A Day Without a Mexican

A Day Without a Mexican (2004) is a mockumentary that imagines what would happen were all the Mexicans to disappear from California. The movie stresses the role of the media, and so it begins with an emergency news broadcast announcing that “the Mexicans are all gone.” Next the scene shifts to a few days before the disappearance and shows a montage of Mexicans working at various jobs, to show how Mexicans are an integral part of California life. But it remains to be seen of how much their contributions are appreciated, as an interview with the California State Senator Stephen Abercrombie (John Getz) reveals that he has to defend himself against his wife hiring illegal immigrants to paint their living room. Next the images move to an anti-immigration protest on the Mexico-California border where activists complain that Mexicans are taking jobs from Americans, eating up the economy’s welfare, and bringing drugs into the country. Budding news reporter Lila Rod (Yareli Arizmendi) is then shown auditioning for employment at the local news station. A man from the station tells her not to Americanize her Spanish seeing as many Latinos have no career without their accents. A contrast of immigration views is then presented between a father and son; the father whose best friend is a Mexican working on his farm, and the son who suffers from the prejudice paranoia that the Mexican workers will hurt his child or his father’s business.

Then, rather abruptly, all the Mexicans begin disappearing. The only explanation is a strange fog that is surrounding California, cutting off all communication to the rest of the world. The effects of such a loss begin to reveal themselves: farmers lose their entire crops because they don’t have any labourers; no garbage clean-up; no maids or nannies; no celebrity latinos; no workers employed at minimum wage jobs. The problems begin to multiply; not to mention the confusion as Latinos disappear while driving, causing their cars to veer wildly in the streets, one of which hits Lila Rod while she is driving in her car. Senator Abercrombie (who is now acting governor because his superiors are also Latinos gone missing), declares a state of emergency. Is it terrorism? Is the military kidnapping unsuspecting people? Others believe that the apocalypse is upon them and is taking the most faithful first. As the days trudge along, the Caucasian population falls to pieces as they have to perform the menial tasks that the Mexicans had previously taken care of. Restaurants close due to no servers, cooks, dishwashers, or fresh food. The drug trade becomes secondary to the thriving ‘fresh fruit and vegetable’ trade. The border patrol attempts to clean up their image which projects them as racist nationalists, an image not unfounded by the characters.

Eventually it is discovered that Lila Rod (or Rodriguez) is the only Mexican left untouched by the ‘disappearance epidemic’. She is at first worshipped as a sign of hope in these dark days as she donates her body to science in an attempt to discover why she is ‘the missing link’. But her popularity soon turns sour as the remaining racist Californians begin to celebrate the disappearance. Lila soon realizes that the government’s primary objective is to safeguard the rest of the population against disappearing (with a vaccine made from Lila’s blood), and secondary is to find the missing Mexicans. When the scientists express that they want to ‘flatline’ Lila to see if she can go to a parallel world to discover where all the Mexicans are, her Aunt Gigi confesses that Lila is actually Armenian and her Mexican ‘parents’ had kindly taken her in as their own daughter. Lila breaks down and wails that “love is thicker than blood” and that her heart is Mexican. With that, she disappears, despite being Armenian.

At this point there are 13 million people missing. As all the main characters sadly reminisce about their absent loved ones, a small drop of water falls from above each of them; an act somewhat similar to christening. They have completely transformed their views of Mexican immigrants and have realized how essential each person is to California and the people there within. The fog then magically clears up and the Mexicans all reappear, just as they were, with no memory of the event. They are welcomed back with appreciation, love, and public displays of affection. Perhaps the most comical reception is when the entire border patrol descends on two unsuspecting Mexicans trying to cross the border. The officers can’t believe their eyes and ask them, “¿Son Mexicanos ustedes?” (Are you Mexican?); and an affirmative reply results in an eruption of cheers as the border patrol hug the two illegal immigrants and carry them around on their shoulders. The two Mexicans look at one another and agree that, “Damn, these Americans are fucking cool!”

The film is interspersed with details of the Mexicans vital role in California’s society, such as:

*Thanks to the Mexicans, California is the world’s fifth largest economy.
*20% of all K-12 California students are Hispanic.
*Mexicans comprise a third of all Californian consumers.
*Eight of the L.A. Dodgers are Latinos.
*60% of California’s construction workers are Mexican.
*Mexicans contribute to the economy far more than they take from it in social services.

The reality of American ignorance regarding Mexican identity also goes on display when Abercrombie comments that he doesn’t want illegal Mexicans from Guatemala or Honduras working for him; or when a meter maid comments that they’re all Mexicans south of the border, prompting a message on the screen which states that there are in fact 40 countries south of the US-Mexico border. The devastation in the aftermath of the disappearance questions previous prejudices, such as the Mexicans stealing employment opportunities; whereas afterwards, the remaining Americans are forced into the hard-labour jobs which they loathe. The social message presented becomes an issue of humanity, not race. A colleague comments to Lila that California now needs the Mexicans, and she replies, “I wish they could have heard that before.” This film blatantly states the obvious: For a state which is dependent upon Mexicans for its survival, the non-Hispanic population certainly does not view the societal role of Chicanos, as well as those seeking citizenship, as vital.

A Million to Juan

A Million to Juan (1994) is a rags-to-riches Chicano comedy which overtly illustrates the disparity between rich, white Americans and broke, struggling Chicanos. Ten-year-old Alejandro Lopez (Jonathan Hernandez) introduces a collection of characters, starting with his father Juan (Paul Rodriguez), who has an affinity for being penniless even though he is the master of odd jobs. Alejandro gets babysat regularly by the neighbours, Mrs. Gonzales and her daughter Patricia, and he lives with his father (his mother died 3 years earlier) and two uncles: Jorge and Alvaro, who cry during their beloved Spanish soap-operas. Their place of residence is a run-down apartment in East L.A. owned by Mr. Jenkins, a crabby landlord who lets only Mexican immigrants live in the building so that he can report them to immigration services if they complain. One afternoon, Mrs. Gonzalez performs a small spiritual ritual on Juan, complete with candles and air freshener, which is specifically designed to ask the saints to bestow wealth upon Juan. That night, Juan discusses job opportunities with his brothers and he realizes that he will have to work for Hector Delgado by selling oranges on street corners; a job which he swore he’d never do.

