A-List Takeover: The Platino Awards Light Up Mexico's Riviera Maya

The Platino Awards lit up Mexico’s Riviera Maya on May 9, 2026, as A-list talent from Latin America, Spain and Brazil packed Xcaret Park’s Gran Tlachco Theater for a high-voltage salute to the year’s best Spanish- and Portuguese-language film and television.

Big night for Ibero-American film and TV down in the jungle. The Platino Awards landed in Mexico's Riviera Maya on May 9, 2026, and instead of a stiff podium-and-podium parade, they basically staged a full-on show. And two projects ran the table: Brazil's 'The Secret Agent' on the film side and Argentina's 'The Eternaut' on the TV side.

The setting: less ceremony, more spectacle

The Gran Tlachco Theater at Xcaret Park is an open-air venue tucked into the jungle with a covered roof and the kind of scale you use when you want cameras to love you. The whole thing was built for big live productions, and it played like one: awards, musical numbers, and performances stitched together into something that felt pretty cinematic. Not your average sit-and-clap night.

Film: 'The Secret Agent' cleans up

Brazil's 'The Secret Agent,' from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, walked away with seven wins and the clear film crown. It took Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, plus craft nods for Music, Editing, and Production Design. Wagner Moura added Best Actor for good measure.

Set in 1970s Brazil under the military dictatorship, the thriller tracks a man trying to reconnect with his young son while living under a web of surveillance and suspicion. Mendonça Filho was up and down to the stage all night, getting emotional and making a point to credit the cast and crew every time.

TV: 'The Eternaut' goes even bigger

On the series side, Argentina's 'The Eternaut' outpaced everything with eight total wins, making it the single most awarded title of the night. Ricardo Darín won Best Actor in a series but wasn't at the gala. César Troncoso and Andrea Pietra took the supporting acting prizes. The show also nabbed Best Miniseries or TV Series and Best Creator for Bruno Stagnaro, along with craft wins in Music, Editing, and Visual Effects.

Based on Héctor Oesterheld's landmark Argentine sci-fi comic from 1957–1959, the series turns Buenos Aires into a survival zone after a deadly alien event, with an unseen threat reshaping daily life. Pietra summed up the headspace the role demanded:

'I had to dive deep within myself to confront fear in unknown places.'

Acting moments that hit

Spanish newcomer Blanca Soroa, 17, won Best Actress for 'Los Domingos' and got one of the night's emotional spikes talking about her first major role and the people who got her there.

In TV, Mexico's Paulina Gaitán took Best Actress for 'Las Muertas' and honestly looked overwhelmed in a good way. She put it plainly earlier:

'Serafina Baladro marked my career and I am a different actress after that character. I don't like comfort, I like challenge, exploring very different characters.'

Lifetime honor for Guillermo Francella

Argentine star Guillermo Francella received the Platino de Honor, capping a long career across film and TV. On stage he boiled it down to what keeps him going:

'la pasion' ... 'nobody makes it alone'

Then he did the classy thing and thanked the people who have backed him personally and professionally.

The show itself: fast, loud, and starry

Colombian actor Carlos Torres and Spain's Cayetana Guillén Cuervo kept the whole thing moving. Music was baked in: Argentina's María Becerra, Colombia's Camilo, and Spain's Manuel Carrasco each brought a different gear, pushing the vibe closer to a concert than an awards show. As the last performances wrapped, the Gran Tlachco started to empty out, and the hosts dropped one last note: the Platinos head back to Madrid next year, keeping the hop between Mexico and Spain going.

Quick scorecard

• The Secret Agent (Brazil) – 7 wins: Best Film, Best Director (Kleber Mendonça Filho), Best Screenplay, plus Music, Editing, Production Design; Best Actor (Wagner Moura)
• The Eternaut (Argentina) – 8 wins: Best Miniseries or TV Series, Best Creator (Bruno Stagnaro), Best Actor in a Series (Ricardo Darín), Supporting Actor (César Troncoso), Supporting Actress (Andrea Pietra), and Music, Editing, Visual Effects
• Best Actress (Film) – Blanca Soroa for Los Domingos
• Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series – Paulina Gaitán for Las Muertas
• Platino de Honor – Guillermo Francella
• Hosts – Carlos Torres and Cayetana Guillén Cuervo; Performers – María Becerra, Camilo, Manuel Carrasco
• When/where – May 9, 2026, Gran Tlachco Theater at Xcaret Park, Riviera Maya (open-air, jungle-set, large-scale production venue)
• Next year – The Platinos return to Madrid