Movies every gringo should see

It's perfect weather to spend a little time curled up on the couch watching movies. I think movies are great for learning more about the culture of other people. Good movies can totally transplant viewers in their worlds for two hours. I have a few favorite Latino movies that do just that.

1. My Family is probably my favorite Latino movie. It's definitely in one of my top 10 faves of all time and genres. It totally encompasses almost all of the issues Mexicans face in the U.S. I love the history it unveils and the way it portrays the side of the story that we gringos aren't used to.
2. Edward James Olmos is THE staple Latino actor in Hollywood. The great thing about him is his diversity. I love him as Paco, the narrator of My Family. He was the inspiring teacher in Stand and Deliver. I love to hate him as dictator Rafael Trijillo in In the Time of the Butterflies based on Julia Alvarez's book In the Time of the Butterflies. He was Selena's dad in Selena . He was the hard-core head of a Mexican prison gang (view discretion is advised) in American Me. Most recently I loved his work as Jess, the anti-immigrant, Mexican-American patriarch of the Gonzalez family of East L.A. in the PBS television series American Family - The Complete First Season. (Watch one episode and I promise you won't believe it's from PBS!)
3. I recently saw Under the Same Moon. I cried during that movie and movies rarely make me cry. It does a great job of portraying the hopelessness of our current immigration system.
4. A Day Without a Mexican is a great movie for poking fun at the U.S.' ridiculous immigration system and the anti-immigrant phobias of the masses.

Have fun viewing and let me know what you think.