After Juan’s trampy girlfriend Anita starts to date Hector and Juan doesn’t think his life can get any worse, a white limo pulls up to the street corner where he’s selling oranges. The back window cracks open a few inches and an anonymous hand presents Juan with an envelope. In the envelope is a cheque for one million dollars addressed to Juan Lopez and a note that states the terms of the ‘experiment’: If Juan returns the cheque in 30 days to the same limo, he will receive a gift. Everyone is dubious of the cheque’s authenticity, but Olivia (Polly Draper), Juan’s kind and beautiful immigration officer, suggests that Juan verify the cheque at the bank, just to be sure; especially when Juan has been rejected for a green card and may be deported to Mexico within the week. The cheque turns out to be authentic and Juan is immediately treated with respect wherever goes. He and his brothers head out on a shopping spree in Beverly Hills, buy a Mercedes, and Juan even gets invited to the bank manager’s cocktail party. He gets credit at stores which had refused him earlier and restaurants bring him drinks which he hasn’t ordered; all he has to do is flash the cheque. While out with his son at a Mexican restaurant, Juan bumps into Olivia, who can’t believe that the cheque was real. They make a dinner date in order to discuss plans of Juan opening a small business; while Olivia’s boyfriend Jeff grumpily leaves the restaurant due to his great dislike of everything Mexican.

Although Juan is now able to live a rich lifestyle, he doesn’t ever forget his responsibilities or lose his kind demeanor. At the dinner date, Olivia advises Juan to open a restaurant on account of his excellent cooking skills. They both become more interested in one another as the night progresses and then, seeing as Olivia has already been invited to the bank manager’s cocktail party through Jeff, they decide to meet one another there to act as moral support against the snobbery of the other guests. Juan arrives at the party only to be immediately labeled as a valet by those who don’t know him (due to his Hispanic descent), or complimented profusely by those who know about his new-found wealth. He soon escapes to the balcony where a man in a white suit approaches him and asks him questions about his employment. Juan lies at first, but then, as if forced by the man’s gaze, he admits that although he almost completely broke (apart from the cheque), he still yearns to start his own business. The bank manager suddenly appears and when Juan asks for a loan, the man in the white suit vouches for Juan as a man of integrity and vision, allowing Juan to obtain the loan. Later on that night, Jeff storms out of the party when Olivia and Juan begin to ‘fraternize with the help’, allowing Juan and Olivia to leave the party and go celebrate Juan’s loan on the rooftop of his apartment building, where they begin to slow dance and finally progress to kissing.

The next day, Juan is ready to propose to Olivia, but before he is able to, she announces that they should keep their relationship strictly professional. To add to the grim situation, Patricia Gonzalez dies of pneumonia due to a broken heater and faulty window in the apartment. Mrs. Gonzalez takes all her religious knick-knacks down as she loses her faith and Mr. Jenkins attempts to evict her from the apartment. When Juan tries to stop the eviction and set the record straight: that the defective building had caused Patricia’s death; Jenkins frames Juan to make it look like he was going to attack him with a knife. Juan is taken to jail, but Olivia is able to get him out; only to tell him that everything he had gotten on credit was repossessed and that she has quit her job and is moving to Seattle with Jeff. Juan is dumbfounded and exclaims that he loves her now more than Jeff will ever be able to love her. Olivia knows that Juan is right, but is caught between the two men as Juan goes back to selling oranges. Suddenly, the white limo appears again. Juan passes the cheque back through the window and a hand, along with the voice of the man in the white suit, gives Juan an address to go to in order to receive his gift. Juan becomes angry at how this man is playing with his life and throws away the address as the limo departs. Just then Olivia drives up and proclaims her love for him. Alejandro, in the back seat, then notices a billboard bizarrely graffitied with a note to Juan containing the address on the piece of paper he had thrown away. The three of them drive to the location, a run-down and abandoned building, and find a certificate naming Juan as the proprietor. Juan immediately sets to work and everyone in his life chips-in to help restore the building into The Angel Café. Juan and Olivia marry and move into a beautiful mansion, living with all their loved ones and preparing for the arrival of a new family member, Esperanza. The tale of Juan’s amazing good luck ends with the man in the white suit gazing through a window to check-up on the family before slowly walking away and disappearing into a flash of white light.

There is constant banter about the Chicano’s living situation in L.A., particularly in comparison to Mexico. Jorge comments that a job is difficult to find in the US; especially when so many other immigrants can exploit their struggles and beg for money. He then continues to say that he should have never left beautiful Mexico. Even though his brother, Alvaro, mentions that the increased cost of living in America is well-worth not having to carry cement bags for a wage of $3 an hour in Mexico; Jorge still insists that Mexico is heaven on Earth compared to the hell of the US. Caucasians are constantly depicted as ignorant, such as the woman who hands a pop can to Juan, instead of money, saying, “You people recycle these, don’t you?” As she drives away, Juan crossly crushes the can into the ground with the heel of his boot. Many Mexicans have learnt how to work the system with sob stories and lies; but Juan, who is the most sincere and reliable Chicano in the film, cannot find it in himself to stoop to that level, even if it means that him and Alejandro might be sent back to Mexico (even though Juan has lived in the US for almost his entire life). Yet, however dire this situation may be for Chicanos, A Million to Juan still sheds hope on their social condition and encourages honesty and responsibility among Chicanos in order to attain their dreams while in America. While many, such as Jorge, may wish to return to Mexico, the film stresses that happiness can still be found in a foreign land.

Mi Vida Loca

Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life, 1994) shows a series of events from the different perspectives of several Chicano teenagers belonging to the gangs in the Echo Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles. This compilation is split into three chapters: "Sad Girls Y-Que," "Don't Let No One Get You Down," and "Sauvecito."

