Actress Ariana Debus made history as the first Afro-Hispanic woman and the first woman of openly color to win an Academy Award for acting.
DeBose won the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance as reprising the iconic role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story.”
“Imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. When you look into her eyes, you see a colorful, open-minded, Afro-Latina woman who has found her strength in life through art. And that’s what we believe in,” Debus said Sunday night during her acceptance speech.
“So, to anyone who has ever, ever questioned your identity, or finds yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There really is a place for us,” she added.
Set in the 1950s, “West Side Story” centers on the rivalry between two teenage street gangs – The Jets, a white gang, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang – whose communities face displacement during The urban renewal of New York City interval. Their rivalry intensifies when Tony, a jet-setter, falls in love with Maria, the young sister of shark leader Bernardo.
Anita, Bernardo’s girlfriend and Maria’s girlfriend, is a Puerto Rican like the rest of the sharks. She is distinguished by her assertiveness and captivating dance skills.
DeBose, a Triple Threat performer from Puerto Rico, shows off her diverse skills in “USA– Leading an epic band around the streets of San Juan Hill, New York in the famous musical number.
Her performance then takes a moving turn into the intensely emotional number “A Boy Like That” alongside Rachel Ziegler, who plays Maria, the main female character, in the film.
“Ultimately what you see on screen is a beautiful exploration of a deep feminine relationship,” DeBose previously told NBC News. “It’s ugly. It’s loud. It’s so emotional. Quite frankly, it’s volatile, and then it’s totally heartbreaking because there’s so much love there.”
With an Academy Award win, DeBose and legendary actress Rita Moreno, who grew up as the 1961 film version of the popular Broadway musical, became part of a small group of actors who won an Academy Award for playing the same character. .
When Moreno won an acting Oscar for her role as Anita 60 years ago, she made history as the first Latina to win that honor.
DeBose and Moreno, who also returned for Spielberg’s new movie “West Side Story” as executive producer and as Valentina, are the first women and artists of color to join the rare club.
“It means a lot to me,” DeBose said of Moreno in a previous interview with NBC News. “It means a lot to the Puerto Rican community. It means a lot to the Latino community and the entertainment industry in general.”
In Reinterpreting Moreno’s Anita for a new generation, DeBose has continued to break new ground this award season.
And by winning the Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress award last month, she became the first Latina to win a film award from the Screen Actors Guild and the first gay woman to be honored in the acting category.
Her critically acclaimed performance also earned DeBose her first Golden Globe Award as well as a BAFTA Award.
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So much for the Latino community and the entertainment industry in general.”
In Reinterpreting Moreno’s Anita for a new generation, DeBose has continued to break new ground this award season.
And by winning the Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actress award last month, she became the first Latina to win a film award from the Screen Actors Guild and the first gay woman to be honored in the acting category.
Her critically acclaimed performance also earned DeBose her first Golden Globe Award as well as a BAFTA Award.
Follow NBC Latin On FacebookAnd the Twitter And the Instagram.
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