Quinceañera, directed and written by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, is one of the best films ever about the clash of cultures in contemporary Los Angeles, though ostensibly the movie is a coming-of-age melodrama. Gary (played by David W. Ross) and James (played by Jason L. Wood), two thirtysomething gay men, have recently acquired an Echo Park property that consists of an old house for their residence and an adjacent garden apartment rental unit. The latter has been occupied by eighty-three-year-old Tomás (played by Chalo Gonzalez), a sweet gentleman and street vendor who has lived in the house for twenty-eight years; he now lives with his hunky late teen great nephew, Carlos (played by Jesse García), who was kicked out of home, has tattoos, smokes pot, works at a car wash, and appears as a tough punk. Gary is an out-of-work film industry worker, who has recently rejoined his partner of six years after six months of separation. Shortly after moving into the house, Carlos knocks on their door, asking to borrow a plumber’s wrench to fix his granduncle’s kitchen sink. Gary instantly sizes up Carlos as a hunk who can spice up his sex life with James, gives him the wrench, and invites him to the housewarming. When Carlos shows up, he is introduced to a Hispanic gay friend, drinks a lot of beer, and after the party ends, the two lower his pants while Carlos enjoys being serviced but keeps up his macho façade. Soon, Carlos makes regular visits to Gary, and the two kiss and embrace one another in bed. However, James later finds out and objects to the secret trysts, loudly enough to be heard by Carlos as he tries to continue a nightly visit. Meanwhile, Carlos’s cousin Magdalena (played by Emily Ríos) is fourteen years old, approaching fifteen, when she will celebrate her special birthday, known as quinceañera, when Mexican girls are formally recognized by the community as a woman. However, when she puts own her quinceañera gown, there is a bulge at her waist. Soon, she tests positive for pregnancy; her father, Ernesto (played by Jesús Castaños-Chima), who is a minister, is so upset that she leaves home to live with Tomás and Carlos. The father of her child is Herman (played by J.R. Cruz), a school classmate who jacked off on her leg, but some of his sperm apparently crawled into her vagina. Magdalena’s unwelcome fate is soon compounded when an eviction notice arrives in Tomás’s mailbox, whereupon the gentrification of Hispanic Echo Park introduces a harsh reality into the plot. James evidently decided to end the trysts by selling the garden apartment. Carlos goes to their house to object, but finds the door barred. Tomás tries to look for a new abode, but clearly nothing is suitable, and he is heartbroken at the prospect of moving. Magdalena also tries to find accommodations, but Caucasian (and an Hispanic) landladies steer her away, as she clearly has no funds even for one month of rent. Then Tomás dies of that broken heart, but the film ends upbeat, especially after Magdalena’s father asks her to forgive him for his hardheartedness, and Carlos, who eulogizes Tomás as a saint at the funeral, indeed acts in a saintly manner. The film is dedicated to an actual Tomás Patterson. The codirectors live in Echo Park and filmed their own street. MH
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