Sad Girls Y-Que

Sad Girl (Angel Aviles) begins by describing the Echo Park barrio as a place that has slowly evolved into a from English to a Hispanic neighbourhood and has everything you need. The residents live in a karma-like environment where they know that ‘what goes around, comes around’ and you just have to take the good with the bad. This explains the shocking scenes of teenage mothers having profane catfights; oblivious to how this is affecting their young children witnessing the scene from nearby strollers. Sad Girl and Mousie (Seidy Lopez) have been best friends since they could remember. They even joined the ‘homegirl’ gang the Locas (and thus the bizarre pseudonyms). Mousie soon becomes interested in Ernesto, aka Bullet (Jacob Vargas), who is part of Echo Park’s male counterpart gang, the Locos. Things soon get serious between the adolescents resulting in Mousie becoming pregnant and then giving birth to a son. As Mousie becomes reclusive with her child, Ernesto begins to take an interest in Sad Girl and their affair results in more offspring for Ernesto and an insurmountable barrier of hatred between Mousie and Sad Girl. Mousie then continues the story explaining how after being thrown out by her father, she had moved from house to house with her son until one day she has a confrontation in the park with Sad Girl (displaying their utter immaturity in spite of their attempts to be ‘bad ass’), which results in a plan for the two to settle their differences in the hills later that evening. The plot then turns to Ernesto who has turned to drug dealing in order to make enough money to support his progeny and to buy a new truck, Sauvecito, which he keeps secret from both Sad Girl and Mousie. But the truck is no secret to El Duran, the playboy leader of the River Valley gang, who stalks the Echo Park neighbourhood in his 1950s collectible cruisers, searching for the Sauvecito because he claims it should be his. Ernesto has pledged to both Sad Girl and Mousie that he will keep them safe the night of the fight, but as the girls hesitate while facing each other down, they are startled by two gun shots, echoing through the valley. It turns out that Ernesto had been dealing to a ‘white chick’ with his new female associate Whisper, a member of the Locas, when all of a sudden the client had pulled a gun, killing Ernesto and injuring Whisper in the leg. Mousie and Sad Girl turn despondent after the death, but are then drawn closer as they find strength through the similarity of their new situation which finds them without the father of their children.

Don’t Let No One Get You Down

Whisper then tells about when the Locas took a road trip to the nearby women’s prison to collect Giggles, an older generation Loca who was sent to jail for a crime that her deceased husband had committed. Giggles tells the group about Sauvecito, which she learned about from Big Sleepy, a veteran Loco who had down some work on the truck. The news causes the Locas to consider selling Sauvecito to make money for the families Ernesto had left behind. Mousie and Sad Girl take a covert peak at the truck, which is under the watchful eye of Ernesto’s younger brother Shadow; but he refuses to give the girls the truck because the River Valley gang is after it. The Locas at first look-up to Giggles because she was the first Loca to go to prison, but they soon change their minds when Giggles talks about getting a jobs with computers and starting a future where they don’t need men to take care of them. Giggles then tries to connect with her neighbourhood friends such as Big Sleepy. The two end up spending the night together which is when Big Sleepy offers for Giggles and her daughter to live with him, but Giggles refuses his kind offer on the grounds that she wants to be independent.

Sauvecito

A side-story then introduced about Sad Girl’s sister, Alicia La Blue Eyes, which tells of the bizarre love affair that Blue Eyes has with a prison inmate named Juan Temido, whom she has only met through his poetry in a magazine and then weekly letters. The two end up pledging their love to one another, but then much to Blue Eyes’ disappointment, the correspondence stops. Next is El Duran’s perspective which describes the gang conflict between the Locos and River Valley which has been present for more than 60 years; as such, the issue of attaining Sauvecito is more a matter of honour for El Duran than his actual desire for the truck. Back in Echo Park, one of the Locas reveals that Juan Temido is actually the real name of El Duran and the group brings the heart-broken and naïve Blue Eyes to a River Valley party where she will unknowingly meet El Duran. Meanwhile, Shadow discovers that Sauvecito has been stolen and the Locos go on a blood mission to kill El Duran, who they assume is the culprit. At the party, Blue Eyes is captivated by El Duran’s way with women and the two begin dancing, but she is soon mortified when it is announced that El Duran and Juan are one and the same, causing Blue Eyes to flee from the building and into the comforting embrace of her sister. Suddenly the Locos arrive and immediately shoot El Duran, no questions asked, before escaping into the night. The next day it is revealed that a younger Loco had actually stolen and crashed the truck and that El Duran had been murdered without cause. But the killing continues as a group of River Valley girls attempt to shoot a Loco while outside a local store, but end up accidentally shooting Big Sleepy’s young daughter who was caught in the cross-fire. The film ends at the girl’s funeral, with Giggles slowly walking away from the grave with Big Sleepy and the Locas also walking away together, but on a separate path.

The ending of Mi Vida Loca displays the madness which saturates the lives of these Chicanos, but it also shows the wisdom which develops from living through such experiences. The veteran gang members observe the dead-end lives that result from the constant drug-dealing, fighting, and promiscuity. In this sense, the plot is similar to that of American Me, which also depicts a community of Chicanos stuck in the vicious cycle of younger generations picking up habits inspired by the older generations; even though the veterans of the ‘crazy life’ realize how illogical such a path is in attempting to find happiness.

Although Ernesto often criticizes his white, junkie clients as a class of ‘weak’ humans who get greedy when faced with the ‘stress’ of their perfect lives; the issue of gender in this film appears to take precedence over any concern about race. Even though the women still take on the role of care-givers to the children, they also identify with the machismo attitude of pride and the bond which develops from their inclusion in the gangs; so much so that some members tattoo their aliases onto their knuckles. These girls worry about being killed in gang fights, but still fuss over daily chores such as doing the laundry and getting groceries. Their lives suggest a new perspective on the Chicano community, one where the citizens accept their plight of life in American society and even acknowledge it by naming their gangs the 'Locos' and the 'Locas' (meaning ‘crazy’). Giggles remarks that “women need skills because their men are in prison, disabled, or killed by the time they are twenty-one.” These Chicanas have taken the matter of raising the next generation into their own hands, where they use weapons out of love instead of to prove a point. In the final scene, Giggles embodies the notion of moving away from the ‘gang life’ to start over as she walks away with Big Sleepy; but the cycle continues as the rest of the Locas choose a different path to walk with their children.

