The landmark Latino film “Blood In Blood Out,” not dissimilar to “The Godfather” in its scope and themes, stumbled at the box office but was saved from obscurity by fervent audiences. Here, the filmmakers break down making the iconic L.A. movie.
30 years after its release, ‘Blood In Blood Out’ still holds cultural significance to the Latino community. Here is a list of some of the locations depicted in the film, in East L.A. and beyond.Credit for the lived-in sensibilities of the film goes to Jimmy Santiago Baca, a New Mexico poet who honed his craft in. Chapa refers to him as a “modern-day Chicano Oscar Wilde,” while Borrego calls him “the Chicano Shakespeare.
In the wake of the box-office success of the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic “La Bamba,” which Hackford produced, the director envisioned developing other projects aimed at an eager Latino audience.Edward James Olmos reached out to Hackford with a screenplay titled “Blood In Blood Out,” written by Floyd Mutrux and based on a story by Ross Thomas, which Olmos hoped to turn into his directorial debut.
Baca moved from Albuquerque to L.A. to immerse himself in the city’s Chicano culture. From the onset, the dialogue was essential to Baca’s intent. “There was a kind of alchemy created in those two months living together that really bore out on the screen,” said Benjamin Bratt of the bond among the three co-stars.
Miklo has become so entrenched in the fiber of his being that in conversation Chapa often speaks about himself and the character as if they were one and the same. In talking about Chapa, Hackford does the same: “I keep calling Damian ‘Miklo,’ because he is.” Concerned with authenticity, having cast three actors from outside Los Angeles, Hackford asked them to move together into a house near Hazard Park so that they could soak up the neighborhood and interact daily. In turn, the director also moved the film’s production office to Soto Street and Brooklyn Avenue .
Once they had obtained permission to shoot, Hackford enlisted Bobby Vazquez, a warden at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey, to interview hundreds of inmates at San Quentin and determine who were best suited to participate as extras. In exchange for their participation, the production offered meat with every meal, in addition to contributing to the prison’s library and the weight yard.
“Eisner was really frightened that a violent crime drama might generate bad press for Disney. I wasn’t happy about it, but I did kind of understand it,” said Hackford. “Still, I was fighting for my film. What Disney agreed to was to test it.” Before the Las Vegas incident, the studio’s projections estimated the picture was on track to gross $40 million. Upon its release on April 16, 1993, with a new title and diminished promotion, the film made only $4.5 million.
Given the scope of the narrative, the resources at hand, and the cast being a “who’s who of who was working at the time within the Latino community,” as Bratt puts it, the actors had high hopes for what “Blood In Blood Out” could do not only for their individual careers but for Latinos in the entertainment industry. The illustrious ensemble featured the likes of Lupe Ontiveros, Danny Trejo, Raymond Cruz, Valente Rodriguez and Ray Oriel, to name a few.
It was on VHS that Serrano first watched the film, which he considers “the best movie that’s ever been made,” as a teenager in San Antonio. That the film still enjoys enormous popularity among Latinos, Serrano and the actors think, derives from the union of Hackford’s seasoned directorial skills and Baca’s singular artistry, a partnership of mutual admiration.
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