The following year, as anti-pachuco sentiment grew, American servicemen stormed East L.A. streets, assaulting, beating, and stripping the clothes off pachucos they encountered in what became known as the Zoot Suit Riots.The film delves into this and other slices of L.A. Chicano history, like the lowrider car culture that became synonymous with Whittier Boulevard and other local cruising strips.
Avila grew up in Pasadena with parents who didn’t consider themselves cholos but embraced the lowrider lifestyle. She remembers cruising Pasadena’s Old Town back when Colorado Boulevard was a popular spot.“She would say, ‘I hated taking out the Impalas, ‘cause I always got pulled over,’” Avila said. “For us Chicana girls, those were the guys you wanted to date,” she said. “That was what was in — that culture, that look, that style.”As pachuco culture gave way to cholo culture, that style evolved, giving way to uniforms of crisp khakis and white t-shirts, influenced by blue-collar workwear and the military. Influences from gang and prison life, including a distinctive tattoo style, began playing a bigger role in self-expression as well.