¡Ya es hora! That means "It's time" in Spanish, and it is indeed time to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, all September long.
There are too many brilliant films and TV shows by Latinx and Hispanic auteurs to round up in one list, so we've narrowed it down to 35 things to watch to learn more about the American Latinx experience.
In an open letter signed by 270 Latinx TV and film writers, showrunners and creators in October 2020, stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Leguizamo and One Day at a Time showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett called for more on-screen representation both above and below the line. "While Latinx are 18.3% of the U.S. population, we only make up 4.7% of feature writers and 8.7% of TV writers," the letter stated, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "Inclusivity is not enough."
The statement called for "no stories about us, without us," as well as more producers to greenlight projects centered on Latinx history and storytelling.
As E!'s own Lilliana Vazquez explained about Hispanic Heritage Month last year, "I think it's more about creating awareness around the splendor of success and contributions that Latinos have made in many different fields."
The Daily Pop co-host added, "We have so much work to do because not only are we underrepresented in the images you see, but the images you see represent such a small portion of our population. We need to do a better job by showing more images and having more people on screen that identify and represent Black and African Latinx."
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, E! News has compiled our favorite films, including Disney/Pixar's Coco and Real Women Have Curves, plus the best (and most bingeable) Latinx series like Vida and Selena: The Series. From documentaries on civil rights activist Cesar Chavez to classic Jennifer Lopez movies and Oscar-winner Roma, see our picks for what to watch.