Mexican actress Salma Hayek is back in the country where she was born, shooting a new project. But before that sees the light, other Mexican women are making their mark just in time for spring break.
All of that begins at the 2026 edition of South by Southwest, the annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals that takes place in Austin, Texas. The festival turns 40 this year and this weekend shines with the presence of another Mexican film star: Eiza González. She returns to the capital of that southern state where she once shot her American breakthrough series From Dusk Till Dawn (2014–2016), directed by Robert Rodriguez. Also present is Mexican filmmaker Dano García, who previously made waves at the same festival when her debut feature documentary Kings of Nowhere (2015) won the Global Audience Award.
Eiza, who like Salma made the big jump from leading Mexican telenovelas to starring in Hollywood productions, appeared in box office hits such as Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver (2017) and more recently in the multiple Emmy-nominated series 3 Body Problem (2024). On March 14, she will attend the world premiere of the action comedy Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice, written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski. In the film she plays the female lead, Alice, alongside crime partners and friends such as Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden) and Nick (Vince Vaughn). The movie will begin streaming March 27 on Hulu and Disney+.
Dano García, on the other hand, a multi-award-winning trans Mexican filmmaker, premieres her new feature documentary Mickey in the festival’s Global section. García filmed the project over ten years, centering on Mickey Cundapi (she/her), known artistically as Mis$ Mickey, a trans multidisciplinary performer who, alongside García, uses play and performance to resignify the past and inhabit the present. Mickey and García first met at age 14 as students at the same Catholic school. Even then, Mickey’s makeup and performances during mass scandalized the priests. The film premieres March 13.
Finally, early on March 12, as the 2026 edition of South by Southwest opened, news broke regarding legendary Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. A new Netflix series exploring their complicated relationship—based on Claire Berest’s novel Rien n’est noir—is currently in development. Mexican directors Patricia Riggen (La misma luna; Jack Ryan – The Series) and Gabriel Ripstein (600 Miles; La Máquina) are attached to the project. The still-untitled series is being written by another talented Mexican actress and screenwriter, María Renée Prudencio, winner of an Ariel Award for Tercera Llamada (2013) and later nominated again for La caída (2022).