AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF
THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES ARTS & SCIENCES
February 26, 2013
To the Members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences:
I write to you on behalf of the thousands of Lupe Ontiveros‘ fans indignant of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ neglect to include Ontiveros in the Oscars in Memoriam. Lupe Ontiveros passed away last July.
We understand from the Lupe Ontiveros family that she wasn’t a member of the Academy, hence her omission from the Oscars tribute. We also understand that Lupe Ontiveros applied, with the support of Miguel Sandoval and Edward James Olmos, to be a member of the Academy and that she was denied membership. We want to know the reasons why Lupe Ontiveros was denied membership to the Academy.
It is astonishing that an actress of Ontiveros’ caliber and experience was denied membership to the Academy. Lupe worked in the entertainment industry for thirty five years, her film credits include: El Norte, The Goonies, Selena, Real Women Have Curves, As Good as it Gets, and Chuck & Buck.
As the controversy of the Academy’s omission of Lupe Ontiveros in the Oscars in Memoriam subsides, we ask that the Academy take a moment to pause and reflect on its commitment to the growing U.S. Latino talent.
Sincerely,
Alex Nogales
President & CEO
About NHMC
The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit, media advocacy and civil rights organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to educate and influence media corporations on the importance of including U.S. Latinos at all levels of employment. It augments the pool of Latino talent with it s professional development programs. It challenges media that carelessly exploit negative Latino stereotypes. It scrutinize and opines on media and telecommunications policy issues. Learn more at http://www.nhmc.org. Receive real-time updates on twitter @NHMC.
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