Mexican indigenous actress Yalitza Aparicio and Chilean trans actress Daniela Vega are the two Latin American performers that have been included in the list of “The 50 Best Movie Performances of the Decade” according to the American film news site IndieWire.
Yalitza Aparicio was ranked number 31 in the list for her breakthrough performance in Alfonso Cuarón’s Academy Award-winning film Roma. “Aparicio’s overnight transformation from aspiring pre-school teacher to Oscar-nominated actress elevated the unknown star from total obscurity to worldwide fame, and made her an icon for indigenous Mexicans. Aparicio, the first indigenous woman to grace the cover of Vogue and be recognized by the Academy, shouldered the spotlight with grace” writes the publication on the Mexican actress.
Daniela Vega is number 26 in the list for her performance in Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman / Una mujer fantástica, which gave Chile its first Oscar win in the foreign language film competition. “An autodidact who had little acting experience and was training to be a lyrical soprano when director Sebastián Lelio cast her in the role of his most acclaimed film, Daniela Vega was absolutely brilliant as Marina Vidal, a transgender woman whose world comes falling down when her much older lover drops dead from an aneurysm” writes IndieWire.
“Embodying the pressures faced by trans women to submit to feminine cultural norms, Vega was challenged to navigate her character’s grief in addition to the targeted discrimination she experiences from her late partner’s family. She played the part with the steely resolve of someone who knows that they bring out the worst from certain people, and did a remarkable job of negotiating a heartache that her character is told she’s not entitled to feel. Her soul-baring work saw her become the first transgender person to be a presenter at the Academy Awards — a step in the right direction to be sure, but she deserved to be among the nominees” adds the publication.
Check here the complete list of acclaimed performers.
