Look, we do our best to let our readers know whenever a new LGBTQ+ movie or TV series is premiering, but especially in this streaming era, there’s so much that it can be hard to keep up!
Sometimes, something pops up out of nowhere and completely takes us by surprise—this is especially common on Netflix, which is constantly updating its library of international titles.
On that tip, the thrilling Mexican mystery series The Secret Of The River arrived on the streamer on October 11 with little advanced buzz, but its quickly becoming a word-of-mouth hit, currently among their Top 10 most-watched shows. It looks like we have a new show to binge-watch!
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We’ll admit: They hooked us with Diego Calva. The gorgeous rising star made a name for himself in Narcos: Mexico and the old Hollywood epic Babylon, will soon be seen opposite Jacob Elordi in the sweeping gay romance On Swift Horses, and impresses in this series, solidifying himself as a leading man.
But it’s Calva’s co-star, trans model-turned-actress Trinidad González, who really took our breath away in her very first acting role. Playing two former friends still haunted by a decades-old secret, it’s their profound connection that makes The Secret Of The River stand out as something truly unique and worth tuning in for.
When the series opens, young Manuel (Frida Sofía Cruz) goes to live with their grandmother in a small town in Oaxaca, where they’re bullied by others for being effeminate—including their own father. But they finds some semblance of belonging, first in his unlikely friendship with Erik (Mauro Guzmán), and later through a group of local muxes.
In Indigenous Zapotec cultures of Oaxaca, “muxe” is recognized as a third gender. Not to be confused with trans women, muxes recognize a variety of pronouns and can encompass a number of sexual orientations. While they’re locally respected, they’re frequently misunderstood and neglected by the broader population.
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The more Manuel observes the muxe, the more the child begins to realize they may not be gay like everyone around them assumes. Manuel is a girl, though she doesn’t know how to tell anyone yet, least of all her friend Erik.
But both of their lives are forever changed when, one day, the kids become the sole witnesses to a surprising death and find themselves at the center of a dangerous investigation. They realize they have no choice but to keep the secret between the two of them.
For its first four episodes, The Secret Of The River‘s story unfolds in the past, following Manuel’s burgeoning understanding of her identity as she and Erik attempt to search for the truth about what happened on the river that day.
Then, at its halfway point, the series jumps ahead 20 years. Erik (now played by Calva) never left town and is married to another childhood friend, Paulina (Lisa Rivas), planning to have a child together. In the years since, Manuel has moved away and transitioned, now going by the name Sicarú (González).
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It’s been ages since Sicarú’s been home, but a funeral brings her back, and Erik is stunned to see her. As they navigate their friendship on new terms, the pair must also confront the past and the decades-old secret that still threatens to be uncovered.
Since premiering on Netflix late last week, audiences have been discovering the series and finding themselves absorbed by its tense central mystery and its sweeping story of platonic love, an all-too-rare example of friendship between a straight man and a trans woman. Here’s what some viewers have had to say:
Speaking with Them, Trinidad González shares her very personal connection to The Secret Of The River, having grown up in a small town outside of Tabasco that was “deeply Catholic and conservative,” much like where the series is set.
She says she felt a responsibility to tell this story accurately and authentically, not just for herself, but for the muxe, who are often depicted in the media through a “folkloric” lens: “The information that appears in documentaries is often misleading; it’s all love and parties. When you enter their world, you see that it’s completely the opposite, that they are hurt people, mistreated, judged.”
In the end, González is deeply proud of what the series accomplishes, and is excited its now able to find an audience all over the world:
“It is a story led and told by real trans women and muxes. I also love that it represents a very authentic Oaxaca, and unfortunately, we live in a country with impunity, where the rates of femicide and transfemicide increase day by day… It shows many faces of machismo, the pain that many women go through, but also the pain that many men suffer from following this system that has corrupted us greatly.”
The Secret Of The River definitely deserves to be seen—as do González and Calva’s powerful performances—so we’re thrilled word is getting out that this is one to watch.
Now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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