Is Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle) Mexican? His Ethnicity Explained

The entire ‘Blue Beetle’ movie was a family affair involving Jaime Reyes and his Latino-American family as they try to navigate through the tough waters of being in America in the middle of a massive corporate expansion by Kord Industries. Of course, we also got to see the family’s hardships in this movie, and that’s why this is one of the most touching superhero movies in recent years. Specifically, Mexicans and other Latinos could relate to the things that the Reyes family went through. So, is Jaime Reyes actually Mexican?

Jaime Reyes is Mexican-American, as he was born in America to Mexican immigrants. That means his heritage is Mexican, but his citizenship is American because he was born in America. And Jaime spent an entire movie living up to his family-oriented Mexican roots while navigating the waters of the American dream.

The thing that makes ‘Blue Beetle’ so engaging is the fact that this movie is incredibly relatable not only for Latinos but for those who grew up in family-oriented environments. After all, the Reyes family is the perfect picture of what it means to put family members above everything else, and that is something that plenty of fans worldwide can relate to, regardless of their heritage. So, with that said, let’s look at Jaime Reyes’ ethnicity to understand more about his family and motivations.

Jaime Reyes’ Latino heritage explained

In the world we live in today, diversity has become incredibly important, especially in movies. That’s because more and more people are being represented by different races and cultures in the many movies we can watch in theaters. Of course, ‘Blue Beetle’ has become the latest movie to explore the beauty of cultural diversity against the backdrop of an American setting.

Set in the futuristic city of Palmera, which is at the forefront of technological advancements thanks to Kord Industries, ‘Blue Beetle’ allowed us to meet Jaime Reyes and his family. The way that Jaime’s family was portrayed is the perfect picture of the two sides of a successful city that many people don’t always see. That’s because the Reyes family lives in a simple and modest home on the Edge Keys, a simple community for those on the lower end of the income bracket in Palmera City. 

But while it may be true that a family of six lives in a small home that the Reyes family was about to lose due to the rising rental rates that Kord Industries was imposing on the simple people of the Edge Keys, this home portrayed what a true family is all about. And it can all be traced back to the Latino heritage of the Reyes family.

Jaime himself is American in terms of his citizenship because he was born and raised in America. However, he grew up in a very Mexican household, as his parents and grandmother were from Mexico. It was revealed in the middle portion of the movie by Jaime’s Uncle Rudy that Alberto Reyes, Jaime’s father, made the journey from Mexico to America at the age of 19 to give his family a better life. Rudy said that he was barely a teen when Alberto took him with him to America, which was why he was thankful for the kind of life he could lead in America.

Of course, Alberto was the perfect family man and a great representation of what it was like for an immigrant to try to make a living in America. He ran his own garage but had to work 16 hours a day to make ends meet and provide for his family. It was due to his hard work that he ended up suffering from a heart attack that he survived the first time around.

And the worst part was that most of the members of the Reyes family were undocumented immigrants, as Rudy didn’t want to get the police involved in the matters related to the Scarab because the police might ask for papers and documentation from the Reyes family members.

In that regard, Jaime lived in a typical Mexican household that had to risk many things to make it to America. His father was a hardworking man that ended up dying after suffering from a second heart attack in the middle of the movie. And the rest of the members of the Reyes family were loving and supportive of one another and were willing to put everything on the line for one of their own, as was the case when every family member tried to do their part to save Jaime from Kord Industries.

The best part about this family was that it perfectly represented what it was like to live in a Latino household. Jaime’s family was loud, overly supportive, and very tight-knit. And while it may have been true that the Reyes family had trouble with finances, the most important part was that they were all willing to endure many hardships as long as they were together, as Alberto preached the importance of resiliency to his family.

Jaime represents the American dream for Mexicans

As mentioned, Jaime Reyes is a Mexican-American living in an American city with his very Mexican family. And the thing that made his life so relatable is the fact that he was simply trying to fulfill the American dream that a lot of different immigrants tried to reach when they risked everything to get to America.

Jaime was introduced as a young man that had just recently graduated from college in Gotham Law, and his loving family welcomed him. In fact, he was the first member of the Reyes family to graduate from college. And that was why his entire family was proud that he could accomplish something that no other member of the Reyes family had accomplished.

Of course, Jaime had big dreams for his family as he wanted to use his degree to get a good job and provide for his family’s needs, especially after he learned that they were about to lose their home to high rental prices. Jaime realized that he needed to give back to his family while trying to reach big in a world where the odds were against him and the simple people living in the simple community of the Edge Keys.

In fact, even after becoming the new Scarab host, the only thing on Jaime’s mind was to get the Scarab out of his body so that he could live a normal life and get a job for his family. But it was thanks to his father, who appeared to him in a vision, he was finally able to accept his new role in life as a hero that represented not only the Reyes family but the simple people of the Edge Keys as well.

And that was why he was the hero that the Latin-American community needed, as he was a simple son of an immigrant family that became bigger than he was after trying to live the American dream. 

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