscar nomination in Best Picture for co-producing Past Lives, and Colman Domingo, who’s up for Best Actor for his lead role as a civil rights activist in the biopic Rustin, earning him the title of the first-ever Afro Latino and gay Latino to be nominated in the category.