Latinx talent on the big screen is underrated and under-appreciated. Recently, we’ve seen major declines in Latinx representation, including the cancellation of television shows like This Fool, Gordita Chronicles and Not Dead Yet and in 2023, 42 films had zero Latinx speaking characters, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. With that said, as moviegoers and Latinxs, we can do our part by watching and engaging with films that are made by and/or star Latinx talent. We have compiled Latinx-led films by genres to enjoy Latinx-centered storylines whether you are looking for a comedy, a thriller, or to a musical. From Instructions Not Included to Like Water for Chocolate, read along to learn more about 12 Latinx films in different genres for everyone to join.
Drama – Quinceañera
Quinceañera is an independent drama film following Mexican-American cousins Magdalena (Emily Rios) and Carlos, played by Jesse Garcia (Flamin’ Hot) who face the prejudice as a result of their family’s conservative views. As her fifteenth birthday approaches, Magdalena finds out she is pregnant with her friend Herman’s child while her cousin has been ostracized by the family for being gay. Magdalena and Carlos move in with their elderly uncle Tomas in Echo Park—where their landlords, a white gay couple, are in a sexual relationship with Carlos. Both cousins navigate being on their own while dealing with the effects of marianismo in their family, homophobia, gentrification, unaffordable housing in Los Angeles, and the fetishizing of Latinxs.
Superhero – Blue Beetle
The 2023 Marvel film Blue Beetle became an instant classic for Latinx representation when it hit theaters last summer. The film stars Xolo Maridueña, who is of Mexican, Cuban, and Ecuadorian descent, as Jaime Reyes, a recent college graduate who is chosen by a relic known as the Scarab to become Blue Beetle. Blue Beetle was the first live-action Latinx superhero movie and was directed by Puerto Rican filmmaker Ángel Manuel Soto, uses its hero storyline as a backdrop for the dynamics of the Reyes family centering their joy, love and humor as a Mexican family.
Biopic – Selena
The iconic Gregory Nava film Selena tells the story—from childhood to her meteoric rise to fame—of the Queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Starring Jennifer Lopez in the titular role, Selena features a strong cast of Latinx actors including Edward James Olmos, Constance Marie, and Jon Seda. As we follow Selena’s path toward becoming one of the most beloved and trailblazing figures in Latin music, we get a glimpse into her life as a daughter, bandmate, girlfriend, and friend to the soundtrack of her biggest hits like “Como La Flor”, “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” and “Dreaming of You”.
LGBTQ – Mosquita y Mari
Mosquita y Mari follows teens Yolanda and Mari, who become close friends when Mari moves to the area. While initially, Mari’s defiant attitude and Yolanda’s work as a star student and daughter come to a head, their friendship blossoms as they spend more time together. As time passes, they find themselves drawn to one another romantically with newfound feelings of attraction for one another. A coming-of-age story, Mosquita y Mari takes us through the woes of girlhood, friendship, and love with the Latinx-centric backdrop of Huntington Park, Los Angeles.
Coming of age – Real Women Have Curves
The 2002 film Real Women Have Curves directed by Colombiana Patricia Cardoso shares the realities of being a first-generation Mexican-American girl living in Los Angeles. Ana, played by America Ferrera in her debut role, is a young, intelligent girl from Boyle Heights hoping to move out of her neighborhood to pursue bigger dreams. As the story develops, viewers see Ana’s mother-daughter dynamic with Carmen (played by Lupe Ontiveros) as one that mirrors many in Latinx households. She clashes often with her mother whose traditional ways influenced by familismo and marianismo as well as generational trauma cause conflict when faced with Ana’s desire for more.
Comedy – Instructions Not Included
Instructions Not Included is a comedy-drama film written, directed and starring Mexican comedic actor Eugenio Derbez. The film follows Valentin (Derbez) who, after living a carefree life, is met with a former fling dropping off their daughter, Maggie (Loreto Peralta) and leaving them. In search for Maggie’s mother, Valentin and Maggie migrate to the United States where Valentin accidentally lands a job as a Hollywood stuntman and raises Maggie as a single father. Through wit and tears, Instructions Not Included is a classic comedy filled with feel good moments, laughter, and what it means to be a family.
Romance – Like Water for Chocolate
The classic Like Water for Chocolate based on the novel of the same name by Mexican writer Laura Esquivel, follows Tita (Lumi Cavazos) who is forbidden to be with Pedro (Marco Leonardi) due to tradition. Her older sister Rosaura marries him although he is still in love with Tita and the film’s magical realism style flourishes as Tita’s emotions are absorbed through the food she cooks. A classic as a film and novel, Like Water for Chocolate is a timeless piece sure to make you swoon.
Horror – Madres
Madres is part of the Welcome to the Blumhouse anthology series and is directed by Mexican-American director Ryan Zaragoza and co-written by Latina writer Marcella Ochoa. Set in the 1970s, an expecting Mexican-American couple—played by Tenoch Huerta and Ariana Guerra—move into their new home in a migrant farming community in California. The wife soon begins to experience visions and strange symptoms, leading them to try to find out if the source of these occurrences is a curse or something else.
Musical – In the Heights
In the Heights is the 2021 film adaptation of the hit musical of the same name with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The film takes us through the summer in the neighborhood of Washington Heights. The story centers on Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a bodega owner with aspirations of returning to the Dominican Republic, and the cast of characters in the neighborhood like Vanessa (Melissa Barrera) who has dreams of fashion and Abuelita Claudia (Olga Merediz) who is a matriarchal figure in the community. This is an updated version of the 2008 original musical with themes centering on undocumented Latinxs, gentrification, and racism in higher education.
Animated – Encanto
Disney’s Encanto centers the fantastical Madrigal family living in Colombia. Each family member has been granted a special gift except for Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who struggles with being the outcast. As she deals with feeling like she doesn’t belong, she soon discovers their home is in danger and she begins the search for another family member who has been cast out. Through the story we see rippling effects of generational trauma, familismo, and identity.
Science Fiction – The Sleep Dealer
This film directed by Alex Rivera, who is of Peruvian descent, presents a dystopian reality where technology and immigration meet. The story follows Memo (Luis Fernando Peña), a hacker in Mexico who is soon discovered and forced to flee to Tijuana. There, he meets Luz (Leonor Varela), who plugs her body into the internet to make money by selling memories. Memo soon lands a job like hers in a factory. Since migration from Mexico to the U.S. is impossible, Memo is hired to connect his body to the internet to work in America, sending his labor but not his physical body across the border.
Inspired by True Events – Society of the Snow
This survival-drama tells the horrific yet inspiring true story of the 1972 Uruguayan rugby team’s tragic flight crash into the Andes on their way to a game in Chile. The story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 with 45 passengers is told through the narration of Numa Turcatti (Enzo Vogrincic) as their struggles with freezing temperatures, an avalanche, starvation, deaths of loved ones and finding hope are shown through the film’s cast of predominantly newcomer actors of Uruguayan and Argentine descent. Society of the Snow, beyond portraying the experiences of survivors, highlights the strength in brotherhood and trust they held for one another over the course of 72 days.
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