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After Spooky leaves the Santos gang for a regular life and starts going by his real name Oscar, Cesar threatens him for trying to get him to leave the gang also and join him in moving to Oregon. This is a very sad moment, because it displays how lost Cesar is and he acting extremely out of character.

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This show really showed how much friendships can be tested in high school and how friends you've been friends with for many years can be outgrown in just four short years of high school. Even though they sort of came together in the final season, it wasn't the same. It definitely hurt to see Ruby, Jamal, Cesar and Monse all go their separate ways at the end of season 3.

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Cesar and his older brother Spooky grew up without their father. Spooky was the only family Cesar ever had know and was his father figure, so seeing his father was an extremely emotional moment in the show and definitely was a defining character moment for Cesar.

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Cesar sees his dad for the first time | On My Block season 3 (720p60)

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This article focuses on the diversity of the cast and what the how is really about. It also touches on the problems many teens have to go through in high school.

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There is a medley of wonderful things about On My Block, from its spot-on casting and strong performances from its young cast to its sharp comedic writing and the overall diversity of the show. Netflix is surely aware that cultural representation and diversity in entertainment are big talking points right now and it's refreshing to see that they've maintained the creative spirit of the show by keeping every aspect as authentic and relatable as possible.

Young, diverse casts are not new, as networks like The CW and Freeform have catered their programming to teen and young adult audiences since their inception. Shows like Degrassi, The Fosters and others are centered on young and diverse casts but On My Block takes it a step further by focusing their entire storyline on diverse multicultural kids as opposed to having one or two in the mix. Other series that have successfully accomplished this include NBC's Rise, Hulu's East Los High and Marvel's Runaways; Netflix's Dear White People, Freeform's and the various series in the Degrassi franchise.

On My Block follows four young South Central teenagers during the summer before they enter their formidable high school years. Monse (Sierra Capri) is the only girl in the group, a hardened but bright tomboy. Ruby (Jason Genao) is the smallest but wittiest of the four, aspiring to be like his cool, college-bound brother Mario. Jamal (Brett Gray) has a football-obsessed father who pressures him to play the sport, though Jamal has no interest in doing so and, to please his father lies that he is on the team. Cesar (Diego Tinoco), the oldest of the four, is in a gang-affiliated family but keeps his distance from them to avoid trouble. The four stars are supported by a colorful gallery of characters, from the out-spoken and overly-dramatic Jasmine (Jessica Marie Garcia), Ruby's hilarious pot-smoking abuela (Peggy Blow), Cesar's gang leader brother Oscar "Spooky" Diaz (Julio Macias) and the new kid on the block Olivia (Ronni Hawk).

"Don't go into high school without backup," advises Mario, Ruby's older brother (played by Danny Ramirez). "You guys have to stick together." The tight-knit group starts to crumble after Monse comes back from a summer-long writing camp and finds out that Cesar started a rumor about the two of them to impress his older brother, who was recently released from prison. After Monse finds out that Cesar was "jumped in" (beaten as part of his initiation), she tells a reluctant Ruby and Jamal that they need to save Cesar from the gang life he has succumbed to.

Millennial and Gen-Z audiences want to see themselves, their experiences and their backgrounds represented in what they watch, as was made clear last month at the Multicultural TV Summit in New York City. When one looks at the success of , Coco and Love, Simon, it's further proof that those are stories audiences want to see, as long as they are done authentically and executed well.

In more general terms, On My Block tackles the often-harrowing hurdles of our high school years, and problems that all teens go through, whether it's finding a date to the homecoming dance or navigating first love to the stress of juggling friends, family values and school while maintaining friendships that may inevitably dissipate. One moment in particular that resonated for me was when Cesar had to keep up appearances with his brother, cousins and gang friends and had to play up the "machismo" at the expense of his friends, an issue many young men have to deal with, particularly with added pressure from their own family and peers. I also identified with Ruby, the awkward, sensitive younger brother who is eager to fit in and make a name for himself in school, but with his preppier fashion sense and articulate way of speaking, he's practically a fish out of water in his urban neighborhood.

When watching the series, something that entrepreneur John Henry said at last year's New York Latino Film Festival and Futuro Digital Conference came to mind: "There is no better time, in the history of ever, to be black and brown than right now. Big companies are facing an incredible amount of pressure to be diverse because the jig is up!"