American Me

Edward James Olmos directs and acts in the film American Me (1992), which is inspired by true events and examines the life of a Chicano mobster as he comes to understand how his life choices have affected those closest to him. First we are introduced to the poetic reminiscence of Montoya Santana (Edward James Olmos), who is in prison sifting through a box of old photographs. His musings take the plot back to the Los Angeles in the year June 1943, when his parents, Pedro and Esperanza, two proud ‘zoot suitors’ had first started to date. Their love for one another is strong, but it is overshadowed by the racial tension between Latinos and US sailors which leads to a night of sickening chaos as the couple is caught up in one of the famous Zoot Suit Riots. Sailors beat Pedro to a pulp and rape Esperanza with absolutely no remorse. Montoya then shifts to the year 1959, when he was 16 years old and starting a Latino neighbourhood gang called La Primera. The gang allows Montoya (nicknamed Santana) a reprieve from his father’s chronic anger. Members are initiated via a small tattooed symbol on the back of their hand at the bottom of their thumb. The group consists of Santana; his best friend JD (William Forsythe), who is Caucasian but walks and talks like a Latino; and the newly-initiated Mundo. The group decides to take a shortcut one night after Mundo’s initiation which brings them through the Hazard gang’s territory, provoking a chase. La Primera breaks into a shop and manages to lose their pursuers, only to encounter an enraged storeowner who shoots JD and almost kills him. The breaking-and-entering gets Mundo and Santana time in Juvenile Hall. His first night there, Santana is raped by a fellow juvenile, but then refuses further submission and stabs his rapist in the throat. That killing earned Santana a jail sentence once out of Juvenile Hall, but also the respect of every adolescent in his surroundings. Santana knows that a clica is built upon respect and so he begins to assemble a Latino gang by the name of La Ema (for the Mexican Mafia) which unconditionally welcomes JD once he is out of the hospital and also serving his sentence.

The film progresses to Folsom State Prison where the original gang has grown and the choices they have made to survive have earned them 10-25 years; but the power that they now possess by way of extortion, gambling, prostitution, drugs sales, and even charging rent to inmates, has made them the ultimate force in the prison hierarchy, with the only other gangs in the yard being the Black Gorilla Family and the Aryan Brotherhood. Santana still receives visits from his mother and much younger brother, Paulito. Other visitors secretly supply La Ema with drugs through a method of hiding the package in a series of body cavities. A riot is almost imminent between the Black Guerilla Family and La Ema when a black inmate contaminates some of the cocaine and is then set on fire and killed by Latinos as punishment; but the excitement is set back to just a solemn threat from the African American gang to Santana once the guards begin to arrive. This event causes Santana to be sent to the Hole for solitary confinement; which he only laughs at because he can still run his business from such an isolated location. But the business is beginning to fail as the prison system attempts to break-up La Ema by sending its members to different prisons. Soon Folsom sees new Latino gangs surfacing, such as Nuestra Familia headed by El Chucko. To halt this threat, Santana enlists La Ema’s newest and youngest member, Little Puppet, to kill El Chucko and restore power to La Ema. Life for Santana then begins to change as he receives news of his mother’s death and soon after JD is released. Then, after an astonishing 18 years of prison time and many years to think about his actions and their effects, Santana is finally released into a world that he has difficulty adjusting to. He is welcomed by his friends and family, all except his father, at an intimate celebration and begins to take a liking to Julie (Evelina Fernández), Little Puppet’s cousin. Julie attempts to make light of his struggle in the outside world; but Santana is unable to react as he can’t seem to think with his heart instead of his head.

It doesn’t take long for Santana and JD to get back into business by first confronting the Italian Mafia boss with their proposal of running the drug business in East L.A. and all trades with Mexico in exchange for the safety of the son of the Italian boss, who incidentally was just sent to Folsom. The boss laughs at their offer, until he hears the news that his son was raped and killed on account of La Ema. Meanwhile, Santana opens up to Julie as they get to know each other and she shows him many things for the first time such as driving, going to the beach, and making love, which Santana fails to adjust to as he flips Julie over and attempts to have anal sex with her before she runs away from him screaming. Perhaps things would have eventually worked out between them if it hadn’t been for the Italian boss’ retaliation of sending pure, uncut cocaine into the Mexican barrios and immediately causing upwards of 50 deaths, including Julie’s younger brother, Nito. After this, Santana and his father finally bond as they sit by Esperanza’s grave. It is here that Pedro tells his son about his mother’s rape and how he could never truly love Santana because he always knew that it was an indiscriminate sailor who had fathered him, and not Pedro.

The drug business begins becoming a dangerous place as the Black Gorilla Family stays true to its previous threat and kills several young Latinos by making them deeply breathe-in the pure cocaine which they are cutting for Santana. In an attempt at normalcy, Santana acts as best man at the wedding of the recently-released Little Puppet. Santana is able to talk to Julie outside of the reception and he explains that he is simply working with this reality of drugs, but Julie is repulsed and says she once cared about him, but she doesn’t know this monster who he is now. Suddenly, two police officers appear and start interrogating the two as to why they are on the street talking. After searching ‘Santana’s’ jacket (which is actually Little Puppet’s) the officers find Little Puppet’s drug stash and Santana is then sent back to Folsom. JD goes through with a plan to enlist the Aryan Brotherhood to send a message to the Black Gorilla Family, which ends up being utter bloodshed with racial overtones that Santana disapproves of. La Ema begins to quietly talk about Santana’s new weakness while they solicit Puppet (Little Puppet’s older brother) to kill Little Puppet for accidentally putting Santana back in prison. The film ends in a spirit of utter madness as Puppet reluctantly kills his younger brother, imploring him not to look him in the eyes as he does it; Santana voluntarily concedes to his murder by La Ema as they stab him with the same brutality as any other; and on the outside, Paulito follows in Santana’s footsteps as he initiates younger kids into the gang and then gives them a gun to shoot at the other neighbourhoods in the name of La Primera. But which innocent bystander should the new recruits shoot? It doesn’t matter.

Even the title of American Me taps into the identity crisis existing for Chicanos living in America. Santana says that his parents were proud pachucos, but this didn’t stamp out the Zoot Suit Riots in their era which were ignited by racism and fuelled by media coverage which hailed the sailors for ‘purifying’ America during a time of nationalistic frenzy. This prejudice continues when Santana is a teenager, especially in Juvenile Hall where the gangs are no longer segregated by neighbourhood locations, as in the Chicano barrios, but instead by race. The power hierarchy runs on machismo pride and because of its connection to survival, no ethnic groups are excluded. Near the end of the film, it is revealed that both Julie and Pedro have the Mexican gang tattoo on their hands, which Julie tries to hide with make-up and Pedro looks at with disdain. This symbolism drills home the fact that even those people in the Mexican community who don’t approve of the drug trade are still affected by it due to their connections of family and race. Julie condemns Santana’s actions by saying, “There’s no fucking hope for our kids, for our barrios, with people like you around.” And this cycle doesn’t end with Santana’s death. The message is clear: the Chicanos in this community will never be rid of the crime and drugs that pervade their streets. Malleable adolescent minds look up to the drug lords and see only the attractive shell of power which surrounds these ordinary men of flesh and blood. Everything: the racism, the clicas, the death, the drugs; will continue because the thirst for supremacy is now in that blood.

