Becky G Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Rebbeca,’ starring Becky G

December 13, 2025

by Carla Hay

Becky G in “Rebbeca” (Photo by Cesar Alvarez/Trafalgar Releasing)

Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Gabriela Cavanagh

Some language in Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Filmed in 2023 and 2024, the documentary film “Rebbeca” features a predominantly Latin group of people (with a few white people) discussing the life and career of Latin music singer Becky G.

Culture Clash: Becky G, whose real name is Rebbeca Gomez, tours in support her first regional Mexican music album (2023’s “Esquinas”), while experiencing challenges in her personal life, including her complicated feelings about her estranged father, who has addiction issues.

Culture Audience: “Rebbeca” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Becky G and popular music stars from Generation Z.

Becky G in “Rebbeca” (Photo by Gabriela Cavanagh/Trafalgar Releasing)

Rebbeca is a somewhat bland but watchable documentary about singer Becky G. The movie’s tone tends be like a promotional video. The best parts of the film are when she gets candid and vulnerable about her troubled family history.

Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Gabriela Cavanagh, “Rebbeca” had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. The movie’s title refers to Becky G’s real name, which is Rebbeca Gomez. It’s not a comprehensive documentary but rather it’s more of a “year in the life” documentary that chronicles what Becky G’s life was like from 2023 to 2024, when this documentary was primarily filmed. Becky G is the movie’s narrator.

Becky G was born on March 2, 1997, in Inglewood, California, the working-class city where she was raised. She first became known to an international audiences in 2011, when at the age of 14, she began uploading YouTube videos of her singing cover songs. Some of the videos went viral. And within a year, she was signed to Sony Music’s RCA Records.

Her career as a major-label recording artist started in 2012, when she began releasing several singles as the lead artist. She has released music in English and in Spanish and is best known for her Spanish-language music. Her first breakout hit song was 2014’s “Shower.” She had even bigger hits with 2017’s “Mayores” (a duet with Bad Bunny) and 2018’s “Sin Pajama” (a duet with Natti Natasha), which both went multiplatinum in several countries.

Becky’s first studio album (“Mala Santa”) wasn’t released until 2019, but it was an immediate hit on the Latin music charts. Her subsequent albums so far (2022’s “Esquemas,” 2023’s “Esquinas” and 2024’s “Encuentros”) have had declining sales, but she is still a fairly big star in the music business. “Rebbeca” chronicles the making of “Esquinas” (her first album of regional Mexican music) and her first headlining tour: 2023’s “Mi Casa, Tu Casa,” a nearly sold-out U.S. trek that played in large theaters in September and October of that year.

“Rebbeca” begins with Becky G saying in a voiceover that someone once told her that she is “the biggest pop star you’ve never heard of.” Becky G says, “And I thought ‘Damn.’ Before I’m Becky G, I am Rebbeca.”

It sounds very scripted, but what she’s essentially saying is that in Spanish-speaking communities, Becky G is a famous name. In communities that don’t know or don’t care about Latin music artists, she’s still relatively unknown. She might never become a mainstream pop superstar, but she’s still Rebbeca Gomez before she’s Becky G.

Even so, this documentary shows that Becky G makes a considerable effort to become more mainstream to bigger audiences beyond her core fan base. Her first headlining tour is one major indication. Another indication is her recording collaborations with numerous artists who are bigger names in the music business, such as Bad Bunny, Maluma (on “La Respuesta”) and Karol G (on 2022’s “Mamii”).

She also recorded the song “The Fire Inside” (written by Diane Warren) for the 2023 movie “Flamin’ Hot,” a comedy/drama about the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos creator Richard Montañez. Warren is known for getting several Oscar nominations for songs that she’s written for movies. And when “The Fire Inside” was nominated for an Oscar, Becky G performed the song at the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony, as shown in the “Rebbeca” documentary.

Other songs performed by Becky G in the documentary include “Dolores,” “Cries in Spanish,” “Gomez x 4,” “Los Astros,” “Mala Santa,” “Mayores,” “Shower” and “Sin Pajama.” The performance footage is shows her charisma. However, it’s very debatable if Becky G is talented enough to become a superstar. She certainly has what it takes to have a successful career in the music business for many more years.

In the documentary, Becky G talks a lot about her dual heritage of being Mexican American by saying she has a “200%:” identity: “100% Mexican and 100% American.” She says it took a while to convince her business team that she should do a regional Mexican album. Becky G comments that she likes the raw storytelling of regional Mexican music. She cites Selena as her biggest musical influence. Other artists who’ve influenced her are Ana Gabriel and Jenni Rivera, according to what Becky G says in the documentary.