There is a heartfelt nostalgia that pulses throughout the series that similar shows may have missed the mark on. On My Block focuses on the intimate and relatable issues that its young heroes face: planning the much anticipated, right-of-passage quinceañera; struggling to find a date to a homecoming dance, or trying one's best to keep friendships afloat when they seemed destined to drift apart. The everyday problems Monse, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar face are not as far-fetched as they may seem. At the end of the day, they're coming across peer pressure, the stress of pleasing their families, upholding their heritage and culture, and keeping their friendships alive as best they can. Isn't that what we all want, especially during our young adult years?
The ten-episode first season of On My Block is currently streaming on Netflix. Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleagues. The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated writers.

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Netflix's "On My Block" Is a Multi-Cultural Marvel

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There is a medley of wonderful things about On My Block, from its spot-on casting and strong performances from its young cast to its sharp comedic writing and the overall diversity of the show.

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This article does a great job of describing how of the show dealt with cultural identity specifically with Monse and Olivia who were struggling to find their true identity. Monse especially struggles after she finds out the life that her mom lives.

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CULTURS - lifestyle media for cross-cultural identity

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The show "On My Block" which aired in 2018 explored diversity and culture of many underrepresented populations in the United States. The plot follows a group of four friends, Monse, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar. They each come from culturally different backgrounds but are the best of friends. The show's cast inlcludes: Sierra Capri, Jason Genao, Brett Gray, Diego Tinoco, and Jessica Marie Garcia.

Some identities within the Netflix show are Multiracial and Latinx. On the surface, these are regular identities but as the show digs deeper, it shows the effects of the cultural differences between the characters within these identities.

Two characters that have completely opposite cultural backgrounds are Monse and Olivia. Monse's character is multiracial and has her latinx family and her white family. Olivia is the daughter of two immigrants and has moved to U.S. without them in hopes of a better life.

Monse's Culture

Sierra Capri's character, Monse is multiracial. She identifies as Black, Latinx and White in the show. Monse always grew up in an underfunded area going to public school. She was always around gangs and didn't know life outside of that. While visiting her mom's side of the family (who is white) she had a culture shock. All-of-a-sudden she was around white kids her age and she noticed the differences of how they lived and what they believed compared to her friends of different backgrounds.

Many multiracial people feel this way when it comes to being mixed and identifying with two different types of cultures.

In an interview with " Vulture " Capri spoke on her character saying, "Monse was thrown into her mother's new life, and just having to deal with all of these things at one time kind of took her for a spin. I don't think she knew how to handle it."

Olivia's Culture

Olivia was a character in the first season and came to the U.S. to get a better life for herself. She is the daughter of immigrants and has to Facetime her parents in order to stay in contact because they are still in Mexico. She struggled with the cultural differences between the U.S. and Mexico and through that she created representation of what Hispanic communities really go through.

In one of the episodes, the group is trying to plan a Quinceanera for her because she is turning 15 and that is a tradition. This representation really hit some of the viewers.

Yuridia Lozano is a fourth year Social Work student at Colorado State University. She is a fan of "On My Block" because her culture was finally being represented.

"I like the Quinceanera scene a lot because it shows the work that families have to put in to make those events happen, and how significant that is in our culture" Lozano says. "To be able to see something that actually represents my culture and have it be accurate on a show that's mainstream is crazy to me. We're finally more than just housekeepers."

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Netflix Inspires with Cultural Identity in "On My Block" >

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The show "On My Block" which aired in 2018 explored diversity and culture of many underrepresented populations in the United States. The plot follows a group of four friends, Monse, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar. They each come from culturally different backgrounds but are the best of friends.

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Ruby was extremely close to his Abuelita and went to her for advice many times throughout the show. They ended up doing a celebration of her life instead of funeral for her.

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Ruby Finds Out About Abuelita Death|4x10

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Ruby and Olivia get shot during Olivia's Quince and there was a major cliffhanger to see what happened to them in the next season. This scene displayed the gang violence that was a big part of their lives.

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Monse and the rest of the characters seemed to continuously make bad decisions which is a part of teenage life. But it made fans and my self want to scream at them.

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On social media, many fans of the show thought Spooky was very attractive in character, but in real life they found how he looked to be much less attractive and disliked him in the final season because he grew out his hair and left the Santos gang.

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When Cesar joins the Santos gang with his older brother, he starts to dress more as what American media describes as cholo. Tank tops, long socks, Nike Cortez's and baggy shorts.