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Mexican director Guillermo del Toro continues to break Hollywood barriers. This time by earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Oscar-winning film maker received his star on August 7, 2019, and honored his Mexican roots by posing with his country’s flag during the ceremony. The street was crowded by fans who cheered on the director with phrases like “¡Viva Guillermo!”
Guillermo’s career includes films such as The Shape of Water, Hellboy and he's known as one of the Three Amigos. The nickname given to him and two of his Mexican colleagues: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) and Alejandro G. Iñarritu (The Revenant). Guillermo, however, is the first of the Three Amigos to receive this honor.
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Besides being honored with the star, Guillermo was also graced with the presence of Lana Del Rey and Star Wars director J.J. Abrams, who awarded him the star. Lana, who performs in Del Toro’s upcoming film stated that this star was special because “we’re choosing to honor somebody who’s honored something very important in his own life and work, and that’s his own unique style of storytelling, (…) It’s a beautiful thing to be reminded that being different is to be celebrated.”
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J.J. Abrams also praised Guillermo’s work by calling him “a mind-bendingly brilliant creator, a multidisciplinary artist, a curator of the most remarkable collection of art — a man who celebrates otherness and tells stories of unlikely unusual heroes with hearts almost as large as his own."
Guillermo del Toro used his time on the podium to shine a light on the topic of immigration which surrounds the U.S. culture today, “I’m Mexican and am an immigrant”. He dedicated the star to immigrants around the world and encouraged people to “believe in the possibilities and not the obstacles, ever."