Even though the “Rebbeca” documentary shows members of Becky G’s entourage, the documentary is more about telling her story in the context of her family. She describes her mother Alejandra “Alex” Gomez this way: “She’s my best friend … If I could be half the woman my mom is, I’d be honored” And she marvels that at the age of 23, Alex was already a mother of four children. Becky G is the eldest of these four children.

Alex is featured prominently in the movie and says that she and Fransisco “Frank” Gomez Jr. (Becky G’s father) got married when Alex was 18, and Alex was the one who proposed marriage to Frank. (Alex and Frank are now divorced.) Although Becky G’s grandmothers Cruzita (nicknamed Ita) and Guadalupe (nicknamed Lita) are seen in the “Rebbeca” documentary, Becky G and her parents are the only people interviewed in the movie.

Long before Becky G found fame on YouTube, she began performing while still in elementary school. Becky G insists that she, not her parents, was the one pushing herself to go into showbiz, even if the odds were stacked against her. Her family didn’t have a lot of money and had no connections in the entertainment industry.

At one point in her childhood, Becky G and her family lived in a garage, where she gave some of her earliest live performances. Becky G says in the documentary that some of her best memories in life are when she and her family lived in this garage. It probably wasn’t fun for her parents, but children who grow up in near-poverty often have different memories that aren’t fully conscious of any financial struggles that their parents had to experience.

There were bigger problems in the family, which Frank confesses to when he says that his drug addiction was one of the main reasons for his failed marriage to Alex, who says she held on to the marriage for as long as she could. Frank says of his addictions: “It was cocaine and booze initially.” Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he says he became addicted to meth. “It was bad decision making,” Frank says. “Alex and the kids became collateral damage.”

Alex says that she could’ve handled Frank’s addiction issues, but the breaking point for her was Frank’s infidelities. Alex says during their 25-year marriage, she was addicted to Frank and had a hard time getting over him. Alex comments, “Becky took on the responsibility of being the provider for not only myself but for her siblings as well.” Usually, when a young person who’s a celebrity has this much responsibility to financially support several members of the family, it doesn’t end well.

There seems to be a certain amount of denial of about how this co-dependency isn’t healthy for a family. Can’t these family members who are old enough to work get their own jobs, instead of leeching off of Becky G by expecting her to financially support them? It’s probably why Becky G considers the time when her family was in near-poverty some of the happiest memories in her life, because she didn’t have the burden of being the family’s breadwinner. These issues aren’t addressed at all in the documentary, which is why the movie comes across as a bit of a puff piece.

One family member who isn’t benefiting from Becky G’s celebrity income is Frank. Becky G says in the documentary: “I’ve cut him off completely, except for him getting [addiction rehab] treatment.” Becky G says that her father was her first heartbreak.

There are also many things left unsaid that indicate Becky G has gone through a lot of emotional pain, despite the perky persona that she often has when she’s on camera. In one part of the documentary, she says she had a “mid-life crisis at 9 years old,” but she doesn’t elaborate. She also says she remembers feeling as a child that she was aware of mental-health issues that her parents had, but she felt helpless to do anything about it.

“Rebbeca” is also vague about the on-again/off-again relationship between Becky G and soccer player Sebastian Lletget. (He is not in the documentary.) The couple began dating in 2016 and got engaged to each other in 2022. Becky says that she and Lletget have similar backgrounds. Alex tearfully comments about the couple’s relationship: “I know they’re working through a lot, and it’s not easy in the public eye, but they’re both deserving of their own beautiful love story.”

In between these veiled references to trouble behind the scenes, the documentary shows performance clips and carefully curated footage of Becky G off stage, doing things like having friendly chats with her employees or greeting some of her fans. Even though Becky G is the narrator of the movie, her parents are the ones who give more insight into her life than she does. When Becky G is ready to do a more soul-baring documentary where she’s completely honest in showing what her life is really like behind the scenes, then people might think she’s more relatable.

In a documentary about a celebrity, people like to hear unique insights from the celebrity instead of the celebrity just giving the usual generic comments about being grateful for fans or the celebrity saying how much they love whatever current project that they’re trying to sell to the masses. Until then, Becky G comes across in “Rebbeca” as a typical social-media-conscious celebrity who wants to present an Instagram version of her life in a documentary—snapshots and glimpses that are attractive to look at but don’t offer a lot of depth beyond some musings that sound scripted.

Trafalgar Releasing released “Rebbeca” in U.S. cinemas for a limited engagement on December 10 and December 13, 2025. Netflix will premiere the movie on December 31, 2025.

