At the Critics Choice Association’s 5th annual Celebration of Latino Cinema & Television in Los Angeles, The Lost Bus star America Ferrera delivered a powerful call to action, urging Hollywood to embrace courage and responsibility during a turbulent political era. The event honored Ferrera alongside Andy Garcia, Anthony Ramos, Oscar Isaac, Dolores Huerta, and Tonatiuh, celebrating Latino excellence in film and television.
Ferrera, who received the Trailblazer Award from The Lost
Bus producer Jamie Lee Curtis, closed the ceremony with a moving speech
about the importance of storytelling in today’s polarized world. “At a time
when conversation and discourse fail to build empathy or understanding, the
stories we tell matter more than ever,” she said. “Film and TV can take people
beyond rigid thinking and into their hearts.”
A longtime activist, Ferrera reflected on a recent
conversation with a scholar of authoritarianism, who warned that the U.S. is
“barreling toward a crisis point.” She emphasized that Hollywood is not
separate from society but a vital part of it. “Artists and storytellers have a
crucial role to play,” she declared.
Ferrera urged the creative community to imagine and depict
the world they want to see: “We must not only resist what we oppose, but also
create and embody the world we believe in. Our job as storytellers is to lift
each other up, to affirm our shared humanity and dignity. Now is the time to
find our courage, to be as brave as the characters we write and portray — to
use our voices and our art to inspire the world we want to live in.”
The evening also included powerful speeches from other
honorees. Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta received the Icon Award, reminding
the audience that Latinos are “the people who truly feed and nourish this
nation,” before leading the crowd in her iconic chant, “Sí se puede.”
Additional honorees included Andy Garcia (Vanguard Award),
Kleber Mendonça Filho (Director Award), Frida Perez (Showrunner Award,
presented by Seth Rogen), Anthony Ramos (Supporting Actor, A House of
Dynamite), Oscar Isaac (Actor, Frankenstein), Gabriel Luna
(Supporting Actor, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy), Dolores Fonzi
(International Film Award), Camila Perez (Breakthrough Actress), and Tonatiuh
(Breakthrough Actor).
Tonatiuh shared an emotional story about taking students
from his former high school to a screening of the new Jennifer Lopez musical,
offering free tickets to families in financial hardship. “They saw themselves
on screen for the first time,” he said. “Some cried, some came out to me, and
others told me they’d been carrying their passports in their pockets — just in
case.”
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