Mexicans win for visual effects and animation at 2026 Oscars

At least four Tecnológico de Monterrey graduates and one professor participated in film productions that have won at the 98th Academy Awards.

These include Mitzy Agüero, Luis Iván Aguilar, Ivel Hernández, Cruz Contreras, and Leonardo Baez, who were part of creative teams in projects awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In Best Visual Effects, Digital Art and Animation graduates Mitzy Agüero and Luis Iván Aguilar from the Monterrey campus, as well as Ivel Hernández from the Mexico City campus, participated in Avatar: Fire & Ash, an award-winning production this year.

“The studio where I work operates in three locations. I’d like them to bring it to Vancouver so I can have my picture taken with the statuette.

“That makes three (Oscars for Dune, Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire & Ash). Congratulations to each and every one of my colleagues who received credit on this project, I admire you all very much,” said Ivel Hernández during a social media broadcast.

The Tec graduate explained that the pyrotechnics and particle simulations involve a prolonged technical process, since each shot can take from 3 to 8 months of work, especially during the fine-tuning and review process with the creative team.

Within that process, her work focused on volumetric simulation, i.e., visual elements that simulate gases, smoke, or energy in constant motion.

“I worked on the film for almost 2 years. It has the best visual effects I’ve ever seen; the details are out of this world. 

“Seeing my name in the credits and meeting James Cameron was like a dream,” she said in a previous interview with CONECTA.

Luis Iván also participated in this film as a digital art leader for WetaFX studio, a creative leadership role within the visual effects team.

The Tec graduate has been part of the visual effects teams of several high-profile film productions, including Dune: Part 1 (2021), Planet of the Apes (2024), and Aquaman (2018), where he contributed to the visual development that characterizes these titles.

For her part, Mitzy collaborated as a digital artist in the lighting department at Industrial Light & Magic.

For Mitzy, participating in Avatar: Fire and Ash meant integrating into a highly demanding creative process.

“I had the opportunity to work alongside artists from whom I learned a great deal, in a continuously collaborative environment,” she shared with CONECTA.

What’s more, KPOP Demon Hunters, a production in which Cruz Contreras and Leonardo Baez collaborated, also won an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category.

Cruz specializes in character clothing design and making, crucial for defining the movement, texture, and realism of a character within the visual universe of the story.

“I positioned every strand of Mira’s hair, every piece of Rumi’s wardrobe, and every one of Zoey’s accessories by hand, and the directors liked it so much that they used that shot as the album cover (of the soundtrack),” he said on his social media.

That makes three (Oscars for Dune, Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: Fire & Ash) -Ivel Hernández during a social media broadcast.

Leonardo Baez, a professor at the School of Architecture, Art, and Design, was the Lighting & Compositing Artist on the film, which also won the Best Original Song category.

“Although my time on K-pop: Demon Hunters was brief, working on such an exciting and visually stunning film alongside the most talented artists I’ve ever met made me love being on it.

“The cherry on top is that my daughter Valentina appeared in the credits as one of the babies born during production,” he wrote on his Instagram account.

About the 98th Academy Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences organized the Oscar awards ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

In its 98th edition, the best films of 2025 won awards and the winners were voted on by Academy members.

The goal of the Academy Awards is to recognize artistic and technical excellence in the film industry.

KPOP Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature, beating Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Arco, Elio, and Zootopia 2. This film also won the award for Best Original Song, with “Golden.”

Avatar defeated F1, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Sinners, and The Lost Bus in the Best Visual Effects category, the latter production being one in which Tec graduate Ricardo Manuel Marmolejo also participated in visual effects.

Frankenstein, by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, won three awards in Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

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