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Aparicio, however, wasn’t on the path to becoming an actress before taking on this big role.
She’s actually a schoolteacher and only tried out for the part after going to the audition with her sister, who is a singer and wanted the role herself.
“My sister thinks that I’m shy and don’t speak that much. So she wanted me to go through the experience,” Aparicio told Deadline. “And also because she was very curious, as there has never been a casting before in our hometown. I didn’t want to do it, but I did.”
Cuaron told the Guardian that one of the reasons he picked Aparicio for a role that was so dear to his heart was because “there was this amazing sense of familiarity; this mix of intelligence and warmth.”
View this post on Instagram?Ensalada de Locos ? Crazy Salad? @romacuaron #ROMACuarón
A post shared by Alfonso Cuaron (@alfonsocuaron) on Dec 1, 2018 at 3:11pm PST
“We cast for almost a year, and I couldn’t find the right person,” he told the outlet.
“Sometimes, I’d meet women who looked like Libo, but they wouldn’t feel like her,\" he said. \"Or sometimes I’d meet people who felt like Libo, but they didn’t look like her. I was so lucky when I met Yalitza Aparicio. It was such an immediate impression.”
The Mexican film director’s impressive resume includes several famous projects.
He is the director behind the 2013 hit “Gravity,” which won seven Oscars. His credits also include the Mexican drama “Y Tu Mamá También,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Children of Men” and “Great Expectations.”
View this post on InstagramFamily is a memory we all share.
A post shared by ROMA (@romacuaron) on Oct 22, 2018 at 7:00am PDT
Aparicio told The New York Times what her nomination would mean in terms of inclusivity.
\"I’d be breaking the stereotype that because we’re Indigenous we can’t do certain things because of our skin color,” she told The Times.
“Receiving that nomination would be a break from so many ideas,\" she added. \"It would open doors to other people — to everyone — and deepen our conviction that we can do these things now.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Yalitza Aparicio Martínez (@yalitzaapariciomtz) on Dec 17, 2018 at 3:48pm PST
In a video for Aparicio's December spread of Vogue Mexico, the actress spoke about what the cover shoot meant to her.
\"Certain stereotypes are being broken: that only people with a certain profile can be actresses or be on the cover of magazines,\" she said in the video. \"Other faces of México are now being recognized. It is something that makes me so happy and proud of my roots.\"
Aparicio has faced discrimination and racist comments relating to her Indigenous heritage after being made Vogue Mexico's cover star.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Vogue México y Latinoamérica (@voguemexico) on Jan 22, 2019 at 5:58am PST
\"When Yalitza was on the cover of Vogue, you have no idea of the amount of racist comments about it. So, 1971 or 2018? The problems are even more acute today,\" Cuaron told The Guardian.
Aparicio isn't the only one to shine in the film. Mexican actress Marina De Tavira, who plays the mother of the family in \"Roma,\" also earned a nomination.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Marina de Tavira (@mardetavira) on Jan 7, 2019 at 6:35am PST
\"I really never expected this!\" she told ABC News on her nomination.
\"It's really personal and at the same it's become universal,\" she added on why she believes the film has been so successful. \"I think we all can relate to it. It comes from the heart.\"
The barrier-breaking film is sure to have an exciting night!
The Oscars will air live Sunday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. ET ABC.
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