Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "mexican-american-history"

1. Stand and Deliver (1988)

PG | 103 min | Biography, Drama

The story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.

Director: Ramón Menéndez | Stars: Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan, Virginia Paris

Votes: 22,425 | Gross: $13.99M

2. American Me (1992)

R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

A Mexican-American Mafia kingpin is released from prison, falls in love for the first time, and grows introspective about his gangster lifestyle.

Director: Edward James Olmos | Stars: Edward James Olmos, William Forsythe, Sal Lopez, Vira Montes

Votes: 10,482 | Gross: $13.09M

3. La Bamba (1987)

PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music

Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.

Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña

Votes: 36,548 | Gross: $54.22M

4. McFarland, USA (2015)

PG | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

Jim White moves his family after losing his last job as a football coach, and at his new school he turns seven disappointing students into one of the best cross-country teams in the region.

Director: Niki Caro | Stars: Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts

Votes: 42,394 | Gross: $44.47M

5. Selena (1997)

PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, Music

The true story of Selena, a Texas-born Tejano singer who rose from cult status to performing at the Astrodome, as well as having chart-topping albums on the Latin music charts.

Director: Gregory Nava | Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda, Jackie Guerra

Votes: 31,761 | Gross: $35.42M

6. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

PG-13 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.

Director: Malik Bendjelloul | Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore

Votes: 73,068 | Gross: $3.97M

7. Joan Baez I Am a Noise (2023)

113 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

At the end of a 60-year career, legendary singer and activist Joan Baez takes an honest look back and a deep look inward as she tries to make sense of her large, history-making life, and the personal struggles she's kept private.

Directors: Miri Navasky, Maeve O'Boyle, Karen O'Connor | Stars: Joan Baez, Gabriel Harris, Pauline Baez, Joan Baez Sr.

Votes: 566

8. The Golden Boy (2023)

TV-MA | 156 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport

It peels back the layers of Oscar de la Hoya while celebrating this complicated and controversial figure. We will explore his triumphs and turmoil to reveal a man struggling to come to terms with lifelong demons.

Stars: Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Villena

Votes: 408

9. Zoot Suit (1981)

R | 103 min | Drama, Musical

When barrio leader Henry Reyna and his friends are unjustly convicted on circumstantial evidence, activist lawyers Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant racially motivated miscarriage of justice to win them their freedom.

Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Daniel Valdez, Edward James Olmos, Charles Aidman, Tyne Daly

Votes: 1,346 | Gross: $3.26M

10. Walkout (2006 TV Movie)

TV-14 | 110 min | Drama

A teacher becomes a mentor to Chicano high-school students protesting injustices in schools in 1968.

Director: Edward James Olmos | Stars: Alexa PenaVega, Michael Peña, Yancey Arias, Laura Harring

Votes: 1,578

11. Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (2019)

Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Biography

Having spent much of his early life in prison, actor Danny Trejo discusses his career and how he has overcome a life of crime and addiction.

Director: Brett Harvey | Stars: Cheech Marin, Craig Balkam, Danielle Trejo, Danny Trejo

Votes: 1,293

12. Salt of the Earth (1954)

Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, History

Mexican workers at a zinc mine call a general strike. It is only through the solidarity of the workers, and importantly the indomitable resolve of their wives, mothers, and daughters, that they eventually triumph.

Director: Herbert J. Biberman | Stars: Juan Chacón, Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer, David Bauer

Votes: 4,053

13. Carlos (2023)

R | 87 min | Documentary, Biography

Follows Santana's journey from 14-year-old street musician to a 10-time Grammy winning global sensation. Features unseen archival footage and tracks.

Director: Rudy Valdez | Star: Carlos Santana

Votes: 309

14. Cesar Chavez (2014)

PG-13 | 102 min | Biography, Drama

A biography of the civil-rights activist and labor organizer Cesar Chavez.

Director: Diego Luna | Stars: Michael Peña, America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson, John Malkovich

Votes: 3,626 | Gross: $5.55M

15. 77 Minutes (2016)

98 min | Documentary

A doc exploration of the 1984 McDonald's Massacre, where a man walked into a San Diego fast food restaurant and shot forty men, women, and children.