Review: ‘Blue Beetle,’ starring Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damían Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, Susan Sarandon and George Lopez

August 16, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Blue Beetle”

Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto

Some language in Spanish with subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in the fictional U.S. city of Palmera City, the sci-fi/fantasy/action film “Blue Beetle” (based on the DC Comics character) features a Latin and white cast of characters (with a few African Americans and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: Recent college graduate Jaime Reyes has his body invaded by a super-powered beetle scarab, and he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle, battling his evil former boss who wants the scarab to create an oppressive army of robotic enforcers.

Culture Audience: “Blue Beetle” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of superhero movies, the film’s headliners and adventurous stories about underrepresented people who are the stories’ protagonists.

Elpidia Carrillo, George Lopez, Xolo Maridueña, Belissa Escobedo and Damián Alcázar in “Bue Beetle” (Photo by Hopper Stone/Warnet Bros. Pictures)

“Blue Beetle” sometimes gets trapped in a familiar superhero formula, but the movie’s comedic charm, rollicking style and authentic chemistry among the cast members are a winning combination. As an origin story, “Blue Beetle” won’t rank among the very best for superhero movies based on DC Comics, because there are a few too many superhero movie stereotypes in “Blue Beetle’s” action scenes. However, “Blue Beetle” has enough uniqueness and charisma in its characters that will give this movie a loyal fan base.

Directed by Ángel Manuel Soto and written by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, “Blue Beetle” tells the story of 22-year-old Jaime Reyes (played by Xolo Maridueña), an optimistic recent college graduate who has returned to his hometown of Palmera City, a fictional U.S. city based partially on El Paso Texas. DC Comics’ “Blue Beetle” stories have more than one person who is the character of Blue Beetle: archaeologist Dan Garrett (a character that debuted in 1939); inventor Ted Kord (debuted in 1966); and Jaime Reyes (debuted in 2006), a Mexican American who lives in El Paso.

In the “Blue Beetle” movie, Jaime (who is the first person in his family to graduate from college) has come back home to live in a family household that is going through some drastic changes. Jaime lives with his supportive parents Alberto Reyes (played by Damían Alcázar) and Rocio Reyes (played by Elpidia Carrillo); Alberto’s sassy mother Nana Reyes (played by Adriana Barraza); Jaime’s 17-year-old outspoken sister Milagro “Millie” Reyes (played by Belissa Escobedo); and Alberto’s eccentric brother Rudy Reyes (played by George Lopez).

Soon after arriving home, Jaime finds out that the family will be moving out of the house in the near future because the family can no longer afford the house rent, which has “tripled” due to gentrification. The family’s auto body shop is going out of business. Alberto is also recovering from a recent heart attack. Jaime is shocked to hear this news and asks why his family didn’t tell him sooner. They say it’s because they didn’t want anything to distract Jaime from his studies at school.

Jaime is hopeful that his college degree will help him get a job that pays enough to get the family out of these financial problems. He’s also hoping to go to law school someday. “I’ll get the money to save this place,” Jaime confidently tells Milagro. She isn’t so sure this goal will be as easy as Jaime thinks it will be. In the meantime, Jaime and Milagro work in sanitation and groundskeeping at Kord Industries, a massively successful technology corporation whose specialty is security.

The leader of Kord Industries is the ruthless and cruel Victoria Kord (played by Susan Sarandon), who took over the company after her brother Ted Kord disappeared. Ted inherited the company from his father. Victoria is still bitter and jealous that Ted got this inheritance. The opening scene of “Blue Beetle” shows Victoria and some of her minions discovering something near an asteroid that has fallen on Earth. Victoria gleefully says, “I’ve been looking for this for 15 years!”

Viewers later see that what they found is a blue beetle (about the size of a hand) called the Scarab, which has extraordinary powers and a mind of its own. Victoria wants the Scarab for a new Kord Industries invention: One Man Army Corps, a group of super-powered robots described as “the future of private policing.” Victoria’s brooding, hulking henchman named Conrad Carpax (played by Raoul Max Trujillo) is her most-trusted right-hand man to do her dirty work. Victoria’s leading scientist who works for her is Dr. Sanchez (played by Harvey Guillén), a long-suffering employee who experiences some of Victoria’s noticeable racism.

Not everyone is happy with Victoria’s plans for One Man Army Corps. Ted’s smart and independent daughter Jenny Kord (played by Bruna Marquezine), who is in her early 20s and is originally from Brazil, is the complete opposite of Victoria, when it comes to their outlooks on life. Jenny cares about humanity, the environment, and having socially responsible and ethical business practices. Jenny suspects but can’t prove that Victoria is behind her father Ted’s disappearance. (Jenny’s mother died years ago.)

Over the course of the movie, Jenny and Victoria clash in a number of ways. Anything that Victoria wants to do, Jenny wants to dismantle. Jenny isn’t afraid to openly defy her domineering aunt, who becomes infuriated and vengeful when she sees how far Jenny is willing to go to stop Victoria from Victoria’s nefarious plans. Early on in the movie, Victoria snarls to Jenny: “You are nothing to this company. You are a brat … Your father abandoned this company, and he abandoned me.

