Sensually unusual, mysterious, and romantic, Como agua para chocolate, which is better known as Like Water for Chocolate, has one of the best cinematography ever. It's a magical film. What a brilliant direction by Alfonso Arau. Lumi Cavazos is perfect.

El Mariachi is a stunner of a picture that's set apart from the others through its avant-garde camera work. What's also nice is the romantic tragedy as it suddenly happens at the end. Adding a lot of flavor to the film is the Mexican grittiness. The overall result is the hard-to-capture foreign quality that's more poetic than anything else.

Blood In, Blood Out is everything that Once Upon a Time in America is not. It has a turning point that makes everything crystal clear which pays off in dividends. I love the authenticity in the portrayal of the Chicanos. At first, I was worried about being inundated by the flaunting of their nationality, culture, and mannerisms. But it didn't happen that way. Across the board, the performances are outstanding.

Making his motion picture debut in La Bamba, Lou Diamond Phillips became a household name. When idiots talk about the day that music died (which wasn't coined until 1971) on February 3, 1959, they always mention Buddy Holly and maybe The Big Bopper but never Ritchie Valens who was 17 at the time. Meanwhile, Esai Morales is memorable as his half brother, and Lou Diamond Phillips' music scenes are electrifying.

Edward James Olmos is perfect as Jamie Escalante, having gained 20 pounds and gone for the receding hairline look to emulate the teacher. On the other hand, Lou Diamond Phillips steals the film. An Oscar nomination for him shouldn't be out of the question. What he did in Stand and Deliver and La Bamba is the apogee of his career.

Desperado is the Mexican version of Pulp Fiction with lots of style, interesting characters, and beautiful, action-packed scenes. I remember in 1995 when the film hit theatres, Antonio Banderas, who's at his sexiest, was all the rage and therefore became an instant superstar. The people were asking, "Who is that long, dark-haired Latino?" There are many well-shot scenes that are aesthetically beautiful.

If there's a movie that Jennifer Lopez will be remember for eternity, it's Selena. Covering the life and career of Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, it's La Bamba all over again with the same arc and a tragic ending. There are outstanding performances, especially by Edward James Olmos and Jon Seda.

Salvador is another great, albeit unknown, Oliver Stone picture with a fantastic James Woods performance. No person in his right mind would go to a war-torn country if he had another choice, but that's what Richard Boyle did during the early 80's by traveling to El Salvador on the cusp of a civil war, resulting in mass murder of the populace. Today, El Salvador has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Benicio del Toro is the reason to watch this film over and over. It's such a classy performance that ends with his character watching a kids baseball game and knowing what he had done. Benicio has another great scene when he's in the pool with two DEA agents for a chat. There are other Latino standouts as well, and the Mexico scenes are gritty to watch.

"You want words...pretty words...I can't say pretty words." So it goes in Guns for San Sebastian. Shot on location at Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, it's a terrific sentimental Western that takes place in Mexico instead of Italy or Spain. The always excellent Anthony Quinn makes most of his character and succeeds.

Starring Ricardo Montalbán, Border Incident is as every bit film noir as it can be. There's a great deal of docu-drama which heightens the realism of the atmosphere. What's interesting about the whole migrant worker scheme is that it's relevant today not only in Mexico but also everywhere in the world.

Before Traffic came out, there was Drug Wars: The Camarena Story which is an exceptional, educational movie. Benicio del Toro is the star, too. A lot of films tend to document the rise and fall of drug lords or addicts, but this one is not about that. It's rather how one federal agent, to the best of his abilities, tries to win the impossible war against drugs.

When you hear the phrase "honor among thieves," The Wild Bunch exemplifies it. Because of the final shootout, Sam Peckinpah is famous for directing The Wild Bunch. It's the editing of violence that's beautiful. The Latino actors Jaime Sánchez and Emilio Fernández round out the main cast and are especially memorable.

Based on New York State Supreme Court justice Edwin Torres' book After Hours, David Koepp's script is well-written and full of subtleties about the street life in El Barrio. If you pay attention to what Carlito sees, you can predict what he's thinking and planning to do. That's why Carlito's Way is an intelligently crafted picture with a great Latino supporting cast.

Following the same tradition of Como agua para chocolate, the cinematography is top-notch and should've won the Oscar. Many scenes of California's Napa Valley are gorgeous. At first, Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón don't show any chemistry, but as time passes, the more evident they're meant to be together. The appearances of Giancarlo Giannini and Anthony Quinn make this one special.