Four Latinx music bio-flicks you need to watch before summer ends

Get your Netflix and Amazon Prime accounts ready this weekend for some of the most binge-worthy Latinx movies that will have you grooving, dancing and feeling some type of way. These movies highlight some of the most illustrious and beloved musicians within our culture and are worth taking a look at.

We kick off with Lou Diamond Philips as Chicano musician Ritchie Valens and make our way to Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as salsa power couple Héctor and Puchi. Check out our list and be sure to bookmark.  

La Bamba (1987)

You definitely don’t need to be un marinero to enjoy this bio-flick about the late, great Richard Steven Valenzuela aka Ritchie Valens. This movie dives into the incredible career of this Mexican-American Latino and how his music impacted the Latinx culture during the late 50s.

Ritchie was portrayed by American actor Lou Diamond Philips. The acting roster also includes Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck and Joe Pantoliano. In 2017, the film was selected by the Library of Congress to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Selena (1997)

This was Jennifer Lopez’s breakout role. This movie had us pulling out all of our Selena CDs and dancing Techno cumbia in our salas remembering how much we missed the beloved Selena Quintanilla (also known as the Queen of Tejano). JLo was accompanied by Edward James Olmos (who served as the producer on the film), Constance Marie and [the ultra dreamy] Jon Seda. The director Gregory Nava shared in 2007 that it had been the most emotional film he had ever done. This movie help catapult Jenny from the block into the JLo of today.

For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000)

This film will have you jazzing out and groovin’ high (literally the name of one of his songs, FYI). This film delves into the life and career of Arturo Sandoval, a legendary Cuban jazz trumpeter who was said to be ong of Dizzy Gillespie’s (another jazz phenom) favorite musicians. This movie was produced by HBO and was a made for TV bio-film that starred the dashing Andy Garcia (hello, smolder), Mía Maestro, David Paymer and legendary Cuban-American songstress Gloria Estefan.

El Cantante (2006)

This one will have you shouting Aguanile (off key) and busting some moves. This film goes into the life of late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe from the point-of-view of his wife Puchi. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are in the lead roles as Héctor and Puchi. Jenny and Marc were joined by Federico Castelluccio, Nelson Diaz among others.