Real Women Have Curves

Real Women Have Curves (2002) challenges the cultural stereotypes which are thrust upon a generation of young Chicanos growing up in America but still living in the shadow of Mexican tradition. It is clear from the first scene that Ana García (America Ferrera), a graduating high school student, does not get along well with her mother, Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros), who appears to be constantly complaining about some bodily ailment so that she can persuade Ana, out of guilt, to listen to her woes and care for her. This time Ana steadfastly refuses to play her mom’s warped game, and instead leaves to catch a series of buses to head out of her Mexican neighbourhood and into Beverly Hills where she attends high school. In class, the students excitedly talk about what they will do to continue their education. At Ana’s turn, she exclaims that she’s looking forward to backpacking in Europe. This prompts her teacher Mr. Guzman (George Lopez) to approach her after class and inquire as to why she hasn’t handed in any college applications. Ana quickly replies that her family can’t afford it, and then ironically heads to a greasy fast food place to quit her job. Upon returning home that evening, her family surprises her with an intimate graduation celebration. Here her mother’s character begins the first of many jokes throughout the film regarding Ana’s weight. Ana simply rolls her eyes, as if she’s heard it a thousand times before. Carmen then interrogates Ana about quitting her job before finally deciding for her that she will work at her sister, Estela’s, clothing factory to earn money. Ana is clearly an intelligent girl and is reluctant to work at such a mindless job. Suddenly, as if in answer to Ana’s aversion to the factory, Mr. Guzman appears at her party to talk to Ana’s parents about Ana attending university; but is quickly informed that they need Ana to contribute to the family’s income.

The following day, Ana begins her employment of ironing the dresses that are produced at her sister’s factory. Here she is introduced to her co-workers, a handful of Mexican-American women, who are also barraged by Carmen with unappreciated insults about being overweight. Ana insists to her mother, a seamstress in the factory, that she’s only going to work there until she can find another job. Meanwhile, as she questions her sister about the cost and profit of the beautiful dresses she irons, Ana realizes that Bloomingdales sells the dresses for $600 while the factory is only paid $18 per dress; thus giving the factory the status of ‘sweatshop’, a term which Estela refuses to acknowledge. The seamstresses enjoy their gossip, but when the focus of the conversation drifts, on account of Carmen, to Ana’s weight, Ana intentionally burns a dress with the iron and storms off down the street, only to be coaxed back after another round of guilt from her influential mother.

Ana then secretly hands in university applications to Mr. Guzman, and as she leaves his office she runs into her classmate Jimmy (Brian Sites) who gives her his number, causing the introverted Ana to become embarrassed and hastily flee. Ana finally gathers the courage to plan a date with Jimmy, of which her understanding Grandpa keeps a secret in order to not alarm Carmen. When the young couple is finally unaccompanied in a Mexican restaurant, Jimmy can’t stop staring at Ana’s large breasts, and it is apparent that, due to his teenage hormones, he finds them to be two of Ana’s more stunning features. The two have an awkward yet enjoyable date which ends with a first kiss and a shower of self-esteem and optimism for Ana. On a following date, Ana confides to Jimmy that she is always at odds with her mother, especially concerning her physical appearance, to which Jimmy replies with sincere complements as well as the upsetting news that he will be leaving to go to college in 2 weeks. Back at the factory, Estela is in a panic because she has lost half of her employees (who all belong to the same family) as one of them is getting married and so they have all decided to move back to Mexico. At this news, the remaining workers must work twice as hard, with no immediate pay, in order to finish the dresses before the deadline. Ana manages to gain a loan for Estela through their father after the dress manufacturing corporation refuses their request for a cash advance. A few days later, Mr. Guzman appears at Ana’s house once again, but this time with the news that she has been accepted to the prestigious Columbia University in New York City on a full scholarship. Ana is elated and holds her ground in order to see her educational dreams through when her parents express that they are disinclined to have their family break apart by having her move to New York.

This new bout of audacity motivates Ana to buy condoms and reveal to Jimmy that she is ready to have sex, which is extremely against the family tradition of waiting until marriage to have sexual intercourse. Before they begin, Ana turns on the light and stands in front of a mirror so that they can both see what she really looks like. This act gives her a sense of worth which leads to the most memorable scene in the movie when, back at the factory, the summer’s heat is so intense in the work room that Ana removes her t-shirt to work instead in her bra. Her mother is appalled but Ana quickly recruits an entourage of Chicana workers to remove their clothes as she exclaims that they are all women with the same bodies. Then, much to Carmen’s disgust, the women begin to lightheartedly compare their bodies’ imperfections and Ana announces that her weight says, “Fuck you!” to anyone obsessed with appearances because she would rather be respected for what she thinks, rather than how she looks. Carmen leaves in disgust and Ana flicks on some Spanish music as the women contentedly finish working on the order in their underpants. Ana has gracefully allowed her relationship with Jimmy to be seen for what it is as they both head off to different schools and are forced to keep only the memory of their experiences together. All of Ana’s family has given her their blessing to chase her dreams in the big city; all except her mother who is so distraught at Ana’s departure that she doesn’t even swallow her pride enough to say good-bye. And so Ana leaves her family life behind and enters into an exhilarating life change. The last scene shows her walking the busy streets of New York with an air of confidence and a sense of self which permeates every part of her being.

The film highlights the differences between Mexican and American culture and how Chicanos, in particular, deal with this daily disparity. The neighbourhood around the factory is teeming with Mexican customs, from the busy outdoor markets to mariachi bands for-hire, which is in direct contrast to the Beverly Hills community, representing the successful American dream which Ana aspires to be a part of. However, the movie places these dreams in direct correlation to the confidence in one’s appearance. North America has long been known for its obsession with the ‘perfect female figure’, generally represented by a body as thin as a plank of wood, which is difficult to attain for someone like Ana who was born with a curvy, Latin body type. Ana’s appearance is accepted by the male figures in her life, but is seen by her own gender as being undesirable. This contrast in turn portrays an upside-down perspective on the normally joyous family life of Latinos, which has now been poisoned by Carmen’s longing for Ana to be thin in order to obtain a husband. The divergence between mother and daughter becomes clear when Carmen reveals to her husband that she finds it unfair for Ana to be able to go off to university while Carmen has had to work hard labour for close to forty years; thus illustrating the difference in traditions of the older Mexican generations and the younger Chicano generations.

