This Hispanic Heritage Month, brush up on your Spanish and your dating game with seven Latin American movies about love, sex and relationships from every stage and walk of life. 

‘Y tu mamá también’

If you haven’t seen this gorgeous film yet, we envy you. Alfonso Cuarón’s story of an extraordinary meeting-turned-road trip between a wandering woman (Maribel Verdú) and two lifelong friends (Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna) will stay with you long after the first watch, its scenes appearing in your mind from time to time like forgotten dreams. Upon its release, Newsweek so accurately reported that “The movie has an emotional kick that lingers like a primal memory. When the year is over, Cuaron’s film will be remembered as one of 2002’s finest.” Two decades later, that still holds true. 

Watch Y tu mamá también on DIRECTV. 

‘Like Water for Chocolate’

Based on a novel of the same name, Like Water for Chocolate “tells a dark, sad, horrific but heartening story in sweet, gleaming images that tickle ribs, quicken senses and awaken hungers,” according to the Los Angeles Times. “There’s just one word for it: Scrumptious.” From director, actor and voice artist Alfonso Arau (A Walk in the Clouds, Three Amigos!, Coco), this love story follows a forbidden passion set against cultural traditions and tense family loyalties that give way to a supernatural surge through the heroine’s expressionistic cooking.

‘Selena’

In this compelling biographical drama, the talented Selena Quintanilla (Jennifer Lopez) emerges from a musically gifted Mexican-American family in the heart of Texas. Guided by her father, Abraham (Edward James Olmos), Selena’s remarkable journey starts when they team up to perform at intimate venues. As her star begins to rise, she falls deeply in love with her guitarist, Chris Perez (Jon Seda), sparking a tumultuous relationship that challenges her family’s traditional values.

Determined to conquer the mainstream music scene, Selena embarks on a remarkable journey to record her first English-language album. Tragically, fate intervenes, and her path takes an unexpected and heartbreaking turn, leaving a lasting legacy that transcends her unfinished dreams.

Watch Selena on DIRECTV. 

‘Fools Rush In’

This early effort from noted rom-com director Andy Tennet (Fool’s Gold, Sweet Home Alabama, Hitch) will tickle any fan of the genre. Starring Matthew Perry — during the height of his Chandler days — and Salma Hayek at the very start of her career — Fools Rush In offers a light-hearted take on the opposites attract trope, as well as a welcome dose of ’90s nostalgia. But it’s actually good! “Yes, the movie is a cornball romance,” Roger Ebert wrote. “But there is also a level of observation and human comedy here; the movie sees how its two cultures are different and yet share so many of the same values, and in Perry and Hayek it finds a chemistry that isn’t immediately apparent. That’s a nice touch.”

Watch Fools Rush In on DIRECTV.

‘How To Be a Latin Lover’ 

A directorial debut by certified goof and prince of satire Ken Marino, this rom-com from whence we draw our headline features Mexican superstar Eugenio Derbez as a gold-digging trophy husband living large — before having to turn to the world’s oldest profession to maintain his luxury lifestyle. But, if you’re worried or wondering, this effort’s a few steps above Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo (and a different story altogether); The The New York Times calls the movie “surprisingly deft in mixing Mr. Derbez’s broad but accomplished style with more ostensibly hip-absurdist Anglo modes of humor.” Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe and Kristen Bell co-star.

Watch How To Be a Latin Lover on DIRECTV. 

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