Gentefied (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Protest Tacos - full transcript
When Yessika threatens to protest the food tour, Erik and Chris come up with a creative solution - and Ana finds herself caught in the middle.
♪ Dope boy, dope boy, dope boy ♪
♪ All I wanted to be was a dope boy ♪
♪ I only hung around on a dope boy ♪
♪ My great granddad was a dope boy ♪
♪ Dope boy, dope boy, dope boy ♪
♪ All I wanted to be was a dope boy ♪
♪ Dope boy, dope boy, dope boy ♪
- What’s up, man?
- Sup, homie?
Yo, come check out
Mama Fina's food tour tomorrow!
What you got, little homie?
Stephen Hawking, huh?
Uh... You know what, let's start you off
with this one, buddy.
- See you tomorrow, huh?
- See ya.
I'll fix it, bro!
- And remember! Tell your homies!
- Look!
Books for the whole neighborhood
but no ring for the baby mama.
I bet he doesn't even know
when the baby's due.
Lidia's due in four weeks.
Oh, is that when you're proposing?
Is that when
your novio's back, Marie?
Which one?
♪ All I do is ride with that dope boy ♪
♪ With that dope boy,
Trap, trap, we some dope boys ♪
♪ We do it for the dope boy ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah,
Watch me sell that dope boy ♪
Right!
So, I placed a final order
for the food tour supplies with Jorge.
So no need to worry.
Everything's under control.
Huh?
So now all you need to focus on
is having a good time!
I don't know how I let you
talk me into this.
You agreed the food tour was a great idea.
You're the one who came up
with the #tacostienentumbao.
I'm not talking about
the food tour.
I'm talking about the date
with Lupe. I'm not ready.
I'm not fucking Drake!
I don't know what I was thinking.
You were thinking you were gonna be
the star of your own rom-com.
Which you will
if you just chill out.
- And you fix that cowlick, right...
- Ay!
Hey, Chris! Ah...
- See what you do?
- I was trying to help.
You can help by getting outta the way.
And you can help by getting outta here.
Go, go, go, ándale.
I can handle one Morales man
stressing me out, but two? Olvídate!
- Calm down, Norma.
- You know what, Casimiro?
You clean up pretty nice.
Don't let it get to your head.
Now get outta my kitchen,
and go bother another woman for a change.
Ah, your kitchen?
Your kitchen!
- Yes, well...
- Your kitchen.
You don't know. You're not her father!
This hurts a lot, cabrón!
Hey, Pop, looking good!
- Yeah, you've looked worse.
- Why are you so serious? Huh?
How's Lidia and the baby?
- It's nothing.
- Should I cancel the date?
- Pop, relax! It's fine, all right?
- I can cancel.
Everything's fine.
Go on. Go and enjoy yourself.
Keep an eye on your cousin.
He's already broken three pitchers.
Never better. Ándale.
Tell me all the gossip later
at the bar.
Tell her not to go to Stanford.
Please, Erik. I beg you.
Okay, make her change her mind, muchacho.
I told you, Pancho!
Listen, like it or not,
this has always been her dream.
- We both gotta support it.
- What about my dream?
My dream of finally
being a grandfather, cabrón.
You're still gonna be an abuelo!
No. She can't go back to San Francisco.
Have you tried
the barbacoa tacos up there?
- They're barba-CACA!
- Listen, I'm not talking her out of it.
Okay.
No more free beer
for you, dick!
You never gave me free beer
in the first place!
And now I know why!
Wow, Casimiro.
How handsome!
You look so...
- You look so beautiful, Lupe.
- Thank you.
Mm...
Relax, Casimiro.
We're going to have
a good time.
Let's walk?
Give me your arm. No.
Like this. Let's go.
- Have you been here before?
- Eh...
Seriously, Chris? You're really
going through with this shit?
Look, I completely understand
where you're coming from.
No. You don't understand.
Welcoming outsiders en masse
with open arms like this
is pushing people out of their homes
- and into the tents around every corner.
- I get it.
I've been listening to
"There Goes The Neighborhood," all right?
- But, Yessika, we need the money.
- Chris, please.
Talk to the organizers!
Pull Mama Fina's out of the lineup!
- We already printed out the flyers.
- Fuck the flyers!
We can find other ways
to help fundraise for Pop!
Oh, really? By doing what?
Selling homemade zines
on a sliding scale?
No. Okay.
Sorry. That was a dick move.
But we gotta do what we gotta do
to save the shop.
