American Family

Berta Gonzalez receives a surprise birthday present from her children: a new condominium on the other side of town. But when tragedy strikes, the old neighborhood becomes harder to leave than anyone ever thought.

It's three months into Berta's death and Nina has moved into her parent's home. Nina struggles to take on her mother's traditional role while Berta's old sewing machine unlocks painful memories that force Nina to finally deal with the loss of her mother.

A magical star flies over the Gonzalez house casting a spell of love over the family. Aunt Dora plans a surprise wedding for her daughter Christy, but a handsome stranger from Dora's past appears, and it just may be Aunt Dora who turns out to be the bride.

Ll Llorona is an old Mexican folktale about a mother who has lost her children and haunts the earth searching for them. As Cisco tells Pablito this "ghost story", Nina fights to reunite a deported immigrant mother with her American-born child.

As Cisco continues to recount the folktale, Nina battles the legal system in hopes of helping an immigrant mother gain custody of her child. At the same time, Pablito's own mother, Laura, faces a similar battle as she struggles to be reunited with her son.

Finally rid of visiting friends and family, Jess sits down to watch his favorite TV show, "Chips". But when he is accidentally knocked unconscious, Jess dreams of a new show, "Jess' Barber Shop", starring himself and Erik Estrada.

As a former gang member, Esteban heads the fire department's mentoring program for at-risk youths. Esteban struggles to get rival gang members to work together. When a raging fire suddenly breaks out, Esteban and his apprentices must overcome their differences in order to save lives.

The hospitalization of "Uncle" Pete causes Jess to recall their boyhood adventures during WWII. Spurred on by their favorite radio hero, "The Masked Eagle", Little Jess and Little Pete go on a hunt for Japanese spies and submarines.

When Nina tries to keep the local youth center from shutting down, she thinks City Hall is all she has to worry about. Then she discovers that it is her boyfriend who is behind the plans, and Nina must choose between the young people she mentors or the man she loves.

Jess is shocked to discover "Uncle" Pete is in a nursing home. As he tries in vain to take his best friend home, he remembers their boyhood dreams and sadly realizes that they have grown old in a world that has passed them by.

For Nina, keeping kids off the streets is a top priority. As she clashes with her boyfriend over the importance of keeping the youth center open, she fights to re-awaken in him the ideals they shared when they were young.

At their annual family reunion, Jess tells the story of his grandmother, "La Adelita", a female soldier in the Mexican Revolution. As Pablito fantasizes about La Adelita's adventures, a real revolution takes place as Nina fights for the rights of the seamstresses who slave in her sister's sweatshop.

The tragic events of September 11th affect everyone in the community. For Jess, they trigger long-forgotten memories of his tour of duty in Korea. Haunted by memories of war, Jess becomes concerned when is son, Conrado, enlists in the Army.

Jess prepares to go on his first date after the death of his wife, Berta, but is suddenly overcome by remembrances of their life together. Jess struggles with the idea of moving on with his life.

Cisco makes an independent film about his life and family as he explores what it means to be a Gonzalez. But complications arise with his relationship with his girlfriend, Valeria, when he refuses to put down the camera - ever.

Esteban and his girlfriend, Ofelia, reach a painful crossroads when she leaves for New York. Her departure causes Pablito to run away and sets Esteban on a desperate search that becomes a life-or-death race against the clock.

Although Pablito is safely at home, Esteban is now missing. As Jess searches the city for his son, memories of Esteban as a child cause his to reexamine what drove him and Esteban apart.

When a large sportswear retailer wants to carry Vangie's new line of athletic wear, Vangie risks all her savings to meet the retailer's demands. But her initial excitement is dampened when she learns that even successful Latinos are not impervious to the proverbial "glass ceiling".

Jess, a former high school football star, is recruited by Nina to coach "The Fighting Fridas", an all-girl football team. Since Jess believes that only women with pom-poms belong on the football field, Jess has a difficult time coaching the Fridas. He experiences a serious change of heart, however, when a team of boys challenges the girls.

Esteban, Nina and Jess embark on a journey to their family's roots in Mexico. While Esteban searches for Ofelia in Mexico City and Nina delivers humanitarian aid to the indigenous people of Chiapas, Jess fulfills his wife's last wish by visiting her family on Oaxaca.

While Esteban fights to win Ofelia's love back and Nina finds herself in the midst of a violent civil war, Jess finally learns the secret of why Berta left her beloved Mexico and ran away to the United States.

The old house needs a new paint job. As the family begins to repaint the house, they reminisce about their years growing up together. Even the spirits of family members who have passed on visit the Gonzalezes as they discover the importance of home.