Puerto Rican Cinema Is Having a Moment

Our third newsletter comes from writer Tiffany Vazquez. On the heels of last weekend's jubilant Puerto Rican Day parade, she takes you through five movies all tied to la isla del encanto. You get a movie to catch in the theater, a classic flick to stream at home, and a review of an award-winning coming-of-age drama that just premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Happy Watching,

— Vanessa

Diego Echeverría's seminal 1984 documentary "Los Sures" captures life in Brooklyn's South Williamsburg neighborhood. Shot on luminous 16mm film, it follows Puerto Rican and Dominican residents as they work, raise families, pursue dreams, and navigate the daily realities of economic hardship. Both celebratory and unflinching, the film chronicles resilience, creativity, and cultural pride. It provides a time capsule to a pre-gentrified New York, with its aesthetics of colorful graffiti, blaring boomboxes, and free-flowing fire hydrants. Thanks to works like "Los Sures," this era may be gone, but it's never forgotten.

Playing at New York's Museum of the Moving Image.

1979's Life of Sin stars Miriam Colón as Isabel "la Negra" Luberza Oppenheimer, the legendary madam who built and operated one of the most successful bordellos in Ponce. Inspired by a real-life figure whose story has become part of Puerto Rican folklore, the film follows Isabel as she navigates the social, religious, and gender expectations of 1950s Puerto Rico while carving out power and independence on her own terms. It's worth watching for the cast alone, which brings together three pillars of Puerto Rican acting: Raúl Juliá, José Ferrer, and Colón.

Streaming on Tubi.

— By Tiffany Vazquez

"There's a lot of pain in this country, but it's also full of love. And I want to live within that." This line of dialogue from the coming-of-age drama "Summer of Three" is spoken in reference to Puerto Rico, but it also captures the heart of the latest directorial effort by Carlitos Ruíz-Ruíz, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last week.

In the movie, Javi, played by Marcel Ruiz ("One Day at a Time"), was born in Puerto Rico, but a harrowing event led him and his mother to move to Los Angeles when he was a child. Now a teenager, Javi returns for his grandfather's funeral, forcing him to deal with the trauma that caused the physical and cultural separation from his homeland.

Upon arrival, Javi feels accosted by all things Puerto Rican — the blood-thirsty mosquitoes, the lack of air conditioning in his abuela's house, the coquís who won't shut up, and the roosters who are even more invasive. Javi finds respite in Luife, a friend of the family who generously gives him weed, whisks him away from his familial obligations, and introduces him to the thrill of local nightlife. Javi then meets the sensual and free-spirited Kiki, whose relationship with Luife is purposely "without labels," and thus the titular summer of three is formed. The trio spends their days basking in the sun at the gorgeous beaches and hidden waterfalls frequented by locals. The escapism is all well and good, for a time. As they say, "What goes up must come down," and all the grief Javi once successfully buried arises when the trio's bond is threatened.

Helmer Carlitos Ruíz-Ruíz is no stranger to Tribeca, as his feature debut "Maldeamores" (co-directed with his wife Mariem Pérez Riera) premiered during the 2007 edition of the festival. But he returns this year, having co-written "Summer of Three" with his son Marcel Ruiz, who also stars. Completing the trio are Paolo Schoene ("Un día de mayo") as Luife, and newcomer Kiki Montilla as Kiki, who both bring a sense of authenticity, complete with Puerto Rican slang and humor that simply can't be taught. Schoene is excellent at portraying the unpredictable Luife, and Montilla, who clearly inspired her character, is a natural on-screen.

Rounding out the cast is Yamil Collazo as Tío Edwin, powerfully balancing heartbreak and joy, and Puerto Rican film and TV veteran Georgina Borri, who has a comforting presence I can't get enough of. Many others seem to agree, as she has also starred in two of the archipelago's highly lauded recent indie exports: Glorimar Marrero Sánchez's "La Pecera" and Cristian Carretero and Lorraine Jones' "Esta Isla," marking what could be the beginnings of a new era for Puerto Rican cinema due to increasing interests in the island, because well, the Bad Bunny of it all.