Quinceañera

Plot

A Hispanic teenager travels the rough road to adult responsibility earlier than she expected in this independent drama. Magdalena (Emily Rios) is a young Latina who is looking forward to her upcoming quinceañera celebration -- the 15th birthday party that marks the passage into adulthood for Mexican-American women. Magdalena's expectations are raised by the lavish party her older cousin Eileen (Alicia Sixtos) gets for the occasion, but Magdalena's mother (Araceli Guzman-Rico) and father (Jesus Castanos-Chima) insist on a lower-key affair that will focus on the more responsible aspects of grown-up life. However, Magdalena gets a crash course in that subject when she discovers she's pregnant with the child of her boyfriend, Herman (J.R. Cruz); life at home becomes unbearable for her, and she leaves to live with her more sympathetic uncle, Tio Thomas (Chalo Gonzalez). Home for Tio Thomas and Magdalena is a small apartment in a building owned by James (Jason L. Wood) and Gary (David W. Ross), a gay couple looking to gentrify the neighborhood. Magdalena strikes up a friendship with her cousin Carlos (Jesse Garcia), a roughneck teen with a good heart who is also on the outs with his family when they discover he's experimenting with his sexuality. Produced in part by Todd Haynes, Quinceañera received its premiere at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Moviegoers have seen plenty of movies about Los Angeles. That's where the screenwriters and studio execs live, so for 90 to 100 minutes, audiences live there, too. But they haven't seen this Los Angeles before, the version presented in Quinceanera. The film focuses on the Latino neighborhood of Echo Park, whose steady gentrification is both a plot point, and a real-world indication that it may soon become a setting safely homogenized for mainstream cinema. Writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland take a girl's 15th birthday celebration, a rite of passage similar to a Southern debutante ball, as a jumping off point to examine this vibrant part of the L.A. landscape that's rarely documented on film. And they do this surprisingly effectively, given that their backgrounds in gay cinema (Fluffer, Gay Republicans) may have made that part of the story more interesting to them. The two worlds collide in the character of Carlos (Jessie Garcia). The first shot of Carlos shows a gang tattoo on the back of his neck, so viewers might expect a heavy-handed look at a clichéd character type given to violent outbursts. But Garcia and his directors really humanize Carlos, surprising the audience with his homosexuality while refraining from making him a saint. Also quite astute is the film's dialogue, a hodgepodge of English and Spanish that recognizes the inevitable dual heritage of these characters. This pre-existing cultural displacement only becomes more pronounced when the scandals of Carlos and Magdalena (Emily Rios) ostracize them from their families. When their great-uncle Tio (Chalo Gonzalez) -- deservedly portrayed as a saint in this case -- assembles together this makeshift family of outcasts, it's a touching display of blind acceptance. Quinceanera may occasionally paint in broad strokes, but it tells its small story with warmth and respect, making it a true find. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast

• Emily Rios - Magdalena
• Jesse Garcia - Carlos
• Chalo Gonzalez - Tio Tomas
• J.R. Cruz - Herman
• Johnny Chávez - Uncle Walter

Jason L. Wood; Jesus Castanos-Chima - Ernesto; David W. Ross - Gary; Araceli Guzman-Rico; James L. Wood - James; Teresa-Michelle Ruiz; Alicia Sixtos - Eileen; Lisette Avila - Jessica; Hector Quevedo - Dancing Boy; German Zavala - The Quinceañera's Male Escort; Carlos Linares - Videographer; Margarita Lugo - Aunt Candy; Veronica Sixtos - Young Girl; Valentin Martinez Medina - Flower Seller; Bertha Flamenco - Aunt Sandra; Jorge Ortiz - DJ; Jasiel Flamenco - Magdalena's Brother; Alexandra Escamilla - Tiny Girl; Marlene Flamenco - Young Mom; Martha Orloff - Neighbour; Frankie Loyal - Bouncer; Aris Taylor - Jasmine; Rebecca López - Wendy; Alex Sánchez - Uncle Juan; Blanca Reyes - Maria's Mother; Bob Murphy - Flirty Guy; Micah Schifman - Tony; James Claude - Stephen; Dane Rosselli - Simon; Daniel Vasquez - Alejandro; Anthony Mendoza - Bass Player; Danny Álvarez - Drummer; Terah Gisolo - Punky Girl; Laura Ann Masura - Alternative Girl; Andy Bishop - Dinner Party Guest; Ingrid Eggertsen - Artsy Lady; Art Aroustamian - Car Wash Manager; Angela Muller - Frantic Lady; Yvonne Majica-Nelson - Melancholy Lady; Johnny B. - Slumlord; Joanie Tomsky - Doctor; Arthur H - Dog; Joey Maan Yee-man - Dog; Nancy Badillo - The Quinceañera Court; Leslie Campos - The Quinceañera Court; Mario Galvez - The Quinceañera Court; Mercia García - The Quinceañera Court; Diego Pablo - The Quinceañera Court; Jason Rodriguez - The Quinceañera Court; Carmen Aquirre

Credit

J. Evan Shapiro - Associate Producer, Jason L. Wood - Casting, Jessica Flaherty - Costume Designer, Andrew Salazar - Costume Designer, Ted Campbell - First Assistant Director, Richard Glatzer - Director, Wash Westmoreland - Director, Robin Katz - Editor, Clay Zimmerman - Editor, Todd Haynes - Executive Producer, Nicholas T. Boyias - Executive Producer, Mihail Koulakis - Executive Producer, Avi Raccah - Executive Producer, Shaun Terence Young - Line Producer, Victor Bock - Composer (Music Score), Shaun Terence Young - Musical Direction/Supervision, Denise Hudson - Production Designer, Jonah Markowitz - Production Designer, Eric Steelberg - Cinematographer, Anne Clements - Producer, Mondo Vila - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Glatzer - Screenwriter, Wash Westmoreland - Screenwriter, Jamie Feldman - Production Coordinator, Ken Novak - Supervising Sound Editor, Laura Paddock - Set Decorator, Henrieta Mickovicova - Featured Music

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