“So what’s the difference between East L.A. and L.A.?” asks a cab driver in the opening scene of Taylor Hackford’s “Blood In Blood Out,” to which the main character, Miklo, responds, “It’s a whole different country.”
There are plenty of films about Los Angeles, but few of them have fixed their gaze on the less-glamorized East Los Angeles as tightly as Hackford’s 1993 film. In the 30 years since its release, the three-plus-hour crime epic has become a cult classic and a hallmark film for Latino narratives in Hollywood.
The movie follows the lives of Mexican American relatives — Miklo, Paco and Cruzito — as they navigate life in East L.A. as members of the street gang Vatos Locos. Their lives ultimately head in very different directions, but their stories and fates stay forever intertwined.
The film stumbled at the box office 30 years ago but was saved from obscurity by Latino audiences, who reclaimed it as a cornerstone of their representation in cinema.
April 23, 2023
Part of what has drawn so many people to the film is its authenticity in narrative and setting. Jimmy Santiago Baca, one of the screenwriters, based the script on his own life experiences of incarceration and rehabilitation. But what really sets the movie apart is its undeniable sense of place. It wasn’t shot in some backlot; it lives and breathes its East Los setting. The community’s vibrancy, seediness and geographical diversity pop out throughout, helping ground the story in reality.
So real are the places in the film that fans can actually go visit many of the shooting locations across Boyle Heights and East L.A.
Wander the same streets that Miklo so loved and fought for, or take in the same view of downtown that Tres Puntos leader Spider (RIP) can’t help but be impressed by. Just don’t expect to see Cruzito’s mural from the end scene; that painting is actually located in San Antonio, Texas (congrats, Shea Serrano).
Here’s a guide to some of the most iconic filming locations for “Blood In Blood Out.”
FAQs
They start out as members of a street gang in East Los Angeles, and as dramatic incidents occur, their lives and friendships are forever changed. Blood In Blood Out was filmed in 1991 throughout Los Angeles and inside California's San Quentin State Prison.
Where was Vatos locos filmed? ›
Most of the film was shot in East LA, with the locals as great part of the extra casting.
Is the mural from Blood In Blood Out real? ›
Many people believe the mural is in Los Angeles but, it is actually in a storage in San Antonio, Texas. It has been falling apart little by little over the last 2 decades. Adan Hernandez is the artist who painted all the artwork Cruzito(Jesse Borrego) does in the film.
Is Blood In Blood Out 2 coming out? ›
Blood In Blood Out 2 Is Not Confirmed
Adorned with the tagline "La Onda was only the beginning," and a slated release date of March 2024, the poster seemed to promise a continuation of the epic saga.
Where is the tree of Blood In Blood Out? ›
El Pino (English: The Pine Tree) is a large bunya pine located on the southeastern corner of Folsom Street and N. Indiana Street in East Los Angeles, California.
Was Blood In Blood Out a flop? ›
Thanks in large part to home video and word of mouth, “Blood In Blood Out,” the nearly three-hour movie about three cousins from East L.A., became a cult classic. When the film “Blood In Blood Out” came out 30 years ago, it bombed at the box office.
Did they use real prisoners in Blood in Blood Out? ›
What was it like to film “Blood In Blood Out” on location at San Quinten State Prison? San Quinten was the biggest part of the film for me because, to me, it was the soul of the movie for my character 'Miklo. ' He spends most of his time inside the prison. We were in there with real prisoners.
Where is the blood in Blood Out Tree? ›
Maria Paola Hernandez lifts her niece Marissa Rojas, 5, to peek through a hole in a fence to see the tree in East Los Angeles known as “El Pino,” which was featured in Taylor Hackford's 1993 film “Blood In, Blood Out.”
Is Vatos Locos connected to blood in Blood Out? ›
The film Blood In Blood Out (1993) which was written by poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, is based on the experiences of gang members of a fictional gang called Vatos Locos.
Is the tree in Blood In Blood Out real? ›
Some may chalk it up to coincidence that El Pino, the southland's most famous bunya pine tree, is located in what is, historically, one of the city's most ethnically diverse areas, East L.A. But from a human perspective, the tree is a towering focal point deeply embedded in the soil of a microcosm that has been home to ...
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo.
Who was the real painter of Blood In Blood Out? ›
Artist Adán Hernandez's work was collected by Hollywood heavyweights, including Cheech Marin and Helen Mirren, but many knew it best from the paintings he made for the 1993 movie “Blood In Blood Out.” Before “Blood In Blood Out,” Hernandez was a struggling artist.
Why did they change the name of blood in Blood Out? ›
This is a common initiation in many gangs, including prison gangs, and is also the motto of La Onda in the film. Hollywood Pictures insisted on the name change as the studio felt that it would incite violence in East Los Angeles.
Who killed Smokey Blood in Blood Out? ›
There is an added scene where Popeye stabs Smokey during a phony deal.
Where is the blood in Blood Out tree? ›
Maria Paola Hernandez lifts her niece Marissa Rojas, 5, to peek through a hole in a fence to see the tree in East Los Angeles known as “El Pino,” which was featured in Taylor Hackford's 1993 film “Blood In, Blood Out.”
Was Blood in Blood Out based on a true story? ›
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on step-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo.
Where is the filming location of blood origin? ›
Filming on the series began in August 2021 in the United Kingdom, with additional castings including Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Nathaniel Curtis and Dylan Moran announced.
Where was in the blood filmed? ›
The film was shot in Puerto Rico from November 25 to December 26, 2012.
