What is a good film (to show my college students) that represents the experience of Latino Americans?”
The “Latino American” experience is broad, but if you’re looking at it from an immigrant standpoint, show them the film “De Nadie.” It’s a documentary about Central Americans immigrating through Mexico to get to America. This is a powerful documentary that should be seen by all. If your students see this film, they’ll realize how much of a struggle it is to come to America, and they might respect Latinos more because of what they have to endure and sacrifice just to get here. There’s also a good family movie called “Sweet Sixteen” about a Latino girl’s coming of age in 1980-1990s Miami, during an whole Immigration crackdown. I also recommend taking them to a Latino restaurant. Here in Des Moines, there is a large Latino population. My professor took my class to an El Salvodorean restaurant (“El Salvodor del Mundo” on 2nd Avenue), and the waiter there was happy to tell us all about his country. You learn so much more from real people than any film. I don’t recommend West Side Story, for
