Lowriders tells one Chicano story but art has the power to tell many more

At a time when Chicano culture is particularly vulnerable to both systemic and personal racism, visual culture can play a key role in spreading important stories. But now might be the most important time to give those stories nuance – to make sure that they reflect the diversity of a community that often gets suffocated with generalizations and racist stereotypes.

Enter Lowriders, a new film directed by Ricardo de Montreuil set in the predominantly Mexican American neighborhood of Boyle Heights, Los Angeles starring Gabriel Chavarria, Demián Bichir, Theo Rossi and Eva Longoria. It’s the story of young Danny (Chavarria), who would rather be making street art than working on lowriders (cars that are customized to allow the chassis to be lowered) like his dad