The dresses from the factory offer a different insight into the Chicana mentality when Ana notes that she only irons the beautiful dresses but will never wear them. Such a statement corresponds to the Chicano community as the foundation of an economy which many Chicanos can’t truly enjoy due to financial struggles. This issue of cheap foreign labour is emphasized in the ‘sweatshop-like’ environment of the factory. The dresses also symbolize the transformation of Ana’s self-confidence. Upon first arriving at the factory, Ana wistfully studies a size 7 dress on a mannequin, until her mother comments that she will never be able to fit into it and that she is too big for her own good. After Ana’s self-esteem increases over the course of the movie, her sister gives her a sexy red dress as a present. At first, Ana refuses saying it will never fit her, but Estela insists that she made it exclusively for Ana so that it would fit her body perfectly. The message here to Chicanas is clear: Do not try to fit someone else’s expectations, whether they are the expectations of your country or of your family, because there is always a way to fit into your own unique persona without any adjustments; just as when Ana proudly declares to her mother, “This is who we are. Real women.” With curves.

Heartbreaker

Heartbreaker was released in 1983, but focuses on the 1970s as it examines the culture of automobile fanatics, low-riders in particular. It is soon realized after the first scene that the flashy cars are the real stars of the show: they sparkle, they roar, they even bounce; and everything is in the meticulous detail. In this society, appearances mean everything.

Beto (Fernando Allende) is Latin American and his popularity is obvious as he enters a local nightclub. He suddenly spots Kim (Dawn Dunlap), a petite blonde bombshell on the dance floor, whom he immediately begins to make eyes with. She is receptive to his flirtations, but her dance partner, Hector (Peter Gonzales Falcon) is not quite so pleased and immediately leads her off the floor. Beto, who ends up chatting at their table with mutual friends, reluctantly leaves after sensing Hector’s discomfort, but not before he confirms his shampoo appointment on Tuesday with Kim, who just happens to be a local hairdresser. Hector warns Kim that Beto is a player, but Kim dares not trust Hector either when, as he drops her off at her parents’ house, he becomes angry and calls her a little girl when she refuses to move out and live with him.

The next day, the low-rider enthusiast club, The Golden Knights, are introduced, complete with matching gold windbreakers. Beto is the president of the club which is known for its high standards and attention to detail. As the guys joke around and examine each others’ cars, Angel (Miguel Ferrer) teases that he’s going to race Beto for the presidency. Surprisingly, Beto responds by saying that after the next car show he will turn the club over to Angel because he wants to focus on other things now. As a token of contract, Beto gives the club’s beloved golden knight statue to Angel to hold on to for a few days. Beto then goes to get a hair cut from Kim who, despite Beto’s forward advances, insists she is not available. In the next scene, Hector proposes a car show to the Golden Knights where the grand prize is $10,000. Beto refuses because he thinks Hector is under-handed in how he raised the prize money; and due to this refusal, an arsonist sneaks into Angel’s garage at night, steals the knight statue, and torches Angel’s beloved car, which, come morning, is nothing but a hunk of burnt metal. A tip-off from a neighbourhood kid causes the group to suspect Wings, a dishonest character from The Vikings car club, as the arsonist; but before Angel can do anything drastic, Beto asks him to stick with the club and address this problem correctly. Beto then enlists his African-American friend, and fellow car enthusiast, Hopper (Michael D. Roberts), to collect information about the arson. Hector warns Wings that he is being suspected of the crime and sends him out of town for a while to collect an old car; the same car that Hector offers to Angel to restore as a sponsorship to enter his car show. Despite Angel’s reluctance to betray Beto and the Golden Knights, he desperately yearns to work on a car again and accepts the offer.

Meanwhile, Beto tries his hardest to spend time with Kim, but she won’t give in, explaining that things just seem to move so fast when Beto is around. Finally, in a local diner, Beto yells out, in front of Kim and all the customers that he’s in love with her. He is met with cheers from the on-lookers and an embarrassed, but flattered, expression from Kim, and the two begin spending more time together. Kim’s parents are aghast that she is friends with such a “greaseball” and wants to move out into that “part of town”, but their opinions do a complete turn-around when they are immediately charmed by Beto as he arrives to help move Kim’s things. After everything is moved, Kim finally accepts Beto’s offer of a date and the two primp and preen themselves in anticipation. Just as Beto leaves his house, he finds a note on his car giving him directions on where to go to get information about the arson. Against his better judgment, he races to the location, an arcade, to find Hopper playing games and knowing absolutely nothing about the note. Unbeknownst to Beto, as he tries to get a hold of Kim by telephone, Hector had heard about their date and tried to get Beto out of the way so that he could go to Kim’s and, due to his intoxication, try to rape her. Kim chases Hector away with a knife, but is so distraught that she can not even open the door when Beto finally arrives. Beto becomes depressed as Kim cuts off all communication to him. He tries everything to get her attention, but finally, after what seems like several weeks, it is Kim that seeks him out and the two begin a tender relationship full of love and admiration for eachother.

Then, at Hector’s anticipated car show, Hopper tells Beto that someone is selling the golden knight statue for $100. He plans to mark a hundred dollar bill and then follow the vendor to see who was behind the arson. This plan would have worked if he hadn’t been distracted by the wet t-shirt contest on stage and lost the vendor in the crowd. Later, while chatting with Beto, Hopper spots the vendor again, this time standing with Wings. Beto confronts Wings and challenges him to a private fist fight in Hopper’s car-trailer. Beto wins the fight and Wings confesses that it was Hector that set fire to Angel’s car. Meanwhile, Angel had just won the best-in-show $10,000 prize, but becomes enraged when he hears who was behind the arson, resulting in an all-out car chase as the Golden Knights track down Hector. Angel finally corners him and gives the dishonest crook’s car a few bashes with a metal rod before Beto arrives and reminds Angel that whatever he plans to do, the whole club will be watching him. Angel understands the warning and grudgingly lets Hector go, throwing the best-in-show trophy at him in disgust. Beto gives the recently retrieved golden statue back to a gracious Angel. With that, Beto declines the invitation to go to the car show’s after-party and instead begins his new life with Kim as they head home.

