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Guillermo del Toro with his two OScars. EFE/Armando Arorizo

México Sweeps the Oscars

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro wins best movie and best director award for "Shape of Water" at Oscars 2018

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Donald Trump may not like the headline of this article, nor any of those who head most of the culture sections of any newspaper in the world: this year Mexico - the country of origin of millions of undocumented people that his Administration has insulted and threatens to deport - has conquered Hollywood.

"The Shape of Water", the science fiction film by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, was the absolute winner in the 90th edition of the Oscars, held tonight at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Not only did the film get a good handful of statuettes, but Guillermo del Toro also won the Oscar for best director, becoming the fourth Oscar won by a Mexican director in the last five years.

"I'm an immigrant, like my compadres and like many of you," del Toro said when picking up the prize on stage. According to El País, The shape of water also contains certain symbolism about the acceptance of the other.  “The best thing our industry does is to help erase the lines in the sand when the world tries to make them deeper.”

Although the presence of nominated Latin actors was scarce, the organizers of the Oscar ceremony had the detail of placing two Latin presenters on stage: the Mexicans Eiza González and Eugenio Derbez. The show also included performances by singers Miguel, Natalia Lafourcade and Mexican actor Gael García Bernal, who sang "Remember Me", Oscar for the best song, belonging to the movie "Coco". Indeed, this Pixar film set in the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition was the winner of the Oscar for best animated feature film.

"The biggest thank you of all [goes] to the people of Mexico,” said Lee Unkrich, Coco director, on stage. “Coco could not exist without your endlessly beautiful culture and traditions. With Coco, we tried to take a step forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do. Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”

Among the public of the Oscars was the actress Rita Moreno, winner of the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in West Side Story, in 1962, becoming the first Latina to win the statuette.

There were other awards with a Latin flavor. "A fantastic woman", Chilean film, won the Oscar for best non-English speaking film.

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