QUINCEAnERA (USA)
aka ECHO PARK LA (UK)
Year: 2006
USA: Sony Pictures Classics
UK: Metrodome Distribution
Cast: Emily Rios, Jesse Garcia, Chalo Gonzalez, JR Cruz, Jesus Castanos-Chima, David W Ross, Jason L Wood, Araceli Guzman-Rico, Lisette Avila, Alicia Sixtos, Hector Quevedo, German Campos, Carlos Linares, Johnny Chavez Carmen Aguirre Margarita Lugo, Veronica Sixtos, Valentin Martinez Medina Alicia Flamenco, Bertha Flamenco, Jorge Ortiz, Jasiel Flamenco, Alexandra Escamilla, Marlene Flamenco, Martha Orloff, Frankie Loyal, Aris Taylor, Rebecca Lopez, Alex Sanchez, Blanca Reyes, Bob Murphy, Micah Schifman, James Claude, Dane Rosselli, Danny Vasquez, Teresa Michelle-Ruiz, Anthony Mendoza, Danny Alvarez, Terah Gisolo, Laura Ann Masura, Andy Bishop, Ingrid Eggertsen, Art Aroustamian, Angela Muller, Yvonne Mojica-Nelson, Johnny B, Joanie Tomsky, Manny Jiminez Jr, Nancy Badillo, Cindy Flores, Leslie Campos, Mario Galvez, Mercia Garcia, George Ortiz, Diego Pablo, Jason Rodriguez
Directors: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
Country: USA
Language: English / Spanish (English subtitles - partial)
USA & UK: 90 mins
USA Rated: R for language, some sexual content and drug use
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language, sex references and soft drug use
USA Release Date: 4 August 2006 (Limited Release - New York and Los Angeles)
UK Release Date: 29 September 2006
UK Distributor
Synopsis
QUINCEAnERA aka ECHO PARK LA is a look at what happens when teenage sexuality, age-old rituals, and real estate prices collide. It is a story fueled by the racial, class, and sexual tensions of a Latino neighborhood in transition.
Magdalena (Emily Rios) is the daughter of a Mexican-American family who runs a storefront church in Echo Park, Los Angeles. As her 15th birthday approaches, she is preoccupied with her boyfriend, her Quinceanera dress, and the Hummer Limo she hopes will be hired for her special day.
But a few months before the celebration, Magdalena falls pregnant. While the elaborate preparations for her Quinceanera carry on around her, she knows only to well what will happen when her religious father finds out - he will reject her.
Forced out from her family home, Magdalena moves in with her aging great-great uncle Tomas (Chalo Gonzalez), who makes his living selling champurrado (a Mexican hot drink) in the street, and already shares his home with Carlos (Jesse Garcia), Magdalena's cousin. Carlos a tough cholo who was thrown out by his parents does nothing to disguise his disapproval of Magdalena's arrival.
The back house rental where Tomas has lived happily for many years is on a property that was recently purchased by an affluent white gay couple (David W Ross and Jason L Wood) - pioneers of gentrification in the neighborhood. Inevitably, worlds collide when they become entangled in the lives of their tenants.
As Magdalena's pregnancy grows more visible, she, Carlos, and Tomas pull together as a family of outsiders. But the economics of the neighborhood are turning against them. Ultimately, this precipitates a crisis that threatens their way of life.