Awards season is over. We know the winners, the losers, the surprises. But there’s only one part of it—or really, one person—that I’ll remember forever: Yalitza Aparicio.

After her soul-moving performance in Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma—her first acting job, ever—I was rooting for Aparicio to take home the Best Actress Oscar. She didn’t end up winning, but it didn’t really matter: Her presence at the most revered awards ceremony in Hollywood, and on the red carpet for the months leading up to it, was a victory on its own.

I watched (and loved) Roma and was captivated by Aparicio’s Cleo. But I really started paying attention to her as a Hollywood force in December, when she graced the cover of Mexican Vogue—the first indigenous woman to do so. (Aparicio is Mixteca and Triqui.) She wore a gorgeous white Dior dress, from a collection that was inspired by escaramuzas, female Mexican horse riders. Her features and her long, dark hair reminded me of my own.

I’m a first-generation American, the daughter of Mexican and Filipino immigrants, and I’ve grappled with identity markers and what they mean for as long as I can remember. I recalled the numerous times I sprinted to the mailbox as a kid, eager to get the latest issue of whatever fashion magazine I had subscribed to. I absorbed the content voraciously, reading every single word—including the ads—and ripped out pages to tack on my walls. From a very young age, I loved fashion. But I never felt that fashion loved me back. How could I feel differently, when I never saw people who looked like me?

To see Aparicio strong, beautiful, on that cover meant something—not just to me but so many others in indigenous and Latinx communities. “I absolutely adored her Vogue México cover,” says Angelica Terrazas, 26, an advertising executive in Los Angeles. “The rich tones, gown, all of it—I love the simplicity of her look. It’s part of what makes her captivating. She’s not trying to be anything other than who she is, and that is so powerful in its own right.”

I always knew my family had indigenous roots, but I only recently learned what those were: My ancestors were primarily Zacatecas, who resided in what is now present-day north-central Mexico. Around the same time I discovered this, Aparicio’s star power on the red carpet was on the rise. And to see her dressed by some of the world’s biggest, most esteemed luxury brands—Gucci, Prada, Michael Kors, to name a few—created this confluence where my heritage and my passions all met.

When Aparicio stepped onto the Oscars red carpet wearing custom mint-green Rodarte, there was no doubt: She belonged there. Her stylist, Sophie Lopez, told British Vogue that they worked closely with Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind the brand, “to make a dress that really felt like Yalitza.”

“I work on the personality of the client—their likes, their dislikes, what they feel amazing in,” said Lopez, who also works with Aparicio’s Roma costar Marina de Tavira. “It’s always a collaborative experience. [With Yalitza], we’re always drawn to the more youthful, playful, vibrant designs. She’s only 25 years old, so we always bear that in mind, to keep it looking young and fresh.”

And folks looking up to Aparicio and following her journey were paying attention.

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