'Lowriders' Pictures the Nuanced Identities of L.A.'s Chicano Youth

So much of Lowriders, directed by Ricardo de Montreuil and opening May 12, is encapsulated by a short scene near the start of the film: Danny, the protagonist, skateboards across L.A.’s iconic Sixth Street bridge, heading from downtown toward the historically working-class, overwhelmingly Latino east side. In a voiceover, Danny tells viewers about his life in the city and his father’s lowrider car club, the Coasters: “I grew up in Boyle Heights,” he says. “But for kids like me, L.A. isn’t divided by the Sixth Street bridge.”

Danny, a graffiti artist, a Chicano, and an Angeleno, crosses the bridge and travels the whole city. He drives into gentrified Echo Park, into Venice, and back to the east side; it’s a versatile existence in one of the most diverse cities in the world. “Me and my homies, we’ve never been to Mexico, and our Spanish ain’t perfect. You can find us partying with the hipsters in Echo Park, chilling at the skatepark in Venice, or doing karaoke in K-Town,” Danny says, near the beginning.