Magdalena is the teenager whose quinceañera anchors the story of the 2006 film Quinceañera.
Magdalena is a Mexican American teenager living in Echo Park, Los Angeles. As she prepares for her fifteenth-birthday celebration, a pregnancy causes conflict within her family and changes the expected course of the event.
She eventually lives with her cousin Carlos and his partner Peter. Their household becomes a refuge as the film explores family loyalty, religious expectations, sexuality, and the effects of gentrification on the neighborhood. The quinceañera remains an important background and emotional focus even as the plot expands beyond the party itself.
The film was written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. It premiered at Sundance in 2006 and won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the Dramatic Competition. Emily Rios played Magdalena in the film.