As a mexican-american woman today, I tend to take the little things for granted. Things like my education.

In the movie Real Women Have Curves, a girl named Ana ( America Ferrera), is a first generation mexican-american living in East Los Angeles who has just graduated from high school.

Ana receives a full scholarship from Colombia University but is stuck between attending the prestigious school and staying with her old fashioned parents who feel that now is the time for Ana to work and college can come later.

Ana is then forced to work at her sister Estella’s (Ingrid Oliu) sewing factory. Ana begins to gain respect for the other women who work there. They teach her not only a thing or two about life, but also to value things like hard work and being a part of a team.

The other major factor in the story is Ana’s mother, Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros). Carmen will do just about anything to keep her daughter there with the family. Whether it makes her happy or not.

I honestly loved this movie. As a first generation Latina myself, it was very easy to relate to the story. I feel that as of today a lot of Latino families really value getting an education, but there are still those very traditional few who feel that taking care of the family early on is more important.

This movie also was awarded the Dramatic Audience award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

I really recommend this movie for those of Latino background, but I alsorecommend it to people who believe that in order to make a caged bird sing, you must first free it.