The U.S. celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month every year from September 15 to October 15. Yeah, the dates are weird, but they were chosen to coincide with the Independence Days celebrated in several Latin American countries. According to hispanicheritagemonth.gov, this month is designed to celebrate “the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.”
No matter where you or your family are from, this might be a great time to check out art and culture from different countries and nationalities. Hispanic Heritage Month can be about celebrating pride in your own culture and learning more about your fellow Hispanics/Latines and their experiences.
With that in mind, here are ten films that either center on Latine protagonists or feature-length documentaries that focus on Latine subjects. It’s a great time to revel in the awesomeness that comes from our communities.
BLUE BEETLE (Narrative Feature, 2023)
Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto
I’ve already gushed over this film in the review I wrote last month here at TMS, but if you haven’t made your way to the theater to see Blue Beetle, GO. Or you can watch it when it comes out on digital later this month.
While it’s absolutely important to see Latine films that delve into our cultures or the challenges we face in the U.S. straddling “two different worlds,” it’s equally important that Latine storytellers simply get to tell stories they think are interesting, emotionally resonant, and cool.
“The Latine Experience” is a varied one. Blue Beetle gives us an amazing Mexican cast of characters simply existing in a heightened sci-fi world. Sure the film touches on immigration and discrimination, but those issues are not the main subject. They are details in a larger, universal story about growing up and figuring out your purpose.
REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES (Narrative Feature, 2002)
Directed by Patricia Cardoso
Starring America Ferrera in her breakout role, Real Women Have Curves is a wonderful (and heartbreakingly accurate) story about a teenage girl who wants to go to college, and her mother (Lupe Ontiveros) who loves her, but doesn’t know how to show it tenderly. I think many Latinas, even if they didn’t have a complicated relationship with their mother, will see shades of their family experience in this film.
Whether you relate to the mother-daughter dynamic, the cultural body image issues that come up in the film, or the struggle to live a life that previous generations of your family couldn’t even imagine, there’s something for everyone in this beautiful nugget of a film. Oh, y llame tu mamá!
SELENA (Narrative Feature, 1997)
Directed by Gregory Nava
If you grew up Latina in the 1990s, chances are Selena Quintanilla-Pérez meant something to you.
There was her voice, infusing everything from heartbreaking ballads to cumbia-infused pop tracks with so much emotion. There was her impeccable style. It’s no wonder she went into fashion because her looks were always on point. And despite growing up in Texas and not speaking Spanish 100% fluently, she understood how much she meant to the Latine community. Selena never shied away from that, even as she wanted to make English-language pop like the music she enjoyed.
Selena’s promise and potential were tragically taken away when she was murdered in 1995 at only 23 years old. So everyone got really excited Jennifer Lopez starred in a film biopic two years later.
At the time of Selena‘s release, some criticized it for telling an overly sanitized version of her story. And of course, Lopez is Puerto Rican, not Mexican, and plenty of Mexicans had feelings about that. Still, the film allows Latines to celebrate the music and life of someone who was the embodiment of a powerful, talented, multi-faceted Latina. Anything for Selenas!
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR: THE LEGEND OF WALTER MERCADO (Feature Documentary, 2020)
Directed by Kareem Tabsch and Cristina Costantini
I didn’t realize how much of a fixture Walter Mercado was in my life until I watched the Netflix documentary Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado. This compelling documentary tells Mercado’s life story, from growing up in Ponce, Puerto Rico to becoming a globally-recognized television fixture for his astrological predictions and his flamboyant outfits. I had flashbacks to watching TV with my mother and how everything in our house ground to a halt when Walter Mercado was onscreen.
My mom was Catholic and didn’t necessarily believe in astrology or making predictions based on the zodiac, but Mercado had a way of making you feel like your concerns were being heard. He was comforting and felt like a steady hand you could hold in this tumultuous world. Also, did I mention those outfits? I mean, the capes alone.
This is a worthwhile watch, as it centers on interviews with Mercado himself, filmed shortly before his death in 2019. In it, we get to know a man who always marched to the beat of his own drum and managed to bring joy and comfort to an entire community.
COCO (Animated Feature, 2017)
Directed by Lee Unkrich
I don’t blame you if you’re already crying just looking at the above photo. It was thrilling when Coco arrived on the scene. Before that, Pixar protagonists had been white people, animals, cars, monsters, or anthropomorphic representations of emotions. Coco was the first Pixar film to shine a light on a non-American culture through the lens of a non-American, non-white protagonist.
Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) is so relatable as a kid who dreams of becoming a musician, even in the face of his family’s hardcore music ban. As he explores his family history thanks to some Day of the Dead hijinks, we’re treated to fantastic music, beautifully crafted relationships, and insight into Mexican culture, family dynamics, and traditions.