Despite more than half of the cast being Latino, their country of origin is never specified. The only clue to this puzzle is when Beto tries to teach Kim the Mexican phrase “órale”, meaning “let’s do it”. It is significant that both clubs, the dishonest Vikings and the honorable Golden Knights, have Latino members; thus not stereotyping any one race as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The main prejudice in the plot is one of social classes which then lends itself to race. Kim’s mom asks her why she wants to live in the “other part of town”, connotatively the bad part, as her father adds in racial slurs, such as “wetbacks”. But Heartbreaker maintains its ideal of equality when Beto ends up mesmerizing Kim’s parents with his polite manner and magnetic personality; apparently not the qualities that they were expecting from someone of Latin descent living in the ‘other part of town’. At first, when Beto tries to court Kim, she displays this same bigotry, saying, “We are different people, with different attitudes towards life.” Beto doesn’t stand for this kind of statement and quizzes her on how they are different: Because their colour of hair is different? Or is it their skin, one looking like mashed potatoes, the other like refried beans (lending significance to their separate cultures)? It is at this point that Beto announces to the diner that he is in love with Kim and this melts away any barriers of background which may have stood in their way. The majority of Latinos in the film are constantly beating away the stereotypes of separate cultures as they allow their love of cars to open up doorways into a common ground, upon which one of any heritage can present their hard work. The reward for Beto’s attempts to combine both the American and the Latino worlds comes in the last scene when Kim smiles at Beto and says, “Órale”, thus permitting both cultures to co-exist in harmony.

Selena

The biopic Selena (1997) begins with an excited Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (played by Jennifer Lopez) surrounded by supportive family and friends and getting prepared to sing in the Houston Astrodome, February 26, 1995, to what reporters say is the arena’s largest crowd ever. But how did she get here? What’s the story behind Selena’s rise to fame? And so the movie gives a flashback to Corpus Christi, Texas, 1961, with Selena’s father, Abraham (Edward James Olmos), singing 50s love songs in a Mexican barbershop trio.

This talented trio is called The Dinos, and they are continually turned down by owners of white clubs because they are Mexican, and also refused by Mexican clubs because the group only knows "gringo music." Caught between two competing worlds, Abraham is haunted by memories of rejection until 1981, in Lake Jackson, Texas, when his nine-year-old daughter Selena takes an interest in her father’s hobby of singing his old tunes. Her interest sparks an idea in Abraham to start a family band, although "family" means only his son and two daughters, not himself. He forces the children to practice the music and even opens up a Mexican restaurant (for all those gringos that like Mexican food) so that he can showcase "Selena y Los Dinos" playing songs like “Blue Moon” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” His wife fears that he is becoming obsessed with music again and living vicariously through his children, but Abraham insists that Selena has the talent to make it big and he continues to get publicity for the children, even after the restaurant goes broke due to "Reaganomics" and they have to leave their home. The children become depressed when they realize that their music isn’t as big a hit in the county fairs as it was in the restaurant because the Tejano audience enjoys only male performers. Then one day, in hopes of cheering up Selena, her mother teaches her the Cumbia dance moves of "the washing machine," which Selena uses to liven up the act. From here a star is born.

The film jumps to 1989 in El Paso, Texas, with the family band playing to huge crowds at the county fair and Selena slowly becoming a sensation. Her fame is shown in many amusing situations, such as when the tour bus becomes stuck off the side of the road and two very tough-looking Mexicans with tattoos and goatees almost trip over each other at the chance of helping "Selenas." Her father continues to push for the big time, and although Selena is just as driven as he is, she still finds herself yearning for a normal life, one which offers someone whom she can love. Enter Chris Pérez (Jon Seda), a wild, rebel guitarist with long hair and ripped jeans, brought into the band despite Abraham’s complaints. After the family cleans up Chris's image, sparks begin to fly between him and Selena. On their tour of California, Chris lets his punk friends trash his hotel room and as a result is almost fired by the enraged Abraham. Chris declares to Selena that acts like a punk because she’s too good for him, and she responds that he is simply trying to keep up an image that isn’t him. After this encounter, their love blooms though Abraham becomes suspicious of their romance. The band members also become apprehensive of what this will do to the performances, but everything appears to be going well with their new number one song and a promising tour in Mexico.

Abraham is hesitant to let his daughter perform in Mexico because although her songs are all in Spanish, it is not her native language. Still scarred from his own experiences as a singer, he exclaims that the Mexicans don’t accept Mexican-Americans; in fact, stuck in cultural limbo they constantly have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans! But Selena is persistent and shows her star quality when she charms the Mexican press which leads to an incredibly successful Mexican tour. Yet, despite all this good exposure, Abraham still can not tolerate Selena dating Chris and so he fires him, causing the two to take their relationship into hiding. Finally Selena is fed up with the situation and she and Chris marry without her father’s consent. Abraham is at first enraged, but then, when Selena returns home with her new husband, her father realizes that he had pushed her to do it and he is proud that she made the decision on her own. Selena’s family then welcomes Chris with open arms.

After this, success can not seem to stay away from the 20-year-old Selena. She opens clothing boutiques with her own designs, wins a Grammy, and starts to record an English cross-over album. She and Chris even talk about having kids. But Abraham comes to Selena with suspicions that her business and fan club manager, Yolanda Saldavar, has been swindling money and writing odd cheques. Selena is incredulous until they confront Yolanda and her pleas of innocence seem doubtful; yet they still allow Yolanda to work for them as long as she accounts for all the finances. This brings the film back to its beginning with the 1995 performance at the Houston Astrodome, Selena’s shining moment as a cross-over artist. Suddenly, we are confronted with images from a newscast and the reporter stating that the beloved singer Selena has been shot by her employee Yolanda Saldavar after they had met to go over some finances. The finale of the biopic of this admired human being flashes scenes of her family receiving the news of her death in the hospital, a solitary microphone in an empty arena, and thousands of fans, with pictures of the real Selena, holding a candlelight vigil for the untimely death of a star in her prime.

Selena contains compelling plot similarities to La Bamba, another biopic of a Mexican-American star cut down in his prime. Yet these two singers accepted their cultural backgrounds in a different ways, with Ritchie trying to be more white while Selena embraced her Mexican roots (although they were foreign to her) and attempted to cross over to English recordings from there. Her father, who was plagued with ambivalence about his own dual identity, made sure that Selena was able to sing in Spanish from a young age, even teaching her to trill a Spanish ‘r’ at age eight. He insists that as Mexican-Americans they need to speak English perfectly for the whites and they need to speak Spanish perfectly for the Mexicans, and therefore they “gotta be twice as perfect as everybody else!” The film displays the sentiment that in the 1950s, crossing over was simply not possible for either Abraham or Ritchie Valens, but that by the 1990s Selena could prove that such opinions had been changed. Not only did she achieve a cultural cross-over, but she became the top Mexican-American performer of her time, male or female, and ultimately was accepted on both sides of the border for who she was.