You think there's only one way
to help save the shop? Huh?
That your only option is selling out
your community? My community?
We'll see you Sunday.
Wait, what's that mean?
- Guess you'll find out.
- No, tell me right now! You're still here.
♪ I'm a boss ass bitch,
Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch... ♪
Okay. All right, well.
As it turns out, Yessika is planning
some food tour guerrilla warfare type shit
because, apparently, I am responsible
for LA's staggering rate of homelessness.
And you... you gotta do something
about your girl, okay?
- All right, all right, deep breaths.
- Okay?
Deep breaths.
- Okay. So, what is Yessika planning?
- I don't know.
Tag our walls? Burn the place down?
Release a pack of feral cats?
- Ana, I am deathly allergic to cats.
- Okay, dude,
she loves Pop, and she loves his shop.
I mean, what is she gonna do?
Throw bricks through a window in protest?
- Oh, God. I didn't even think about that.
- Chris!
- It was a fucking joke.
- We can't afford new windows, Ana.
It's my girlfriend you're talking about!
She practically grew up in Pop's backyard!
You know what? We have bigger problems
in Boyle Heights right now.
♪ I'm a boss ass bitch ♪
♪ Bitch, bitch, bitch... ♪
Oh, my God, Chris. I told you...
Oh. Hey, babe.
- You gotta talk him out of it.
- You know I'm on your side.
- Are you, though?
- Yes, of course I am!
Aren't you always telling me
to set boundaries with my family?
Yeah. With your time and your art.
But this is different!
You know, Chris said you were up
to something, but, I mean...
Are you really gonna protest?
Okay, look, I know that you don't like
my coconut cousin Chris, but...
- his intentions are good.
- That's not the point, Ana.
Babe...
just please, think about Pop.
It's just so fucked up!
Yeah.
This is fun, Lupe.
Thank you.
What's on your mind?
Are you hungry?
Do you want some real food?
Let's go grab a taco at the shop.
You just want to spy
on the boys.
I just want to make sure
they don't burn the place down!
If you want to keep working
until the day you die,
keep it up, chulo.
But not me.
You want the boys
to run the shop someday, right?
Then give them space
to figure it out on their own.
While you figure out...
what we're doing next. Hm?
I want more days like this,
Lupe.
Sleeping a lot
wouldn't be bad.
Have brunch.
Do you know what "brunch" means?
"BR" is for breakfast.
"UNCH" is for lunch.
Ah... Yes.
Chris taught me that
a while back.
Yes. What else?
Maybe take a day off...
or even the whole weekend.
Or maybe a week for a cruise?
If Chris steps up
and helps Erik handle
the day-to-day stuff at the shop,
- then maybe...
- He will.
I've seen him do it.
I just need to take
a step back, a small step,
so they can take a step forward.
It sounds like
you got it all figured out, Casimiro.
They need me at the shop.
Listen, we gotta do something,
Yessika don't play.
Hey, hey, hey... Relax!
Take a deep breath. Center yourself.
Let's just talk to her.
Two words:
- conflict resolution.
- What the hell's gotten into you?
I've been listening
to Eckhart Tolle's audiobooks.
My stillness speaks.
Seriously?
You've been listening to Eckhart Tolle?
You think the path to enlightenment
is just for you white-washed Mexicans?
What's going on?
I thought it was
an emergency.
Yessika came by. She got in a fight
with this fool, and he got scared.
That's not accurate.
She wants to protest the shop
over the food tour.
Guys, I was thinking...
maybe Yessika was right.
Yeah, we need customers, but...
maybe this isn't the way to do it.
I mean, Chuy finally stopped asking
if I could speak Spanish!
Oh, okay, Mr. Identity Crisis.
We'll pay the rent with your Spanish.
Yessika's like family.
She won't protest over one event.
She just needed
to speak her mind.
Pop, if she doesn't protest the shop,
she'll send her little homegirls to do it.
Maybe we could use this to our advantage.
Listen, we're not stupid.
We understand what foot traffic
in this community does.
We're fighting for our lives here.
We're fighting to save the shop.
But how?
There's nothing gentrifiers hate more
than being called gentrifiers.
Yeah. That's a good point.
That's exactly what
Yessika's protest does.
It'll scare away our hipster foodies
by tapping into their biggest fear.
- Brown lesbians?
- White guilt.
Oh...
So, how do we get them
to cross the picket line
and spend more of their money
on our specialty menu?
Don't worry. It was a rhetorical question.
Let's lean into the spectacle of it all.
