There are so many talented Latinx actors who have worked tirelessly to get to where they are in their careers, and Latinx Heritage Month - our country's recognition of Latinx Americans' achievements and culture - is an opportunity for viewers to familiarize themselves with actors from Latin American countries or ancestry and the amazing movies that they star in.
From rom-coms to horror, the diversification of the genres offered on the silver screen is letting audiences see more and more POC and ethnic actors in leading roles, and viewers have been given some impeccable performances as a result.
10 Knives Out - Ana de Armas As Marta Cabrera
This 2019 take on an old-school murder mystery that had fans clamoring for a Knives Out 2 was an instant favorite in theaters. Armas plays Marta, the caretaker of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey who thinks that she's responsible for his mysterious murder. Marta also has a habit of throwing up every time that she lies, which adds an interesting twist to the investigation.
Armas is a Cuban-born breakout actor best known for Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049, and No Time to Die. In addition to projects that have been successful here in the U.S., she's also done several Spanish-speaking films and series, such as El edén perdido, Hispania, la leyenda, and The Boarding School, which can now be streamed on Amazon.
9 Che: Parts 1 & 2 - Benicio Del Toro As Ernest "Che" Guevara
Benicio del Toro is a Puerto Rican actor who's been in almost 70 films and television shows, resulting in some of the best roles of Benicio's career. One of particular note on the subject of Latinx culture is his role as Che Guevara. Che covers the life of the famous Cuban revolutionary, his education, and his subsequent role in overthrowing the dictator Fulgencio Batista along with Fidel Castro.
The Cuban Revolution and Che Guevara are huge parts of Latin American history. Guevara was the symbol of hope for the revolution. Millions were affected by the poverty, homelessness, and lack of medical care that Guevara longed to change. Del Toro's portrayal won him Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as a Goya Award, but the actor has won many more in his lifetime, including two SAG Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar.
8 In The Heights - Anthony Ramos As Usnavi De La Vega, Lin Manuel Miranda As Piragüero, Jimmy Smits As Kevin Rosario, And Many More
In the Heights, based on the musical about the Latin community in New York City and a bodega owner trying to make it, is a Latinx studded cast. Anthony Ramos, known for his performance in Hamilton and A Star Is Born, works alongside fellow Puerto Ricans Lin Manuel Miranda and Jimmy Smits and many more Latin American actors to tell the Broadway-inspired story.
In the Heights was a complete success for musical and Latinx fans alike. While it's too new to have many accolades just yet, the film won Best Picture at the HCA Midseason Awards and critics have given it good prospects for the upcoming 2022 award season.
7 Frida - Salma Hayek As Frida Kahlo
Another monumental figure in Latinx history is that of Frida Kahlo, the Mexican artist known for her self-portraits. Hayek, who is Mexican herself, brought Kahlo's controversial life, political attitude, and career to theaters in 2002, and it did very well critically. Frida was one of the Top Ten Movies of the Year for the American Film Institute Awards, received a Golden Globe for its soundtrack, and won four Imagen Awards.
Frida is one of Hayek's best movies and she earned one of those Imagens and a Goldene Kamera award for her work on the film and has been the recipient of an ALMA Award, a Mexican Cinema Journalists award, and a Nosotros Golden Eagle award as well. Additionally, she is an activist for women's empowerment and even has her own company, Ventanarosa, that is dedicated to producing women and Latinx-driven stories.
6 Life Itself - Oscar Isaac As Will Dempsey
Fans know Oscar Isaac best from his role in the beloved Star Wars sequel films as the very likable Poe Dameron. Life Itself is one of Isaac's most emotional projects, about the struggles of a young man dealing with the death of his pregnant wife and how life's stories pass from generation to generation.
The touching film won a Heartland Film award and a Golden Trailer award. Isaac, who is Guatemalan, has won several Best Actor awards from The International Cinephile Society, the National Society of Film Critics, and many more. That, and the actor already has a Golden Globe win on his resume for Show Me A Hero.
5 Cesar Chavez - Michael Peña As Cesar Chavez
Cesar Chavez was a Mexican-American nonviolent civil rights leader and labor union advocate who founded the United Farm Workers. The film follows his life and efforts to create workable conditions and combat racism against Mexican Californian farm workers. Cesar Chavez is the first movie written about the famous activist and Latinx symbol, and it won an ALMA Award for its efforts, in addition to the Best Image win at the Imagen Awards, a Narrative Spotlight Award at SXSW Film Festival, and a Women Film Critics Circle Award.
Peña himself won an Imagen for Best Actor in the film, with America Ferrara winning Best Actress for her part in the film, as well. Peña should be incredibly familiar to audiences, the actor has been in Ant-Man, American Hustle, Narcos: Mexico, Fury, The Martian, and many more. He's also lent his voice to projects like The LEGO Ninjago Movie, American Dad!, and My Little Pony.
4 Colombiana - Zoe Saldana As Cataleya
Colombiana follows a woman named Cataleya, who watched her parents be slaughtered after her father leaves the drug cartel headed by Don Luis in Bogota, Columbia. Armed with an incriminating microchip, she escapes to the US Embassy and then to Chicago to live with her uncle and grandmother. Cataleya becomes a badass contract killer and hunts down all those involved in her parents' deaths in her free time.
Saldana, who has Puerto Rican and Dominican parents, won an ALMA Award and a Teen Choice Award for her role, as well as several nominations. The Guardians Of The Galaxy superstar has been outspoken on immigration reform and the strength of Latinx culture and what it can do for America.
3 The Eye - Jessica Alba As Sydney Wells
For horror lovers, The Eye is a perfect movie night pick. After being blind her entire life, a concert violinist gets a little more than she asked for when she has corneal transplant surgery and is finally able to see, only to be plagued by disturbing visions of a nightmare landscape that no one else can see. (And, as a small easter egg for genre fans, Chloe Grace Moretz also has a small role in the horror flick).
Alba, an actor and businesswoman, has been in close to 70 projects and is the founder of The Honest Company, which makes clean and sustainable skincare care, beauty, and baby products. As a Mexican-American descendant, Alba wrote an entire article about her family history for PopSugar Latina and detailed the importance of honoring family roots and preserving family history, especially in marginalized groups where it can easily be erased.
2 Grease Live! - Mario Lopez As Vince Fontaine, Vanessa Hudgens As Rizzo, Carlos PenaVega As Kenickie, David Del Rubio As Putzie
FOX has been exciting audiences everywhere by putting together live televised versions of popular musicals, and in 2016, the network put together a production of Grease. Historically, both the movie and subsequent castings of Grease have not been too racially or ethnically diverse.
Not only was the racial representation better in this most recent casting, but the main cast also featured several Latinx actors, including TV and movie veteran Mario Lopez and Disney Channel OG, Vanessa Hudgens. The live special won an Emmy, an MTV Movie award, and four Creative Arts Emmys.
1 Ingrid Goes West - Aubrey Plaza As Ingrid Thorburn
Ingrid Goes West is a hilarious independent dramedy about a woman who turns her focus to popular influencer Taylor Sloane, played by Elizabeth Olsen, after her mother dies. She disturbingly centers her entire new personality around Taylor's and injects herself into her life, even moving across the country - and Plaza's performance makes for one of her best roles.
Plaza, a Puerto Rican, has done many interviews about her heritage and family history. She even took part in a fundraiser headed by her father that raised money for Red Cross and hurricane relief for Puerto Rico after Maria hit them and caused life-changing damage for many families.
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October 06, 2021 at 02:00AM
