Quinceañera (2006)

As Magdalena's 15th birthday approaches, her simple, blissful life is complicated by the discovery that she's pregnant. Kicked out of her house, she finds a new family with her great-granduncle and gay cousin.

Directors:

Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland

Writers:

Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland

Stars:

Emily Rios, Jesse Garcia, Chalo González

7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesus Castanos	...	Ernesto (as Jesus Castanos Chima)
Araceli Guzman-Rico	...	Maria
Emily Rios	...	Magdalena
J.R. Cruz	...	Herman
Listette Avila	...	Jessica
Alicia Sixtos	...	Eileen May Garcia
Hector Quevedo	...	Dancing Boy
Germán Campos	...	Chambelàn (as German Zavala)
Carlos Linares	...	Videographer
Johnny Chavez	...	Uncle Walter
Carmen Aguirre	...	Aunt Silvia
Margarita Lugo	...	Aunt Candy
Jorge Ortiz	...	DJ
Veronica Sixtos	...	Young Girl
Jesse Garcia	...	Carlos

Storyline

Magdalena is 14 and anxiously awaiting her 15th birthday where she'll celebrate her quinceañera. Her world starts to crumble when she discovers her pregnancy after not being able to fit in her gown for her quinceañera. Soon, she's kicked out of her home, abandoned by her family, and abandoned by her baby's father. Magdalena is then taken in by her great-granduncle, Tomas and her gay, often-in-trouble cousin, Carlos. There she finds a new family and life.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | 15th birthday | birthday | party | security guard | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexual content and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

5 July 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Echo Park, L.A.

Filming Locations:

Echo Park Lake, Echo Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$95,400, 6 August 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,689,999, 5 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinetic Media, Kitchen Sink Entertainment LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot in the same neighborhood that Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer (the film's writers and directors) live in, and the community turned up to help out by loaning their houses, providing technical advice, supplying clothing and acting.

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Goofs

In the scene where Magdalena deletes the pictures of Herman, she is shown using a Boost i860 phone. When the screen of the phone is shown, it is clearly a Samsung A670 she is using.

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Quotes

Herman: My sperm must be pretty strong swimmers, huh?

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Connections

References Kicking & Screaming (2005)

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Soundtracks

Bailar Merengue
Performed by Mangana
Written by Edith Mesch
Courtesy of LoveCat Music
Published by Big Tiger Music (BMI)

User Reviews

Quinceanera was great!

Although it wasn't a first pick, I was able to get the time slot I wanted at Sundance to view this film. We were so impressed with the film that it was almost a post viewing panic session that we could have missed a film this awesome just because it didn't have any "big names" in it. Jesse Garcia is the next "big name" in Hollywood! Keep your eyes on this guy. His portrayal of a gay Hispanic gang member just blows all stereo types out of the water. Chalo González is a national treasure, and outshines the entire cast as Uncle Thomas. Emily Rios is also a great find, and really does a great job in her first big role. Listening to the writers/directors in person detailing their own experience of moving to Echo Park California, and witnessing the gentrification of the area which inspired the film, made this screening even more sweet. The only flaw that I could find was that I wanted to see more of Magdalena's family, and thought those relationships could have been fleshed out more to better understand why they did the things to her that they did. The entire cast was so approachable after the screening and Q&A, that it made me want to go out and do all their PR work for free! Glatzer and Westmoreland said to look for this film on HBO, so hopefully that will be the case really soon for the general public. Catch it if you can; it's worth the time.