At first, Jaime is eager to impress Victoria. When Jaime sees Victoria on the company property, he tries to get her attention, but Victoria doesn’t even notice Jaime and other low-paid workers at the company. Milagro is with Jaime when he tries and fails to get Victoria’s attention. Milagro comments to Jaime: “We’re invisible to people like that.”

It isn’t long before Jaime and Jenny meet when Jenny is at Kord Industries headquarters. Jaime’s attraction to her is immediate. Jenny plays it cool, but it’s obvious that she will be Jaime’s love interest. Perpetually skeptical Milagro thinks that Jenny is out of Jaime’s league and tells Jaime, Milagro assumes that Jenny is just another spoiled rich kid who wouldn’t want to associate with people in the Reyes family. Through a series of events, Jaime will cross paths with Jenny until they both find out that they have a common goal.

Jaime and Milagro get fired after Jaime tries to defend Jenny during an argument between Jenny and Victoria. Later, Jenny (disguised as a Kord Industries lab worker) steals a security key card to gain entrance to the lab where the Scarab is being secretly kept. Jenny then takes the Scarab, which she knows Victoria needs to make the One Man Army Corps. However, Dr. Sanchez (who was not in the lab during this theft) comes back and sees the Scarab has been stolen and quickly gives a security breach alert.

The Kord Industries building goes on a security lockdown, but Jenny quickly gives the Scarab (which is in a box) to an unwitting Jaime, who is headed for the exit with other visitors, who have been told to evacuate the building. Jenny tells Jaime that what’s in the box is an important secret, and she warns him not to open the box. But, of course, as shown in the “Blue Beetle” trailers, Jaime opens the box when he’s at home with his family.

The Scarab enters Jaime’s body (painfully), and he becomes the Blue Beetle, a superhero with physical characteristics of a giant beetle and a blue superhero suit of armor. This transformation is shown in the “Blue Beetle” trailers, so there’s no mystery about it. After the Scarab melds with Jaime’s body, he can hear the voice of the Scarab as being an entity called Khaji-Da (voiced by Becky G), who gives Jaime/Blue Beetle advice on what to do when he’s in superhero mode.

The rest of “Blue Beetle” goes through a lot of over-used superhero movie motions of “we have to save the world from an evil villain.” However, thanks to engaging dialogue (some of it is hilarious, some of it is hokey) and a likable rapport between the Reyes family members, “Blue Beetle” can be very enjoyable to watch. It’s suspenseful and dramatic in all the right places.

Maridueña, who was previously best known for his supporting role as Miguel Diaz in Netflix’s “Cobra Kai” karate drama series, gives a star-making performance in “Blue Beetle.” He perfectly embodies Jaime’s amiable personality, which is a mixture of hopeful, curious and insecure about what he perceives as his shortcomings. Maridueña also adeptly handles the wide range of emotions that Jaime goes through in the movie.

It should come as no surprise that Lopez, who has a long history in comedy, gets the best and funniest lines in the movie as Uncle Rudy, who just happens to be an underappreciated tech whiz. Barraza as Jaime’s seemingly mild-mannered grandmother also has a few moments to shine in ways that aren’t too surprising, since the movie keeps dropping hints that there’s more to Nana Reyes than being a kind grandmother. Alcázar, who portrays the easygoing Alberto, has some well-acted heartfelt moments in scenes between Alberto and Jaime, who inherited is father’s positive attitude.

Victoria obviously represents corporate greed that’s out of control. Sarandon plays this villain role to the hilt, but Victoria might not impress some viewers who like superhero movies to have chief villains with superpowers. “Blue Beetle” also has some commentary and observations (but not preaching) about racism, such as a scene where Jaime goes to a Kord Industries reception area, because he has a meeting with Jenny, and the snooty receptionist (played by Brianna Lewis) automatically assumes that Jaime is a delivery person.

The visual effects in “Blue Beetle” are perfectly fine, but they’re not going to win major awards. Some of the action scenes are clumsily staged and could have been better, in terms of visual style and how events unfold in the screenplay. A mid-credits scene in “Blue Beetle” hints that a certain character will be in a “Blue Beetle” sequel, while the end-credits scene in “Blue Beetle” is a bit of fluff that has no bearing on any DC Comics movie. Overall, “Blue Beetle” is a solid superhero movie that doesn’t have a lot of originality in its “good versus evil” story, but the movie has appealing messages about family unity during tough times that can resonate with audiences of many different backgrounds.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Blue Beetle” in U.S. cinemas on August 18, 2023.