Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration that takes place every year from September 15 to October 15 that looks to celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic people. And in the U.S., it can mean a lot for immigrants to feel closer to the culture they left behind or for first-generation Americans to feel closer to their heritage. Hispanics have a rich culture of food, fashion, and music that many people outside the ethnicity indulge in, but even so, Hispanics have been underrepresented in films and TV for a long time. In an article from NPR, they mention Hollywood’s lack of greenlighting films for and about Hispanic culture, and when they do, they tend to be racist stereotypes.
In more recent years, though, it has started to improve little by little, but Hispanics are still less likely to get lead roles and non-Hispanics still tend to be in charge of stories for and about Hispanics whether that be as directors, writers, or producers. Not to say those movies and shows can’t still be good, but it takes away films that could (and should) be led by Hispanic filmmakers.
Films that focus on cultures from Spanish-language countries usually center around family, community, and folktales, or are simply based on important Latin figures. All of these are deeply important to Hispanics and are the things they can relate to, especially important Latin figures because many Hispanics struggle to make a living and even leave their home in hopes to make a better life for their families — they love to see their people succeed. They love to celebrate the successes of other Hispanics especially if they’re from the same countries. So, to celebrate the works of Hispanic filmmakers and actors, we made a list of the best movies (in no particular order) to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 The Book of Life
20th Century Fox
The Book of Life is based on the Mexican holiday, Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead, a time for the living and dead to celebrate together loved ones that have passed away. It’s usually celebrated by going to the resting place of those that have passed with colorful decorations, photos, and food to encourage those that have passed to join them in celebration. It’s commonly identified by the skull face makeup that’s usually worn by those celebrating. At its core, The Book of Life is a love story that goes beyond most other love stories as it focuses on loving those we have lost, a very Day of the Dead theme, and the pain that comes with loving those still alive. The story follows three childhood best friends Manolo, Maria, and Joaquin in Mexico, who’ve grown up to go on different paths, but one thing that hasn’t changed is Manolo and Joaquin’s desire to marry Maria. Of course, the trio is unaware that a wager has been made by husband-and-wife deities.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Selena
Warner Bros.
Nearly every Hispanic person knows who Selena Quintanilla is because many Hispanic mothers have played her music or cried over her death. Selena was a Mexican singer who was on the rise to fame in the early to mid-90s before her tragic murder by the president of her fan club. In 1997, Jennifer Lopez portrayed the singer in the film, Selena, which depicts Selena’s life from her humble beginnings in Texas to becoming a widely adored Tejano singer all leading up to her tragic death. She is the perfect example of a Hispanic figure who is so well-beloved that a film and a Netflix series were created to tell her story. You can celebrate Selena by watching this movie for Hispanic Heritage Month and Women’s History Month as she was also the first woman Tejano musician to win a Grammy — but be prepared to shed some tears.
4 Stand and Deliver
Stand and Deliver is a 1988 film from Cuban filmmaker Ramón Menéndez, and is based on the true story of Jaime Escalante, a Bolivian math teacher at the heavily Latino school with gang activity, James A. Garfield High School. He was able to connect to his students and take them from kids who didn’t even know their multiplication table or fractions to passing their AP Calculus test. Despite the hard work to get them there, the Educational Testing Service accuses the students of cheating, but agrees to allow them to retake the test to which all the students still passed. The story of Escalante’s teaching is inspiring in how he cared about his students success even when everyone else had given up on them and labeled them a lost cause, possibly even saving them from a dangerous future. Edward James Olmos, was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Escalante and in 2011, the film was preserved in the United States National Film Registry by Library of Congress which stated the film had become, “one of the most popular of a new wave of narrative feature films produced in the 1980s by Latino filmmakers.”
3 La Llorona
La Casa de Producción
No, we’re not talking about The Curse of La Llorona, the sixth installment to The Conjuring franchise. We’re talking about La Llorona, which came out in the same year, by Guatemalan director and screenwriter Jayro Bustamante. Hispanic Heritage Month lands at a perfect time to watch a horror movie before Halloween, so if you’re looking for something scary to watch while still celebrating Hispanic filmmakers, this is the one for you. Based on the Hispanic-American folklore of a woman who roams around waterfront areas, weeping as she mourns the death of her children that she drowned, which gave her the name La Llorona or ‘Weeping Woman.’ There are different versions of the story depending on where you or your family is from. Bustamante turns the story a little more political as it follows a general charged with genocide after he ordered an attack on Guatemala, but after he’s found not guilty, he begins to be haunted by a woman whom he murdered along with her children. It was inspired by the real-life indictment of Efraín Ríos Montt.
2 Encanto
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Another one that might have you shedding some tears. Encanto is a Disney animated movie that follows the Madrigals, a Colombian multigenerational family led by a matriarch whose children have all been given a miracle gift of powers that help them serve their community. All the children, except Mirabel. But she begins to notice that something is wrong with her family’s powers and wants to try to save them. The movie portrays uniquely the dynamics of a Hispanic family (or any family for that fact), between the oldest sibling who feels like they have the whole world on their shoulders, the cousin who knows all the family gossip, and the uncle who for some odd reason you’ve never met and no one ever likes to talk about. It perfectly demonstrates the intergenerational trauma that can be familiar to a lot of those who grew up in immigrant households.
1 In the Heights
Warner Bros. Pictures
In the Heights was released in June 2021 and is an adaptation of a popular musical created by Puerto Rican and New York native, Lin-Manuel Miranda, whom you will most likely know best for his work with Hamilton. The musical film follows an ensemble cast of Hispanic characters living in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York, a city already known for its diverse cultures and feelings of community, during one of the hottest summers on record. All of them have their own conflicts whether it be the ambition to leave the neighborhood in pursuit of their dreams, return to their home country, or save their family from the financial ruin caused by supporting them through school. Everything is narrated by the main character, Usnavi (named after the first ship his parents saw when they arrived in America, U.S Navy), and follows themes such as immigration, community, and found family.
