Lupe Ontiveros’ [conspicuous absence](https://colorlines.com/archives/2013/02/oscars_in_memoriam_snubs_lupe_ontiveros_twice.html) from the Oscars’ "In Memoriam" montage this year was but one disappointment in an especially offensive year for the Academy Awards. The Latina actress’ family noticed, too. In a statement issued on behalf of his family, Ontiveros’ youngest son Elias Ontiveros said the show’s producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron made a "poor decision" when they left his mother out of their memorial montage this year. Ontiveros called the omission a missed opportunity to reach out to Latino audiences, for whom his mother was a beloved star. But more, by failing to recognize Lupe Ontiveros’ lifetime of work in Hollywood, the Academy showed its true colors, which are, well, extremely white. It was exactly the kind of erasure that Ontiveros fought against during her career. In life, and after her passing, Lupe Ontiveros was a highly regarded actress, a Hollywood mainstay who played by her own estimation at least 150 maids during her decades-long career. She imbued her characters with dignity, and yet chafed against the confines of an entertainment industry with so little imagination about the kinds of characters a Latina actress could portray. "You’ve got maids and you’ve got *maids*," she told [NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102967047) in 2009. In auditions she often knew exactly what to expect: "’You want an accent?’ And they’d say, ‘Yes, we prefer for you to have an accent.’ And the thicker and more waddly it is, the more they like it. This is what I’m against, really, truly." "I long to play a judge. I long to play a lesbian woman. I long to play a councilman, someone with some chutzpah," Ontiveros said. Chutzpah she certainly had. She also took pride in her career. "I’m proud to represent those hands that labor in this country," she told The New York Times. The Ontiveros family’s statement is included in full after the jump.