10 Best Movies from Puerto Rico to Watch First

10 Essential Films from Puerto Rico

Ranked native cinema in Puerto Rico’s own creative voice.

1. 

   1. Lo que le pasó a Santiago

   1989

   A recently retired, orderly widower in San Juan strikes up a tentative friendship with a mysterious woman he meets on his daily park walks, opening himself to love and questions late in life. A tender drama and Puerto Rico's first Oscar-nominated film.

2. 

   2. Los Peloteros

   1951

   In a poor rural Puerto Rican town, a group of boys longs to form a proper baseball team but can't afford uniforms or equipment, and the whole community rallies around their dream. A beloved, heartwarming classic of Puerto Rican cinema.

3. 

   3. Dios los cría...

   1979

   Five sharp, satirical vignettes skewer Puerto Rican society — its class hypocrisies, politics, and vanities — with wit and bite. Jacobo Morales's acclaimed comic anthology.

4. 

   4. Maruja

   1959

   A melodrama of love and sacrifice centered on the title heroine, whose devotion is tested by hardship and social barriers. A film of Puerto Rico's early cinema.

5. 

   5. La gran fiesta

   1986

   On the eve of World War II, San Juan's high society gathers for one last glittering ball at the grand old casino before it is handed over to the U.S. military, as private intrigues swirl beneath the celebration. A lavish period drama.

6. 

   6. La guagua aérea

   1993

   Aboard a night flight from San Juan to New York in the 1960s, a planeload of Puerto Rican migrants share their stories, dreams, and humor as they carry their island with them to the mainland. A warm, bittersweet comedy about the diaspora.

7. 

   7. Maldeamores

   2007

   Three interwoven stories explore love in its comic and painful extremes — a jealous cabbie, a schoolboy's crush, an old man's rekindled romance — across a single Puerto Rican day. A charming ensemble comedy-drama.

8. 

   8. Miente

   2009

   A young man haunted by a fractured sense of self and a traumatic past struggles to hold his identity together as reality and deception blur. A psychological Puerto Rican drama adapted from a novel.

9. 

   9. Vico C: la vida del Filósofo

   2017

   This biographical drama traces the life of Vico C, the pioneering Puerto Rican rapper who rose from humble beginnings to international fame — and battled the addictions that nearly destroyed him — helping to birth Spanish-language urban music.

10. 

    10. Casi casi

    2006

    At a Catholic school in Puerto Rico, a shy teenage boy hatches an elaborate scheme to win the heart of the most popular girl in class, with predictably chaotic results. A sweet teen romantic comedy.