Director: Charlie Minn | Stars: Carlos Amezcua, Maria Aquino, Max Branscomb, Richard Carlson

Votes: 945

16. What We Leave Behind (2022)

71 min | Documentary

After a lifetime of bus rides to the US to visit his children, Julián quietly starts building a house in rural Mexico. In filming his work, his granddaughter crafts a personal and poetic love letter to him and his homeland.

Director: Iliana Sosa

Votes: 176

17. American Homeboy (2023)

83 min | Documentary

Pachuco and Cholo culture sprouted from American soil in response to social alienation, wartime sentiment, and discriminatory government policies, only to revolutionize pop culture.

Director: Brandon Loran Maxwell | Stars: Kenneth Castillo, Estevan Oriol, Jerry H. Ramirez, Luis J. Rodriguez

Votes: 13

18. LA Originals (2020)

92 min | Documentary

Photographer Estevan Oriol and artist Mister Cartoon turned their Chicano roots into gritty art, impacting street culture, hip hop and beyond.

Director: Estevan Oriol | Stars: Estevan Oriol, Mister Cartoon, Snoop Dogg, Clifton Collins Jr.

Votes: 2,003

19. Dolores (I) (2017)

Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History

In the 1950's, a working-class wife and mother of eleven children helps to establish a farmer's union, which later develops into a platform for feminism and gender equality.

Director: Peter Bratt | Stars: Dolores Huerta, Martin Luther King, Luis Valdez, Ricardo S. Chavez

Votes: 377 | Gross: $0.56M

20. Underwater Dreams (2014)

Unrated | 86 min | Documentary, History, News

Underwater Dreams, narrated by Michael Peña, chronicles the story of how the sons of undocumented Mexican immigrants learned how to build underwater robots. And go up against MIT in the process.

Director: Mary Mazzio | Star: Michael Peña

Votes: 94

21. The Last Brown Beret

103 min | Drama | Post-production

Brown Beret 1960's activists reunite for a funeral. At the after party, one of them waylays the others into the garage where they use to meet. They attempt to come to terms with what they changed for the good, and what was left undone.

Director: Del Zamora | Stars: Alex Cox, Randy Vasquez, George Reynolds, Del Zamora

22. Chulas Fronteras (1976)

58 min | Documentary, Music

"Chulas Fronteras" examines the origins and social significance of the traditional Tejano (or 'Tex-Mex') music that developed along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Director: Les Blank | Stars: Ramiro Cavazos, Los Alegres De Teran, Los Pinguinos del Norte, Rumel Fuentes

Votes: 182 | Gross: $0.01M

23. Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement (1996 TV Movie)

Documentary

Land, labor, educational reform, and political empowerment are the four themes of this documentary regarding the Mexican American civil rights movement from 1965 to 1975.

Stars: Cesar Chavez, Henry Cisneros

Votes: 21

24. 915 (2020)

R | 125 min | Documentary

A graphic documentary about the 2019 Cielo Vista Walmart Shooting in El Paso, Texas.

Director: Charlie Minn | Stars: Patricia Benavides, Alicia Gallego Bueno, Luis Calvillo, William Englisbee

Votes: 52

25. The Fight in the Fields (1997)

120 min | Documentary, Biography

This documentary traces the history of the United Farmworkers Union and the life of its founder, Cesar Chavez, from his birth in Arizona, his education into organizing and non-violence, his... See full summary »

Directors: Rick Tejada-Flores, Ray Telles | Stars: Daryl Arnold, Jerry Brown, LeRoy Chatfield, Cesar Chavez

Votes: 31

26. Precious Knowledge (2011)

75 min | Documentary, Drama, Family

Disenfranchised high school seniors become academic warriors and community leaders in Tucson, Arizona's embattled Ethnic Studies classes while state lawmakers attempt to eliminate the program.

