Hidden in the sun-soaked flatlands of Paramount — an industrial city of Los Angeles nestled between massive warehouses and 24/7 taquerías — are a pair of unassuming black gates. To the average passerby, they might seem lackluster, but beyond them lies the creative nerve center of Rancho Humilde, the indie record label responsible for some of the most-streamed Latin music of the last decade.

Corridos tumbados, a genre that simmered in Los Angeles for years before exploding into mainstream consciousness during the pandemic. The label has churned out crossover stars from Fuerza Regida and Junior H to Natanael Cano, transforming the underground sound of a generation into an international phenomenon.

Now, the same compound that launched a musical revolution is serving a new purpose: a film set. The label’s headquarters have become the backdrop for its first-ever feature, “Clika,” the debut project in a multi-picture partnership with Sony Pictures and Sony Music Latin. The trailer debuted online early Thursday morning, with the film slated to premiere in theatres nationwide starting early 2026.

The movie stars one of Rancho’s own, Jay Dee (frontman of Herencia de Patrones), as Chito, a young farm worker whose raw talent propels him from the fields to viral fame amid a new wave of Mexican-American music. The film’s soundtrack is composed of some signature Rancho Humilde hits, complete with tololoches, humming guitars and street-hardened lyrics.

The film is homegrown in almost every sense; “Clika” is a raw and emotional portrait of ambition, loyalty, and the sometimes ruthless fight to protect one’s family legacy. Beneath its real life visuals and glitzy swag lies a story about how far someone will go to preserve both safety and pride.

The setting, much like the story, feels personal. The cast bridges generations of culture, featuring American rapper and entrepreneur Master P alongside content creator and comedian DoKnow, each bringing a sense of authenticity to the project.

Even Rancho Humilde’s own CEO, Jimmy Humilde, steps into the frame as himself, a symbolic full-circle moment for the mogul whose global vision built the label. His fleet of lowriders, each polished to a mirror shine, also appear.

Founded in 2011 by Humilde and his friends José “JB” Becerra and Roque “Rocky” Venegas, Rancho Humilde grew such the unique repertoire that its first breakthrough act, Cano, would go on to attract collaborations with everyone from Bad Bunny to Alejandro Fernandez. Their highest-charing act in the U.S. is Fuerza Regida (“111xpantia” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in May), who boast collaborations with Shakira and Snoop Dogg.

“I was always better at the business,” Humilde tells Variety. Before claiming the title of music mogul, Humilde used to spend his days working at a taco truck, and his nights throwing parties across Southern California. His connection to Sony Pictures began decades before the deal ever materialized. At 18, he was working as a courier when he first crossed paths with Sanford Panitch, then a junior executive at Sony.

Years later, their paths would intersect again, this time to sign a multi-picture partnership under Sony and Columbia Pictures.

“Our story needed to start with Latinos and who we are as people and our struggles,” Humilde says. “We were originally proposed the idea of a reality show when we first met with [director Michael Greene] and Sean [McBride], but my brain was already committed to making a feature film. It’s the same feeling I got when we started making the music.”

Corridos tumbados have roots in hip-hop and trap. “But hip-hop is not ours,” adds Humilde. “Rap music is not ours. And no matter how much we want to say that Latinos are a big part of its history, it still doesn’t belong to us. People call what we do urban corridos — they pair corridos with whatever word they want. But it’s up to us to write our own stories, from the ground up.”

Production on the film began in 2023 in Yuba City, a small Northern California town surrounded by sprawling farmland, the same soil where Jay Dee grew up and once worked the fields before signing to Rancho in 2018. Before seeing Jay Dee’s performance, Humilde had considered casting Jesús Ortiz Paz, the frontman of his most successful act, Fuerza Regida, though he didn’t immediately fit the role of a quiet underdog.

“Jay Dee surprised us. He was able to [portray] a lot of the emotional parts of the film with his whole heart,” adds Humilde.

“I know what it feels like to get that eviction notice. You can’t find where to go. And more importantly, I know I’m not the only one that has gone through something similar. That’s really where our audience lives and we have to find them there and cater to them… what really stands out here is how and why we chose to represent the complexities of Mexican-American life.”

Humilde’s words carry extra weight in a climate where immigration enforcement and border politics continue to shape the Mexican-American experience. This year, heightened ICE raids and visa restrictions in the U.S. have created obstacles for Latinos. The repercussions have bled into the music industry, with foreign or Mexican acts being forced to cancel shows or perform under the threat of legal complications.

For Humilde, those barriers are not just logistical — they’re personal. His projects aim to capture both the pride and precarity of communities that continue to build, celebrate and create under scrutiny.

“Immigrants are a main asset to this country,” notes Humilde. “This film is meant to display that resilience — we will always find our way back.”

Still, Humilde admits, “I don’t think we ever would’ve gotten this opportunity if it hadn’t been for Sony Latin. I had 10 or 15 minutes to present this story to Sony Pictures after they pulled some strings, but those minutes turned into hours, and those hours turned into more meetings until we landed on the simple truth: This was a story worth telling and it had to stay within the family.”

“Clika” is expected to be the first of many films Humilde and his team plan to execute, but all of them will cater to audiences who haven’t seen themselves represented in U.S. blockbusters. Humilde has already started to conceptualize his second film, which he describes as an effort to “step into other cultures.”

“This second film is going to help, not only the music side of what we do at Rancho grow to a different level, but it’s also going to serve as a merge of opportunities,” he said. “We want to open up a line for a fresh wave of actors and talent, but still rooted in who we are and where we came from — that means Black and Asian actors and spaces.”

Off-screen, Rancho Humilde is solidifying a major alliance in live entertainment, joining forces with other labels, corporate partners and artists outside its roster to plot global Latin stadium tours. A formal announcement detailing the entities and artists involved is expected soon.

“We’re seeing a lot of growth outside the U.S., which is great news for us,” Humilde says. “Most of our artists are now traveling to Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Spain, Argentina, and Brazil. Our next goal is to reach Europe and Asia. These are entirely new spaces for us, but the demand is there — and we will be there.”

Watch the trailer for “Clika” below.