Canela offers strongly positive messages about taking time to grieve and the importance of moving on. It also espouses strong family associations and the importance of community, tradition, and maintaining intergenerational relationships.
There are very minor instances of scary injury or roughness. In one scene, a woman shoves a man out of his seat. In another, a woman grabs a child by the arm roughly. A woman slips and falls and breaks her arm. An older woman has a heart attack but survives. Throughout the film is the heavy tone of grief and loss.
In one scene, adults have wine with dinner.