Director: Ari Palos | Stars: Curtis Acosta, Jose Gonzalez, Mellanie Hubert

Votes: 85

27. Carlos Almaraz: Playing with Fire (2019)

82 min | Documentary

Explore the life of Chicano activist Carlos Almaraz, sexual outlaw and visionary painter of some of the most unforgettable images of Southern California.

Directors: Elsa Flores Almaraz, Richard Montoya | Stars: Zack De La Rocha, Shepard Fairey, Dolores Huerta, Cheech Marin

Votes: 80

28. Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story (2003)

30 min | Documentary, Short

Narrated by Cheech Marin and scored by Ry Cooder, this half-hour documentary captures how a community was betrayed by greed, political hypocrisy, and good intentions gone astray.

Director: Jordan Mechner | Star: Cheech Marin

Votes: 40

29. Porvenir, Texas (2019)

Not Rated | 56 min | Documentary

In the early morning hours of January 28th, 1918, the town known as Porvenir, Texas, ceased to exist. A group of fifteen fathers, uncles, brothers and sons were taken from their homes and ... See full summary »

Director: Andrew Shapter | Stars: Azgad De Los Santos Crisostomo, Penelope Gil, José Marrero, D.J. Morrison

Votes: 9

30. Corpus (I) (1999)

56 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

"Corpus: A Home Movie for Selena" is Chicana filmmaker Lourdes Portillo's foray into the legacy of the tejana singer Selena Quintanilla. Portillo interviews family members such as Selena's ... See full summary »

Director: Lourdes Portillo | Stars: Sandra Cisneros, Rosa Linda Fregoso, Cherrie Moraga, Abraham Quintanilla Jr.

Votes: 17

31. Los Punks: We Are All We Have (2016)

79 min | Documentary, Music

Los Punks: We Are All We Have is an intimate documentary about the teens and young adults who find meaning in the thriving punk rock scene in the backyards of South Central and East Los Angeles.

Director: Angela Boatwright | Stars: John Alvarado, Gary Alvarez, Nacho Corrupted, April Desmadre

Votes: 203

32. Transvisible: The Bamby Salcedo Story (2014 Video)

60 min | Documentary, Biography, Family

Bamby's story honors the human spirit and celebrates the victories of winning in the face of adversity, with a special message to trans immigrant women that face multiple challenges and oppressions.

Director: Dante Alencastre | Star: Bamby Salcedo

33. The Eagle's Children (1998)

Not Rated | 39 min | Documentary, Short

"La Danza de la Conquista del Gran Tenochtitlan", also known as "Los Concheros", "Danza Azteca", & "Danza Chichimeca", traces its origins to pre-Columbian Nahua ("Aztec") roots. Its ... See full summary »

Director: Pacho Lane | Stars: Mario Aguilar, Felipe Aranda, Florencio Gutierrez, Manuel Luna

34. I Am Joaquin (1969)

20 min | Documentary, Short, History

This short film is based on the poem by the same title published by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in 1967.

Director: Luis Valdez | Star: Luis Valdez

Votes: 159

35. Viva la causa (2008)

Not Rated | 40 min | Documentary, Short, History

The Story of César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and a Great Movement for Social Justice.

Directors: Bill Brummel, Alonso Mayo | Stars: Danny Bolero, Gloria Garibay, George Lopez

Votes: 29

36. No Más Bebés (2015)

79 min | Documentary, History

They came to have their babies. They went home sterilized. No Mas Bebes is the story of Mexican immigrant mothers who were pushed into sterilizations while giving birth at Los Angeles ... See full summary »

Director: Renee Tajima-Pena

Votes: 54

37. A Class Apart (2009)

TV-PG | 49 min | Documentary

From a small-town Texas murder emerged a landmark civil rights case. The little-known story of the Mexican American lawyers who took Hernandez v. Texas to the Supreme Court, challenging Jim Crow-style discrimination.

Directors: Peter Miller, Carlos Sandoval | Stars: Gloria Villa Cadena, Norma Cantú, Ramiro Casso, James DeAnda

Votes: 36

38. Fighting for Our Lives (1975)

59 min | Documentary

A great documentary about the United Farm Workers Movement and their non-violent struggle against police brutality in 1973.

