Latinx Voices and Readings- National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month: Media

Three different people are catapulted into dramatic and unforeseen circumstances in the wake of a terrible car crash: a young punk stumbles into the sinister underground world of dog fighting; an injured supermodel's designer pooch disappears into the apartment's floorboards; and an ex-radical turned hit man rescues a Rotweiler with a gunshot wound

Comedy about an orphaned mental patient who is determined to create an ideal family for himself, so, in an irrationally inspired bid for love, he kidnaps a recovering drug addict/porn star.

"Biutiful" takes place in grimy and crowded parts of Barcelona that are a world away from that city's tourist attractions. Uxbal is a midlevel mobster, in charge of Chinese sweatshop workers making counterfeit watches and bags, and the African vendors who sell them. He collects and dispenses money, and runs interference with the cops. He also has two young children, a mentally unstable former wife, and a terminal illness. He is trying, despite his job, to be a good man, a good father. He tries to be stoical, tough, and compassionate, but he suffers because he cannot do good things, and he cares about the consequences of his actions.

The Bronze screen honors the past, illuminates the present, and opens a window to the future of Latinos in motion pictures. From silent movies to urban gang films, stereotypes of the Greaser, the Lazy Mexican, the Latin lover and the Dark lady are examined. Rare and extensive footage traces the progression of this distorted screen image to the increased prominence of today's Latino actors, writers and directors.

A chambermaid at a high-end Mexico City hotel, into a beautifully observed film of rich detail. Set entirely in this alienating environment, with extended scenes taking place in the guest rooms, hallways, and cleaning facilities, this minimalist yet sumptuous movie brings to the fore Eve's hopes, dreams, and desires.

"With a radical take on narrative, disturbing yet beautiful cinematography, and a highly sophisticated use of on- and offscreen sound, Martel turns her tale of a decaying bourgeois family, whiling away the hours of one sweaty, sticky summer, into a cinematic marvel. This visceral take on class, nature, sexuality, and the ways political turmoil and social stagnation can manifest in human relationships is a drama of amazing tactility and one of the great contemporary film debuts."

A group of young women travel by bus to a remote Spanish village overwhelmingly populated by men. With souls of practicality, the women dream of better lives while the men ache with more romantic yearnings.

The life of artist Frida Kahlo, from her humble upbringing to her worldwide fame and controversy that surrounded both her and her husband, Diego Rivera.

A group of slackers embark on a journey in order to pay their final respects to their childhood idol, but the simple trip soon becomes a voyage of self-discovery.

The brilliant debut by Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante is a mesmerizing fusion of fact and fable, a dreamlike depiction of the daily lives of Kaqchikel speaking Mayans on a coffee plantation at the base of an active volcano. Immersing us in its characters' customs and beliefs, IXCANUL chronicles with unblinking realism, a disappearing tradition and a disappearing people.

Well into their 30s, Juan Nunez and Benjamin Wilson still can₂t seem to finish veterinary school or leave their parents₂ homes. Instead, they wallow in comfortable limbo a suburb of Mexico City. On a fateful Christmas Eve, however, they decide it₂s finally time to distinguish themselves by executing the most infamous cultural artifacts heist in all of Mexican history, looting the country's iconic National Anthropology Museum in an act worthy of the Ocean₂s Eleven crew.

A nine-year-old boy's preening obsession with straightening his hair elicits a tidal wave of homophobic panic in his hard-working mother, in this tender but clear-eyed coming-of-age tale. Junior is a beautiful boy, with big brown eyes, a delicate frame, and a head of luxurious dark curls. But Junior aches to straighten those curls, to acquire a whole new look befitting his emerging fantasy image of himself as a long-haired singer. As the opportunity approaches to have his photo taken for the new school year, that ache turns into a fiery longing. Junior's mother, Marta (Samantha Castillo), is barely hanging on. The father of her children has died, she recently lost her job as a security guard, and she now struggles to put a few arepas on the table for Junior and his baby brother. Junior doesn't even know yet what it means to be gay, but the very notion prompts Marta to set out to "correct" Junior's condition before it fully takes hold. This is a story of people doing what they feel they have to, partly out of fear, but also out of love.

Four Hispanic high school students organize a robotics club. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and big dreams, this rag tag team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT.

Shortly after the Spanish Civil War, a six-year-old girl attends a traveling movie show of Frankenstein and becomes haunted by her memory of it.

"Novice nun Viridiana does her utmost to maintain her Catholic principles, but her lecherous uncle and a motley assemblage of paupers force her to confront the limits of her idealism"--Container.

The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

Latino Americans chronicles the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have for the past 500-plus years helped shape what is today the United States. It is a story of people, politics, and culture, intersecting with much that is central to the history of the United States while also going to places where standard U.S. histories do not tend to tread.