American Homeboy

This is a simplified description, but the Pachuco style then evolved into Cholo culture as the police were targeting Mexican-American young men en masse. When a crime was committed, rather than searching for the perpetrator, the police would round up every Chicano, violate due process, and find that actual criminal… maybe. The feeling of injustice and racism slowly morphed into what most consider gang culture and the term Cholo attached to it.

If you’ve seen as many political and racially motivated documentaries as I have, you probably think American Homeboy is an anti-white colonizer propaganda film. That could not be further from the truth. It’s only anti-White because it presents the history and facts of L.A.’s racial tension and riots during the 70s and 80s, which I lived through and witnessed living in a Daryl Gates Los Angeles. Make no mistake, though. The film is political because the struggle ultimately became political.

Maxwell’s movie celebrates Mexican-American, Cholo, and Pachuco culture. It documents its history, celebratory and often troubled history. In the end, there’s a great deal of self-reflection from those who lived through it, which is honest and inspiring. One word that describes the feelings of each subject is “pride,” the good kind.

American Homeboy – Sandy Avila

“…beautiful, awe-inspiring, and educational.”

American Homeboy serves also as a history document. Much of its history is told by historians in a talking head narrative. Hats off to the documentarian. Pulling the historical footage for this was clearly a monumental task. Visually, his source material was archival and stock news footage, home movies, videos, and photos. It’s like finding hundreds of needles in a massive haystack, then laying the pieces down ideally like a 1,000-piece puzzle. The result is beautiful, awe-inspiring, and educational.

Lastly, the music is equally inspired. It’s not what you think when you think of a documentary about Mexico. The music selections are great because they tap into the Chicano culture but have touchpoints to reach a broader audience beyond the film’s subjects.

Even though I was born in South Central Los Angeles and spent my young adult days in East Los Angeles, I lived next to a rich culture I knew nothing about. American Homeboy is for everyone with any interest in understanding one of the most significant people groups in the salad bowl we call the United States.

For more information, visit the American Homeboy official website.