Director: Glen Pearcy | Star: Luis Valdez

Votes: 37

39. Mr. Zoot Suit (2018)

17 min | Documentary, Short, Biography

After putting his dreams on hold, a university housekeeping supervisor follows his passion for dancing and educating others about the history of the zoot suit.

Director: Chan'Cellore Makanjuola | Stars: Moses Porras, Rose Mary Porras, Rose Barrera, Josey Porras

40. Chicano Rock! The Sounds of East Los Angeles (2008 TV Movie)

60 min | Documentary, Music

Documentary telling the story of generations of young Mexican-Americans who proudly expressed their identity through music.

Director: Jon Wilkman | Star: Edward James Olmos

Votes: 10

41. Stolen Education (2013)

PG | 66 min | Documentary, Drama

In 1956 eight students testified in a federal desegregation court case. As Mexican Americans, they were placed in three years of first grade as a way to discriminate against them by the all... See full summary »

Director: Rudy Luna | Stars: Enrique Alemán Jr., Esperanza Alemán, Norma E. Cantu, Consuelo Esparza

Votes: 20

42. Singing Our Way to Freedom (2018)

87 min | Documentary

Add a Plot

Director: Paul Espinosa | Stars: Ramon 'Chunky' Sanchez, Alma Martinez, Virginia Zarp, Ricardo Sanchez

43. 3 Seconds in October (2021)

28 min | Documentary, Short

When 13-year-old Latino Andy Lopez is killed by a local deputy sheriff, the community of Sonoma County, California erupts in protest over the controversial shooting and demands to know what happened.

Director: Ron Rogers | Star: Peter Coyote

44. Enter the Zoot Suit Riot (2018)

14 min | Short, Musical

Kool, a hip successful Chicano living in East LA, grew aware of the tensions between the Pachucos and the servicemen, but he found a place to escape the conflict in his own nightclub. ... See full summary »

Directors: David Fesiuk, Sarah Rachel Fesiuk | Stars: Samuel Hooper, Raymond Masciota, Zane Ramey, Sophie Scott

45. Chicana (1979)

23 min | Documentary, Short, History

Over a collage of artworks, photographs, and documentary footage, Carmen Zapata and an array of Chicana activists narrate the history of struggles faced by Mexican and Mexican-American women from the pre-Columbian era to the present day.

Director: Sylvia Morales | Stars: Carmen Zapata, Alicia Escalante, Francisca Flores, Dolores Huerta

Votes: 56

46. Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle (2014)

TV-PG | 53 min | Documentary

Ruben Salazar: Man in the Middle, an investigative look at the life and mysterious death of pioneering journalist Ruben Salazar.

Director: Phillip Rodriguez | Star: Michael Manuel

Votes: 19

47. Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey (2015)

52 min | Documentary

"A Photographer's Journey" captures the remarkable life and work of Pedro Guerrero (1917-2012). He left behind thousands of photographs and nearly 15 hours of interviews beautifully shot in... See full summary »

Directors: Yvan Iturriaga, Ray Telles | Star: Pedro E. Guerrero

Votes: 27

48. Immokalee U.S.A. (2008)

Not Rated | 77 min | Documentary

Every season, tens of thousands of migrant farmworkers converge on small communities like Immokalee, Florida where they plant and harvest the food that Americans consume. A vast majority of... See full summary »

Director: Georg Koszulinski

Votes: 36

49. Los Four/Murals of Aztlan (1974)

Documentary

Los Four documents the first exhibition of Chicano artists held at a major art museum, the Los Angles County Museum of Art, in 1974. Los four (1973-1983) was an influential Chicano art ... See full summary »

Director: James Tartan | Stars: Carlos Almarez, David Rivas Botello, Roberta de la Rocha, Gronk

50. Songs of the Homeland (1995 TV Movie)

Documentary, Music

Describes the history of Tejano music in South Texas.

Director: Hector Galan | Star: Freddy Fender

Votes: 8