Yalitza Aparicio, the indigenous Star of ‘Roma’ Lands Cover of Vogue Mexico

Yalitza Aparicio, the Indigenous Star of ‘Roma,’ Lands Cover of Vogue Mexico

Yalitza Aparicio as Cleo, Marco Graf as Pepe, and Daniela Demesa as Sofi in ‘Roma.’ Image by Alfonso Cuarón.�
The fashion industry is known to exclude a large swath of the population. For many – especially those who are Indigenous, Black, plus size, and/or Latinx – their faces never appear on magazine covers, fashion editorials, or runways. This is especially troubling as these communities tend to serve as inspiration (and sometimes the direct source) for designers, but hardly ever get the credit. As Yalitza Aparicio – star of Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma – gains more attention in Hollywood, she’s gaining entry into this exclusionary world. This week, Vogue Mexico revealed that the actor is on the cover of a 2019 issue.
On the cover, Aparicio wore Dior’s 2019 resort collection, and underneath the words “a star is born,” there is a translation of the same text in Mixtec.

In addition to revealing Yalitza’s cover, Vogue Mexico also released a short video, where she talks about her past dreams, her fear of being in front of the camera, and her family. She also tells the magazine that your appearance shouldn’t determine whether or not you’re a star.

“Stereotypes that only one type of person can aspire to be in a movie or on the cover of a magazine are being broken,” she said in the video. “They’re getting to know other faces from Mexico and that’s something that makes me so happy and proud of my roots.

Written by Abelina Tavera