Magdalena is the teenager whose quinceañera is at the center of the 2006 film Quinceañera.
Played by Emily Rios, Magdalena is a Mexican American teenager living in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Her family expects her to have a traditional celebration, but a pregnancy causes the planned event and her place in the family to become sources of conflict.
The film follows Magdalena as she deals with religious expectations, family judgment, friendship, and questions about responsibility. Her cousin Carlos and her close friend Carlos also occupy important parts of the story, which can make character names easy to mix up when recalling the plot.
Magdalena is the central quinceañera honoree, not the director or the performer. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland directed the film, while Emily Rios portrayed Magdalena. Keeping those roles separate helps distinguish the fictional character from the people who made the movie.