MOVIES:
Like Water for Chocolate: Nominated for a Golden Globe and based on the book by Laura Esquivel, this 1900s-era film features (among other things) the life of a young woman who is madly in love.
Under The Same Moon (La Misma Luna): Tells the story of a young boy who crosses the Mexican-American border to find his working mother in the United States.
McFarland USA: Inspired by actual events, the film is about a predominantly Latino community and a group of teens that attend the low-income local high school.
Pelo Malo (Bad Hair): The film follows 9-year-old Junior from Caracas, Venezuela, who becomes obsessed with straightening his hair and deals with homophobia from his mother.
The Graduates: Following the lives of 6 Latinx high school students across the United States working to beat the odds, this inspiring documentary shows the educational issues students living in underserved communities face every day.
BEAUTY BRANDS:
Bésame Cosmetics: besamecosmetics.com: Gabriela Hernandez idolized her grandmother’s glamorous looks and honored them by founding her own makeup brand in 2004.
Alamar Cosmetics: alamarcosmetics.com: “Siempre cruelty-free,” promises Alamar Cosmetics about every product. The company was founded by Gabriela Trujillo who named the company after the Cuban barrio she was born in—Alamar.
Vive Cosmetics: vivecosmetics.com: Leslie Valdivia of Mexican descent and Joanna Rosario-Rocha, who’s Mexican and Puerto Rican, founded Vive which is operated and marketed entirely by Latin Americans. The brand “embodies the Latin culture—vibrant, cheeky, passionate.”
Artist Couture: sephora.com: Growing up in a household with his mom, aunt, and cousin, all El Salvadorian women who loved their beauty products, Angel Merino naturally fell in love with cosmetics too and formed Artist Couture.