91st Academy Awards: Three Oscar wins for 'Roma' resonate across Latin America

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At the Academy Awards, Director Alfonso Cuaron took home three Oscars for his latest film, 'Roma.' The movie's story and success are prompting celebrations in Mexico, and across much of Latin America. CGTN's Franc Contreras reports from Mexico City.

Roma spelled backwards becomes the Spanish word, Amor - meaning Love.

And that's exactly what this Mexico City crowd expressed Sunday at an event to celebrate 'Roma's' 10 Oscar nominations, organized by the film's director, Alfonso Cuaron. Fans attended from across Mexico and Latin America.

FRANC CONTRERAS MEXICO CITY "People attending this event say the success of this film reveals aspects of Mexican culture never before seen in world cinema."

18-year-old Diego Martinez says Cuaron film is a masterpiece that pries open issues of racism and class, seldom publicly discussed in Mexico.

DIEGO MARTINEZ STUDENT "In Mexican society, domestic workers are often treated badly. They are not well-paid. So this film generates a consciousness that gives us a better idea of who these people are and speaks about the quality of their work."

Alfonso Cuaron made history twice Sunday night. Roma became the first ever Mexican film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Cuaron also became the first person ever to win both Director and Cinematography awards for the same project. With his Oscar for Best Director, he also becomes the fifth Mexican Director in six years to capture that coveted prize.

ALFONSO CUARONDIRECTOR, 'ROMA' "I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a film centered around an indigenous woman. One of the 70 million domestic workers in the world without work rights, a character that has historically been relegated in the background of cinema. As artists, our job is to look where others don't."

Roma is a semi-autobiographical film set in the early 1970s, in a Mexico City neighborhood called Colonia Roma. It focuses on the life of an indigenous woman, based on a domestic worker in Cuaron's real-life childhood home.

At a park in Mexico City's Roma neighborhood, hundreds of people turned out for a public screening of the Academy Awards ceremony. Some felt disheartened when Roma did not win the top prize for Best Picture. Other said Roma's success brings dignity to all Latin Americans.

VALERIA MONTOYA COLOMBIAN CITIZEN "I was filled with great pride. Mexico is doing so much in the movie industry and I hope that one day Colombia can celebrate the same."

And this image circulated on social media across the United States. The artist, Lalo Acaraz, says he created it to celebrate the presence of an indigenous woman at the Oscars, and to push back against bigotry everywhere. FC, CGTN, Mexico City.