MANOLO CARO
It is almost 100% certain that you have heard of Manolo Caro, and that you have found yourself in a movie theater or on your living room couch bursting into laughter at the situations he presents in his films and series. From his debut feature, No Sé Si Cortarme Las Venas O Dejármelas Largas (2013), to La Casa de las Flores (2018– 2020), and his most recent project for Netflix, Serpientes y Escaleras (2025), Manolo has demonstrated an admirable sharpness for black comedy and... peculiar family dynamics. His ability to design vibrant, colorful worlds masked in dark satire is precisely why he stands out as one of the most prominent and widely consumed contemporary Mexican directors.
Yet, more than a "film director," Manolo has always considered himself a storyteller. As he explains, his background is rooted in interior architecture—which likely explains his meticulously crafted and striking production design. In a way, this creator is a lover of narrative and performance who found in cinema a medium to express freedom.
One of the recurring themes in the Guadalajara-born director's work is the fragmentation of idealization and the perfect facade. Manolo takes the archetypes of Mexican society and places them under his incisive lens, exposing what happens behind closed doors: “Of course, I believe we always have to put on a mask, a facade, to belong—whether it’s for a family photo, a society, a job, or a relationship. I even see that as normal, so to speak, because it’s a human self-defense mechanism,” he told us. “Where I fight, and the facade I like to tear down—where I really like to press the sore spot —is when that facade is imposed on you by society, rather than by yourself.” Manolo believes that in our day-to-day lives, we are all playing a character, and as long as that performance is a conscious decision, there is no issue: “What I cannot stand is social rigidity, double standards, and hypocrisy. That is what I fight against and address the most in my work.”
In a society like ours, which is still steeped in prejudice and conservative thought, Manolo Caro has chosen to use comedy as his banner to confront not only mainstream thinking, but also his own fears and the reality we sometimes refuse to see. “It’s much stronger and far more impactful when it happens through laughter, isn't it? You realize you’re laughing at a character because if you’re laughing at what’s happening to them, it’s because it hits close to home.” For this creator, eliciting a laugh is a far more complex feat than surrendering to tears and melodrama, because laughter is ultimately about looking inward. “I love that, and I believe it is the perfect genre to dismantle prejudice. That’s why I love making comedy.”
Another recurring inclination for the architect -turned-filmmaker is granting control and pivotal turning points to the black sheep. For him, the people who break the mold are the ones who make a difference and find greater fulfillment along the way, both personally and professionally. “I believe that being different, being unique, anddefending what you think is invaluable. For me, that should always be the banner you live by,” Manolo responded when asked why he places so much weight on these figures. “It all comes down to one word: freedom. I never set out with a banner trying to be transgressive or disruptive—no. What I say and what I reflect in my work is simply about being free,” he added, noting that if everyone lived by this standard, we would live in a better society. “Sometimes the black sheep are the ones who change our course and bring complete happiness—either to society or to a family. So, whenever I can give them a voice, I will continue to do so.”
From his first short film as a director, Motel (2004 ), to the present day, Manolo Caro has carved out a trajectory filled with projects that have embedded themselves in the Mexican collective imagination. Packed with messages that are uniquely his own, family remains one of his most transcendental themes: “I’ve talked a lot about love, I’ve talked about many other things, but family—freedom exercised within the family, understanding, realizing that we are individuals and that a family is a microcosm of society, and giving a voice to characters I never had the chance to see during my own childhood—those are my strengths.” These themes provide an endless stream of stories bearing his signature style, with many more to come: “The world has changed, society has changed, Mexico has changed, and I believe that portraying that evolution has been the most important part of my process.”