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Ontiveros Family Respond to Oscar’s Hurtful Omission


lupe-ontiveros-2

$1.2 Trillion Latino Consumer Buying Power

The press has reported that in the past when people are not mentioned in the Academy Awards Memorial segment, “”the  Academy stated they did not honor requests and people omitted is because his/her contribution to film and his/her legacy were not deemed significant enough.” This is what Peggy Lee’s family was told back in 2002. And, not much has changed.

And, while Latinos only represent 16% of the country’s population, they represent 24% of all frequent moviegoers (those who … at least one movie per month), a group that drives 50% of the country’s yearly box office intake.

That being said, for the Latino community, to her thousands of fans worldwide, her family, friends and colleagues, Lupe Ontiveros is a giant in Hollywood. She gave her best always. We are honored to share the following statement from Lupe’s family:

Re: Lupe Ontiveros and the 85th Academy Awards Broadcast

‘In response to the inquiries we have received from several news outlets, we would like to express our disappointment about the unfortunate omission of our wife and mother Lupe Ontiveros from the 85th Annual Academy Awards’ “In Memoriam” tribute.

We believe the Academy and the show’s producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron made a poor decision in choosing not to acknowledge the passing of our mother in this tribute which traditionally has become an important part of the Academy Awards.  We understand that she is only one of many noteworthy actors and industry veterans who passed away in 2012 that were not included in the segment, but we believe that her contributions and dedication of nearly forty years to the film industry were worthy of this honor.

As a U.S.-born actress and member of the Latino community here in the United States, she was loved and respected by many for her achievements on screen. We believe the Academy’s glaring omission displayed an indifference to the Latino community and made a statement about the lack of regard for Latino talent in film.  It was also a missed opportunity by the Academy to reach out to the millions of Latinos movie fans, who go to the movies at a higher rate than any other group in the U.S.’

Elias P. Ontiveros (youngest son of Lupe Ontiveros)

On behalf of the Ontiveros Family

Thank you, Ontiveros Family. Not only did the Latino community notice the omission but  The Washington Post chimed in, stating this:

Ann Rutherford in “Gone With the Wind” (AP) Ann Rutherford(one of the last surviving cast members of “Gone With the Wind”), 1972 Oscar nominee Susan Tyrrell and character actress Lupe Ontiveros were among the 2012 show-biz deaths omitted from the montage, which strikingly included only four women among its 41 names. We’ll cut them a break for not honoring Larry Hagman, who was always more of a TV guy.

Sergio Hernandez’ cartoon speaks volumes…

Sergio Hernandez, February 25, 2013

Sergio Hernandez, February 25, 2013


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