About 18 minutes into “Blood In, Blood Out,” Valente Rodriguez makes his first appearance in the cult classic that’s celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Actor Valente Rodriguez is an Elsa-born Texan â who went to Pan American University, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
CourtesyThe Elsa-born Texan — who went to Pan American University, now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley — played Frankie, the unlikeliest member of the Vatos Locos gang.
Set beginning in the 1970s in East L.A., “Blood In, Blood Out” follows the dramatic, sometimes violent lives of three gang members.
Miklo, Paco and Cruz, played by Damian Chapa, Benjamin Bratt and San Antonio’s Jesse Borrego, respectively, lead a huge cast.
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Among them was one of my favorites, Enrique Castillo, who played the philosophical, doomed prison gang leader, as well as Billy Bob Thornton, Danny Trejo, Jenny Gago, Delroy Lindo and Ving Rhames.
Rodriguez was the funny one.
He’s still the funny one, though insists he’s the least funny member of his family. His seven siblings are far funnier and quicker, he says.
This summer the longtime actor, comedian, writer and producer is traveling across the country as host of the “Vatos Locos Comedy Tour.”
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On Thursday, he was headed to Corpus Christi for a Friday show and then Houston on Saturday.
He’s hoping to lock in a San Antonio show soon.
Rodriguez serves as the tour host for shows that have evolved beyond stand-ups.
“It’s more of an event,” he said, book-ended by a meet-and-greet VIP gathering, mocking the “VIP” in that line, and merchandising.
Rodriguez, 59, may be best known for playing Ernie Cardenas, best friend to the title character in “George Lopez,” the landmark comedy series that ran from 2002 to 2007.
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Rodriguez’s movie credits range from “McFarland, USA” to “Erin Brockovich” and “Father Stu.”
On television, he has appeared in a long line of dramas and comedies, including “Shameless,” “Wizards of Waverly Place,” “Cristela” and “The Mentalist.”
He has been a working actor for 35 years. “Blood In, Blood Out” was his big break. He took my call last week to reflect on the popularity of the film and his own career.
Rodriguez got to Hollywood in late 1987 and ’88, he said. Within four years he was auditioning for the Taylor Hackford film.
“Everybody and their dog was auditioning for this movie,” said the Valley native, whose family were migrant farm workers.
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“This was Disney, Buena Vista (Films),” which proved problematic for the distribution and marketing of the movie, viewed as controversial for the Disney brand.
Rodriguez was about 25, and “American Me,” another Chicano gang-to-prison movie, was being filmed at about the same time.
Producers had several actors audition together as a way of forming the “Vatos Locos.”
The improv worked, Rodriguez said. They began to sound like “these guys had been together their whole lives.”
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Which brings us to the language that bound them, Spanish-Chicano slang. The movie continues to celebrate it, and it may be one of its lasting contributions to film.
“Blood In, Blood Out” was the first movie, at least for many of us, that best brought Chicano slang to the big screen.
It rang with an authenticity that other movies failed to achieve. Rodriguez attributed that to two people: screenwriter Jimmy Santiago Baca and Castillo, who played the prison gang leader.
I couldn’t count how many times the characters in “Blood In, Blood Out” said “ese.” A lot.
The term, meaning friend or buddy, is standard San Anto speak, heard in kitchens, loading docks, barbecues and family reunions.
Orale. Güero. Chale. Simón. Mijo. Carnal. Watcha. Jefe. Pachanga. Home Boy. Homie.
They’re all part of this expressive, magnificent lexicon, reflecting not only a time and place, but a people. Some of the movie’s most colorful terms can’t be printed here, though. You’ll have to do your own research.
Rodriguez speaks lovingly and respectfully of his experiences on the set.
“Did we know we’d get a huge cult following?” he asked.
They didn’t have a clue. But he meets fans all the time, wherever he goes, that attest to love of the film’s story, at least in its respect for family ties.
Some fans have told him they’ve owned six or seven copies of the movie in different formats, from VHS to Blu-ray.
“One guy told me he keeps it on all the time,” which is why during local screenings, male fans especially, recite the dialogue along with the movie like fans of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
But in Spanglish.
“Part of it speaks to how little we have out there,” Rodriguez said. “So, when something’s good, it’s sustained.”
(He inserts this here: First-time director Eva Longoria’s “ ‘Flamin’ Hot’ is a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful movie. It tells a story that’s never been told before, and it’s told well.”)
Rodriguez hasn’t revisited “Blood In, Blood Out” in a while. But he did remember his first scene.
Frankie is at a family pachanga along with other members of the Vatos Locos.
He speaks to Chapa’s character Miklo, the half-white, half Mexican American who’s back in East L.A. and desperately wants to fit in. He’s getting his Vatos Locos tattoo.
“Hey,” Frankie tells Miklo, “Your blue eyes are turning brown, ese.”
As Frankie, Rodriguez was the character actor. He was the funny guy.
He still is.
eayala@express-news.net
