The Muleteer (Spanish: La arriera) is a 2024 Mexican coming-of-age adventure drama film co-written and directed by Isabel Cristina Fregoso. It stars Andrea Aldama, Ale CosÃÂo and Luis Vegas. It follows a teenage girl who embarks on a journey dressed as a muleteer to find her father and discover his identity.
In 1935, in the Sierra Occidental of Jalisco, Emilia falls in love with her cousin Caro. This, coupled with her impetuous personality and her desire to find her father, leads her to seek a different destiny than the one awaiting her on the ranch where she grew up. Dressed as a muleteer, she begins a journey in which she manages to find herself, her father, and a place to love freely.
Principal photography lasted six weeks on location in Mascota, La Estancia, San Sebastián del Oeste, El Grullo, and Pascualitos Beach.
The Muleteer had its world premiere on June 13, 2024, at the 39th Guadalajara International Film Festival, then was screened on October 25, 2025, at the 26th OUTshine Film Festival, on November 6, 2024, at the 18th Portland Latin American Film Festival, on February 8, 2025, at the Reelout Queer Film Festival, on March 21, 2025, at the , and on June 19, 2025, at the 29th MIX Mexico Festival.
The film was released commercially on June 19, 2025, in Mexican theaters.