La Bamba

La Bamba (1987) tells the life story of 1950s rock-and-roll phenom, Ritchie Valens, from his underprivileged beginnings to his tragic end. The movie begins with Richie (Lou Diamond Phillips), born Ricardo Valenzuela, and his mother, Connie (Rosana DeSoto) working as fruit pickers in an orange grove in Paicoma, California. Their pay depends on their labour, but everyone in the camp works hard hours and enjoys the family-like atmosphere of Mexican tradition. One day, out of the blue, a motorcycle roars into the camp carrying tough guy Bob Valenzuela (Esai Morales), Richie’s older brother. The two embrace in a brotherly hug and then excitedly find their mother and Rosie, Richie’s love interest. Bob has just gotten out of jail and is eager to bring his family back to a city in southern California; but his mother refuses as she is suspicious that the money that he shows her has been cultivated in dishonest ways. Finally she is convinced, and they leave the next day, but not before Bob, with no concern for Richie’s feelings, takes Rosie’s virginity and brings her with them on his motorcycle. The family moves into a run-down shack while Rosie and Bob reside in the RV beside it. Bob continues his lifestyle of drinking and drugs, while Richie proves to be a clean-cut 16-year-old: going to school and staying out of trouble. The distance between the two brothers widens when Rosie announces she’s pregnant (with a baby that Bob does not care to have), whereas Ritchie joins the rock-and-roll band “The Silhouettes” and starts dating a blonde girl from high school named Donna.

After a few low-key garage gigs, Connie pumps up the band’s exposure and gets them a show at the local Legion Hall. When the lead singer becomes upset about Connie getting gigs for them, the rest of the band sides with Richie and allows him to sing an amazing set at the Legion. Later on that same night, Bob turns up drunk at the show and causes a huge brawl which ruins the evening. Connie yells at him, but Bob shows no remorse as he bellows that the world doesn’t revolve around Richie (albeit Richie joined in on the brawl to protect his drunk brother). However, all is not lost as a music scout named Bob Keene (Joe Pantoliano) had been among the young people in the crowded legion hall and he immediately signs Richie to his modest record label, Del-Fi Records. His rise to fame progresses quickly after that as the new ‘Ritchie Valens’ becomes a household name; but such fame brings a price to his personal life as his relationship with Donna slowly deteriorates on account of her father’s racism. During this time he also divulges that he has dreams of the memory of two planes crashing, falling to the earth, and killing his best friend, which has caused Richie’s fear of flying.

Recording the songs just as Keene envisions them proves to warrant much time and effort, but Richie is whole-heartedly committed to the cause of his music. Then, when brother Bob sees that Richie has written the song ‘For Donna’ in hopes of winning her over again, he takes action by forcing his reluctant brother across the border to Tijuana to get drunk and lose his virginity. Although Richie is distracted by the band onstage playing the folk song “La Bamba”, he still wakes up the next morning in an old Mexican man’s shack, with a hangover, a tattoo, and a talisman to protect him from his dreams of flying; but his virginity is still intact. Not long after, Keen gets Richie to agree to fly to New York in order to be on the popular teenage live-music show “American Bandstand”. This gig sends Richie straight to stardom and allows him to buy his mom the house he’s always wanted to give her, not to mention a flashy new car for himself which helps him to persuade Donna to come back to him. Again, at the sight of Richie’s fame, Bob flounders into drunkenness and Rosie does not even permit him to see his own daughter. Richie then asks Keene if he can try a rock-and-roll version of “La Bamba”. Keene is hesitant at first, but the new version becomes an instant success. Richie returns home from touring to a house full of smiling family and friends, except for Bob who still can’t take his brother’s fame. When Bob and Richie are alone together they begin yelling their true feelings at one another and Bob reveals that he never got over that fact that his father left when he was born and Richie’s father, Steve, was always the father that he had wanted but could never truly belong to. A fist fight ensues, and Bob yells, “I’m gonna kill you!” before accidentally ripping the talisman from Richie’s neck. The two stop and feel the gravity of what has been done. Richie is shaken by the experience, but still leaves his family and loving girlfriend behind to do a tour with several other big name rock-and-roll artists. When their tour bus breaks down and they instead have to fly to Fargo, Richie is hesitant but he is encouraged by the support of his friends as they all fly off into the snowy night.

The plane crashes and kills all the passengers. Ricardo Valenzuela: the affectionate son, the devoted boyfriend, and the phenomenal performer, was only seventeen years old when he died. His family and friends hear the news at the same time as the rest of the country on a national news radio bulletin: Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and JB Richardson: all dead due to a tragic plane crash. The film’s heartbreaking ending leaves the audience with visions of those who were closest to Richie in absolute despair over the absence of this light in their life, their star of fame. Then, during the credits, the video of Richie performing La Bamba reminds us that through his beloved music he will live forever.

La Bamba is apparently a biography of Ritchie Valens’ life, but it could be argued that it is as much about his older brother Bob as it is about the star himself. The stark contrasts between the brothers can be seen in more than just their lifestyles, as Bob has held on to his Mexican roots and Richie hasn’t even really been introduced to them. Bob takes Richie to Tijuana and Richie is overwhelmed by the revelry and promiscuity at every turn. While Bob is able to chat-up the different prostitutes around the room, Richie can barely speak, let alone in Spanish. This lack of native culture is especially evident when he is confronted the next morning by the old Mexican man, to whom he says, “Yo no speako español.” What's more, when Richie continues to alter his lyrics while recording, Keen tries to be understanding, saying that he realizes Mexico has a tradition of changing song lyrics but this isn’t Mexico, when Richie interrupts him by saying, “Look man, I haven’t even been to Mexico. My music is my music.” The rich Latin American culture in the film is constantly mixed with the American purpose and resolve to attain that elusive American dream. But Ritchie Valens actually did make it to the top and wrote three #1 hits in his short recording career of eight months; even through an unsettling experience of having his name changed from Richie Valenzuela to Ritchie Valens in order to decrease his Mexican appearance. This is a Latinized, rags-to-riches, American story which analyzes Richie’s sense of self, asserting that although someone may be of Mexican heritage, his background certainly doesn’t dictate his identity, especially when the American dream is at stake.