This year for Cinco de Mayo I made pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, homemade soft tacos and a mango dessert...I couldn't think of a better film to share with my husband, who had never seen it, than Mi Familia. This is the film that won me over to Jimmy Smits, prior to seeing Mi Familia years ago I was not a big fan...and then I watched the clinic that he put on during this film and have been a fan ever since.
Mi Familia is loaded with star power...Edward James Olmos, Esai morales and Jimmy Smits...and that is just the men, young Maria is initially played by Jennifer Lopez and eventually by the phenomenal actress Jenny Gago. For me the most memorable storyline is between Jimmy (Jimmy Smits) and his wife Isabel (Elpidia Carillo)...they were both phenomenal, bonding over their shared stories of pain and loss.
This is an epic tale of three generations of one Mexican American family and it begins with the voyage (mainly on foot) of Jose from the heart of Mexico to his distant relative nicknamed El California, because when he was born his house was in Mexico...but now his home is officially in California. The story is narrated by Edward James Olmos, who plays the eldest son of Jose and wants to be a writer. Jose lives in East LA with El California and goes to work on the west side as a gardener where he meets Maria who is the nanny for a wealthy family. Maria and Jose don't have a lot but they are happy growing Beans in the front and corn in the back of their modest home which grows with their family as they have a son and then a daughter. During her third pregnancy Maria is picked up by INS and deported to the middle of Mexico, even though she was born and raised in America. Maria delivers their third child, a son named Chucho, in Mexico and then journeys on foot back to Jose and their home...a process that took two years! Jose and Maria end up with three more children after that Tina, Memo and the youngest Jimmy.
Without ruining the film their stories include gang violence, death, a restaurant, a lawyer, a nun, marriage, children, activism, jail and dancing!
I loved the storytelling aspects of this film and the Mexican folklore...but one of the best parts is the little window into history.
This is a wonderful story that has stood up to the test of time. I highly recommend watching it and I enjoyed it tremendously for our themed evening.
