Despite the wide range of major-league movie stars, despite the equally large contingent of talented Latinos at work in dozens of series on network TV, cable, and pay cable, the number of Latino names that appeared–even as nominees–at the 2012 Golden Globes could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And the number of winners? Essentially zero.
On the movie side, a total of thirteen awards were given. Out of the sixty-plus nominees, the only Latino-involved projects in sight were Puss in Boots for Best Animated Feature, with Antonio Banderas as the voice in the lead role, and–oddly enough–Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In, also starring Antonio Banderas. Neither feature won the statue (The Adventures of Tintin took Best Animated Feature and A Separation beat Skin.)
Things were almost as thin on the TV side of the Globes. Out of the eleven awards, there were a few more TV series with Latinos mentioned. Glee, with Naya Rivera and Lea Michelle and Modern Family with Sofia Vergara and Rico Rodriguez were both nominated for Best TV Series, Comedy. And Sofia Vergara was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie. Modern Family overall received the award for Best Series; Jessica Lange received the Best Supporting Actress award for American Horror Story.
And that was it. All of it. Five out of more than 100 nominations, and one peripheral win, for an ensemble series with two Latino members.
The funniest Latino moment of the evening came when Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek presented Modern Family their award. Antonio responded to Gervais with a rant of his own in Spanish and Sofia accepted for the cast in Spanish with the show’s executive producer, Steven Levitan translating sometimes correctly. You can see both clips on Hulu and here.
It’s not exactly surprising to see Latino programs and performers overlooked in the Golden Globes. The Awards themselves have never been taken very seriously, and last year’s scandals and omissions only made it more obvious. Still, it’s a shame to see so much attention paid–and so many Latinos attending–an award in which a wide swathe of talented performers, producers, directors, and programs are virtually invisible.
Here’s hoping for a much bigger and better showing at the Oscars and Emmy Awards later this year.
