Sergio Mendes | Hispanically Yours

Demián Bichir is following in the footsteps of legendary actor Anthony Quinn…

The 48-year-old former telenovela star has become only the second Mexican actor to receive a lead actor Academy Award nomination; nearly 50 years after Quinn won an Oscar for his role in Zorba the Greek.

Bichir received the nod for his starring role in A Better Life where he played Carlos Galindo, an illegal immigrant gardener living in East Los Angeles. Struggling to remain employed but undetected by immigration authorities, Galindo attempts to provide a better life for his American-born son.

“I’m overwhelmed for having my name among those incredible actors,” Bichir tells Us Weekly in a statement. “This could have never happened if Chris Weitz had not been the head of this film. He is my brother and I thank him deeply.”

Bichir’s performance—which led to a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and Independent Spirit Awards nod, has simmered on Hollywood’s back burner since awards season began.

“You know, when you encounter a character like this and a project like this, the first reaction is how lucky I am,” said Bichir in a recent interview with USA Today. “Because this is my Hamlet. This is my King Lear… It’s a bigger-than-life character that any actor would fight for it, would die to do it.”

Bichir will face-off against George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball).

Meanwhile, Bérénice Bejo is also a first-time Oscar nominee. The 35-year-old Argentine star—who was the best-dressed Latina at this year’s Golden Globes—received a Best Supporting Actress nod for her star-making role in The Artist.

Bejo is up against Jessica Chastain (The Help), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) and  Octavia Spencer (The Help).

Here’s a look at the other Latinos nominated for an Academy Award this year:

Music (Original Score):
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Music (Original Song):
Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown & Siedah Garrett, “Real in Rio” from Rio

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo was this year’s most nominated film with 11 nods, followed by Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist, with 10.

The 84th Academy Awards will be televised on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 26.

So what do Freddy Fender, Santana, Sergio Mendes and Los Panchos have in common? Their works have been selected for the 2012 Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Recording Academy announced that Fender’s “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights (1975), Santana’s album “Santana” (1969), Los Panchos’ “Mexicantos” (1945) and Mendes’ “Herp Albert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66,” (1966) are among the works for
demonstrating “musical excellence.”

Selected works must be at least 25 years old and exhibit qualitative or historical significance, according to the Recording Academy.

“We are especially honored to welcome this year’s selection of some of the most influential recordings of the last century,” said The Recording Academy’s president Neil Portnow. “Marked by both cultural and historical significance, these works truly have influenced and inspired audiences for generations, and we are thrilled to induct them into our growing catalog of outstanding recordings.”

During Grammy Week in February, the works will be formally included in the academy’s collection, which dates back approximately 40 years.

The new additions bring the number of works recognized by the Recording Academy to 906.

Fender, who passed away in 2006, was born Baldemar Huerta, the son of a Mexican immigrant father and a Texas-born mother. Some of his best-known songs were “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” and “Secret Love.”

Mendes is a Brazilian-born jazz musician.

Los Panchos was a trio that often performed ballads.

Santana, a group named after its leader, Carlos Santana, formed in 1966.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: Sergio Mendes

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