As I said above, exploring Latine communities that are not your own is part of the fun of Hispanic Heritage Month. I’m not Mexican, but I’m grateful for movies like Coco that allow me to share in some of the love and joy of Mexican culture.
ENCANTO (Animated Feature, 2021)
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard
Mirabel is me. I am Mirabel. And when I watched Encanto for the first time, I was shattered in the best possible way. Encanto is an honest, hilarious, and poignant depiction of a teenage girl’s coming of age as the only powerless member of her superpowered family. But Mirabel soon realizes that she’s the one best equipped to help her family heal their generational trauma and grow closer.
Encanto also has one of the best soundtracks ever. I know everyone’s obsessed with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” and “Surface Pressure,” but to me, nothing’s better than “Look, it’s Mr. Mariano/Hey you can marry my sister if you wanna/between you and me, she’s kind of a prima donna/hey yo, I’ve said too much so thank you, but I really gotta go…” from the opening number “The Family Madrigal.”
Encanto also gives us multifaceted Latine representation. Within one family we see a diversity of types. It’s so accurate to have brown, curly-haired Mirabel exist in the same family as white, Black, brown, and Indigenous-looking relatives. This extends to the entire village, and it’s beautiful to see such a genuine portrayal of Colombia’s diversity in a way that’s subtle but unmistakable.
RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT (Feature Documentary, 2021)
Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
Rita Moreno is a “Capital-I” Icon. The woman is 91 years old, and she’s in two movies that came out this year (80 for Brady and Fast X). Moreno also had a full-time role on the Latine reboot of One Day at a Time (RIP) and a recurring role on Bless This Mess.
And of course, there are the roles that earned her EGOT status: her Oscar-winning turn as Anita in West Side Story, her Tony-Winning performance as Googie Gomez in The Ritz, and her appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977, which won her her first Emmy. Her Grammy was for Best Children’s Album for The Electric Company, by the way.
So, if anyone deserves a deep dive into their life and career, it’s Rita Moreno. Thankfully, this documentary was made with her participation, allowing her to give us deep, personal insights into her experiences, both good and bad, that cover eight decades in show business. She was an eye-witness to so many changes in the industry—especially for women and Latinas—and it’s fascinating to see how she interprets her past through a modern lens.
IN THE HEIGHTS (Narrative Feature, 2021)
Directed by Jon M. Chu
This is now the fourth film on this list that somehow involves Lin-Manuel Miranda, who produced both documentaries listed above and wrote the music for Encanto. Dang, the man works.
A film adaptation of a Tony-winning stage musical can never capture the magic you’d experience live in a theater (or even listening to an original cast recording), but film lasts. While there might not always be a stage production of In the Heights running, Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights makes Miranda’s first musical accessible to Latines for generations to come.
While the film garnered warranted criticism from Afro-Latines who pointed out the lack of melanin in the film, it still managed to be something that made Latines feel more pride and joy than not. In being the story of a specific group of Latines in Washington Heights, In the Heights still delivers a universal story about finding your home.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (2018) and SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023) (Animated Features)
I knew I wanted one of these films on this list, but I couldn’t choose because they’re both so good. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are both hugely innovative in their use of animation. They also both give us a well-crafted, nuanced protagonist in Miles Morales, whose identity as an Afro-Latino is absolutely part of his experience.
Sadly, as few examples of films starring Latines exist, there are even fewer centering Afro-Latines. And when we do see Afro-Latines in films—your Gina Torreses, Tessa Thompsons, Jharrel Jeromes, or Coleman Domingos—they’re usually playing non-Latine Black roles. So it’s refreshing to see a protagonist in a tentpole superhero film, animated or not, where both his Afro and Latino identities are honored and represented.
MARIA FULL OF GRACE (Narrative Feature, 2004)
Directed by Joshua Marston
I hesitate to include Latine films that involve drugs in recommendations, as they often feed into the perception of Latines as a criminal, foreign element in the U.S. Especially when the story is in the hands of a non-Latine filmmaker.
So, why am I putting a film on the list that involves drugs and is written/directed by a gringo? In spite of those “strikes against it,” Maria Full of Grace is a great Spanish-language film that offers a beautiful character study of a female protagonist while shining a spotlight on an area of the drug trade that doesn’t get much attention: drug mules.
Catalina Sandino Moreno plays the titular Maria, a Colombian teenager who becomes a drug mule out of desperation, swallowing 62 pellets of drugs to fly them to the U.S. While most films set in this world focus on the men, the cartels, and the violence, Maria Full of Grace centers the average teenage girls who find themselves getting involved in this work, the dangers they face, and their resilience. Sandino Moreno earn an Academy Award nomination for her stunning performance.
What’s your favorite Latine-centered film? Let us know in the comments!
(featured image: Netflix)
