‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’

The first major movie starring an Afro-Latino superhero, this is the story of a New York teenager, Miles Morales, who gains superpowers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and discovers that there are others like him across multiple realities.

NYT: Latino Movies: 20 Essential Films Since 2000 

Luna Lauren Vélez, star: I’m really proud to have been part of this movie playing Miles’s mother, Rio Morales. I asked [the filmmakers] if they would do a screening in Puerto Rico, and they did. It was just absolutely amazing to see these kids’ faces when they saw themselves represented in this way, not only themselves, but to see their family, to see their relevance. A lot of people go back and forth and there’s the concept of mainlanders and islanders. So many of them felt, “Oh my gosh, that’s like going to visit my tía who lives in Brooklyn.” The movie was a bridge. That was one of the most significant moments of my career.