It’s the same old disappointing song and dance this year when it comes to Latinx representation in the list of Emmy nominations, but we won’t harp on it (for now) like we did last year, or the year before, or the year before, or the year before. However, it is clear that something is still broken at the Television Academy. That said, there were a few noteworthy announcements on Tuesday.
Actress Alexis Bledel, for example, whose father was born in Argentina and mother was raised in Mexico, earned her third Emmy nomination for her work on Hulu’s original series The Handmaid’s Tale. Bledel won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Ofglen in 2018. This year, she landed a nod for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Nuyorican director and cinematographer Nadia Hallgren picked up two nominations (Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program) for the Netflix documentary Becoming, which follows former First Lady Michelle Obama on her book tour for her 2018 book of the same name.
Another Latina who picked up a nomination is Linda Mendoza who was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, for Tiffany Haddish Presents: They Ready. This is Mendoza’s first Emmy nomination in her nearly 30-year career, which has included directing TV’s The Bernie Mac Show, Scrubs and a handful of the ceremonies for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center.
Two-time Emmy-winning stunt coordinator Eddie Perez picked up his third nomination for his work on the Showtime series Shameless for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series. Perez won the award for the same show in 2016 and 2017.
Choreographers Jefferson Benjumea and Adrianita Avila earned noms for Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming for J. Lo’s NBC TV series World of Dance. Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o, who identifies as Kenyan-Mexican, earned a nom for Outstanding Narrator for her storytelling prowess on Discovery’s documentary Serengeti.
Other Latinx noms include hairstylists Jennifer Guerrero, Mary Guerrero, George Guzman and Regina Rodriguez; makeup artists Lawrence Mercado, Ana Gabriel Quiñonez and Jessica Padilla; editors Tony Diaz and James Hernandez; lighting designer Oscar Dominguez; and animator Cisco Torres, among others.