On a sweetly scented January night one can hang out, throw rocks at buses or at the cars on the freeway. Some of these children are good-looking, some not. They look more American than Mexican to my eye, with an American irony on their faces, especially the child-women who look like they are made up for Elektra. Clearly, Joe Rodriguez has put in his time with these children. What his camera does not explain is why they look so dead to conscience.
Gangsta life reduces to an attitude, a pose.
These children appear prisoners of street theater, even when they are in the family kitchen. As actors, they seem only to exist in the plural. Dress the same. Spell identically with their fingers. They shave each others' heads and watch each others' backs.