Magdalena is the teenager played by Emily Rios in the 2006 film Quinceañera.
Magdalena is preparing for her fifteenth-birthday celebration when the story’s central conflicts emerge. After becoming pregnant, she faces rejection from her church-going family and moves in with her cousin Carlos and his friend. The film follows the effects of those events on family relationships and community expectations.
Emily Rios’s performance made Magdalena the emotional focus of the film. Rios later appeared in television series including Breaking Bad, The Bridge, and Snowfall. The movie also features Jesse Garcia as Carlos and Chalo González as Tío Tomás.
Magdalena’s name is easy to confuse with the characters in the 1987 telenovela Quinceañera. That earlier series centers on Maricruz, played by Adela Noriega, and Beatriz, played by Thalía.