Emily Rios plays Magdalena, the title character, in the 2006 film Quinceañera.
Magdalena is a teenager in Los Angeles whose family is preparing for her quinceañera. After becoming pregnant, she is rejected by her religious school and forced to leave her home. She moves in with her cousin Carlos and great-uncle Tomas, whose own relationships and conflicts broaden the film’s family story.
Rios’s performance is central because the film follows Magdalena’s changing understanding of family, responsibility, religion, and social judgment. The role also helped establish Rios as a prominent young performer in independent American cinema.
Quinceañera was written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006 and won both the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. The film’s title refers to Magdalena’s planned celebration, but its plot examines much more than the party itself.