Parents' Guide to

Gordita Chronicles

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Positive immigration-themed comedy has sex references.

TV Max Comedy 2022
Gordita Chronicles TV show: Poster

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 8+

Based on 1 parent review

Carolyn F.
Carolyn F. Parent of 10-year-old
July 3, 2022
age 8+

Fun look at culture clash through DR eyes

Watched it with my daughter (age 10) and loved it! Very tight 30 minute episodes have multiple storylines focusing on mom Elena at home, dad Victor at his advertising job, and daughters Cucu and Emilia at middle school. Most of the episodes focus on aspects of American life that the family was unfamiliar with before coming to America - sleepovers, Halloween, driving laws, etc. Everyone is also dealing with stereotypes - the dad at work and the two girls at middle school. None of it is really mean-spirited, just non-immigrant Americans making ignorant mistakes. A grim-faced social studies teacher enforcing Dade county's "only English in public buildings" law pops up in a single episode. Emilia also gets involved in some Mean Girls drama, and Cucu has a crush that she doesn't know what to do with. LANGUAGE: No swear words. Cucu is presented with a chalkboard of English swears on a chalkboard but they are blurred out. She says bullsh*t later in that episode and gets detention for it. VIOLENCE: Mostly just kids sniping at each other. A third grader threatens to shave off another kid's eyebrows. There is a reference to drug cartels having people murdered. SEX: Kissing. Talk about boobs and male interest in them. There is an episode where the dad is freaking out about a business meeting taking place in a strip club. The mom reminds him that her cousin was a stripper for a while, and gives him tips on how to act. It turns out to be a club with male dancers, who rip off their pants to reveal sparkly boxer briefs. OCCULT: When Emilia wants to get back at a boy, she and the other girls in her squad get out a spellbook and try to curse him. GENDER: A very nice Gloria Estefan drag queen makes an appearance in the first episode. Cucu resists the home ec vs shop class requirement. DIVERSITY: Could have been addressed better. There is one Black American character, Barbara, who works in Victor's office and is called Whoopi by their boss because he can't keep anyone's names straight. But there aren't any Black kids at the girls' school (African Americans or Afro-Latinos) or any Haitian immigrants in the show. Which is weird because a ton of Haitians came to Miami in the late 70s and early 80s. None of the episodes address skin color at all.
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What's the Story?

Executive-produced by Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldana, GORDITA CHRONICLES is a situation comedy about a family who moves to Florida from the Dominican Republic in the 1980s. It's 1985, and 12-year-old Carlotta "Cucu" Castelli (Olivia Goncalves) was a happy and popular upper-middle-class Catholic school student living in the Caribbean. But when her father, Victor (Juan Javier Cardenas), accepts a marketing position in Miami, Cucu -- along with her dad, mother Adela (Diana-Maria Riva), and older sister Emilia (Savannah Nicole Ruiz) -- finds herself trying to adapt to a new life in the United States. They soon realize that Miami is expensive and that people can be prejudiced. For Cucu and Emilia, life at school also presents a whole new set of challenges. Luckily, Cucu has friends like Ashley (Cosette Hauer) and Yoshi (Noah Rico) to help her get through it. It's not the American Dream they envisioned, but together they know that they will achieve their goals in the country they now call home.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The humorous series, which is narrated by the now adult journalist Cucu, is a fish-out-of-water story that highlights what life was like for many Latino immigrants who moved to the United States in the 1980s. From understanding the benefits and drawbacks of taxes and double coupons to contending with stereotypes and systematic racism like "English-only" rules, Gordita Chronicles highlights the many different ways Latin American and Caribbean immigrants had to broker their lives in the United States during that time. Granted, the observations are offered during silly and formulaic sitcom moments. But what makes Gordita Chronicles most appealing is its interpretation of Cucu, a young, confident, brown-skinned, bigger-bodied, Spanish-speaking girl who's balancing her need to stay true to herself and her culture with wanting to be accepted by her new community. No doubt those who had similar immigration experiences will identify with (and appreciate) much of what is presented here. Meanwhile, younger generations of Latino viewers will have the benefit of seeing people from their broader community represented in positive ways on TV.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the meaning of "gordita" (or "gordito") in Latin American and Caribbean cultures. Did you know that it's a term of endearment for children? How is it translated and used against Cucu when she moves to the United States?

  • How do you think Cucu and her family's experiences in the 1980s compare with the experiences that Latin American and Caribbean immigrants have when they come to the United States today? Have things changed? How?

TV Details

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