Ariana DeBose becomes the first ever Afro-Latina to take home an Oscar award.
On Sunday night at the annual ceremony, the 31-year-old made history for the Latinx community and LGBTQ community alike, become the first openly queer woman of color to take home an Oscar for her performance as Anita in "West Side Story".
DeBose expressed her well-deserved excitement during her award acceptance, saying that this is an incredible moment for an openly queer woman, Afro-Latina, who finds strength through this industry.
"Imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. When you look into her eyes, you see an openly queer woman of color, an Afro Latina, who found her strength in life through art. And that's what I believe we're here to celebrate," DeBose said in her acceptance speech.
The 31-year-old Latina says that this award is confirmation that there is a place in this world for people like her who face or have faced the same identity battles.
“Now you see why Anita says, ‘I want to be in America,’” DeBose added. “Because even in this weird/weary world that we live in, dreams do come true. And that’s really a heartening thing right now. To anybody who has ever questioned your identity… I promise you this, there is indeed a place for us." she added.
Aside from becoming the first Afro-Latina to win an Oscar, DeBose now becomes the second Latina in general to ever win an Oscar.
The first Hispanic to claim that title was Rita Moreno, who in 1962 won the same Oscars award for the same exact performance role as Anita in the original film of "West Side Story", also for best supporting actress category.
DeBose, as expected, paid tribute to Rita Moreno who also was in attendance Sunday night, happily thanking her for paving the way for all the "Anitas" fighting to make an impact in Hollywood.