Create a piece
of next-level immersive performance art.
- Ah, okay. I still don't get it.
- What?
Let's make the protest
seem like it's part of the food tour!
Like George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum!
Teatro Campesino and it's satirization
of the foreman-fieldworker relationships!
- Pass.
- I met Cesar Chavez once.
He really loved buche tacos.
Really? I would've thought
he was more of an asada man.
- No, no. Buche.
- Nayeli.
What do I always tell you to do
when you're selling your chocolates
for your school fundraiser?
Pick a shirt from the bottom
of the hamper, don't brush my hair,
- look extra poor?
- And what happens?
I sell out in an hour.
Exactly! It's performance, it's...
It's a stereotype.
It's a reclaiming of a narrative.
Okay.
Okay, all right. I...
- don't get it yet.
- Of course you don't get it.
Erik, let's school this fool.
Let's.
Bro, we gotta send a signal
to the rest of Boyle Heights.
A show of solidarity, like a warning
to any other locals
thinking about pulling this kind of shit.
You know I love stunting on a megaphone,
but this is Mama Fina's.
Not some new brunch spot
serving 18-dollar churro waffles.
Okay, but we can't make an exception
when it comes to accountability?
How many of our parents call Pop compadre?
How many times did we go there
after school growing up?
How many of us knew we could be queer,
brown, and badass thanks to Norma?
This isn't about Pop or Norma.
This is about coconut-ass Chris
crossing a line.
- This is about Pop trying to survive.
- Yeah! But at our expense!
Yessika, this is our neighborhood.
And what they're doing
is putting us at risk. Uh-huh.
Ana has to do something.
Oh, shit.
What?
Mm-mmm...
Oh, my God!
It's Mama Fina's!
No justice. No tacos.
Eat shit,
Christopher Columbus!
That's right, Christopher Columbus!
- Eat shit! Get out!
- Hey! Get out!
- What's up homeboy?
- Oh, you're a cholo.
You tired of Echo Park, huh?
Over the breweries in the art district,
in Boyle Heights?
'Cause you heard Mama Fina
has the best tacos in LA!
Well, you heard right, fool!
This Sunday, come take a bite
of Boyle Heights...
before it's gone forever.
Ah...
Please. Please...
Not only do you get to go on
a food tour, you also get to participate
in a sweet-ass live protest, which means
you get to help out
a small family business
while also checking
your privilege!
Go get your tickets now
on Eventbrite down below!
Below!
And we'll see you at...
Mama Fina's!
- Fuck.
- Now do you get it?
We have to do something about this!
We don't have to stop
eating there, though, right?
- Right?
- Girl.
Natalia! "Before it's gone forever!"
Shoot. There's like a fine line
between satire and stereotype,
and they crossed it.
Ain't nothing funny about that shit!
- Okay, wait, but this is my family.
- And this is our neighborhood.
They're just trying to make a buck.
We get it, they're trying to survive.
But this isn't the way.
Why are we surprised?
They're a bunch of sellouts.
- Like their vendida cousin.
- No, bitch. Don't call her no sellout.
If she wasn't your girlfriend,
would you be saying that?
I know how this looks, babe.
But this is Chris's doing.
He's not from around here.
He doesn't know any better.
Look,
I can't tell Pop not to do
what he needs to do to save the shop.
Just like I can't tell you not to do what
you need to do to defend Boyle Heights.
I'll see you later.
Today is a new day at Mama Fina's.
The day we stake our claim to victory.
All the hard work, the sacrifice
has led us to this moment.
But make no mistake.
It will take everything we got.
And I mean everything.
- Including these brand-new uniforms.
- I am not wearing that bougie Mangiashit.
- Yeah, hard pass. Hard pass.
- I'm not taking fashion advice from you.
Okay, but it looks clean, it looks great.
I was trying to pump you guys up. Come on.
- Okay. Hold on.
- Come on. Come on...
It's one small step for man.
And woman.
One giant leap for Mama Fina's.
Fine. Whatever.
- Thanks.
- I got you, Li' Bro.
I'm gonna airdrop the playlist,
so you guys can dress up to it. Okay?
Golly, we are a good-looking group
of bunch of peoples!
Okay, let's get it!
Morales on three!
A-one, a-two...
Okay, we're done here, fool.
Let's go, come on.
Do I even look like a Morales?
- Oh, mijo.
- It's all right!
Ain't nobody gonna bring me down!
I am pumped!
I am ready for battle! Let's go!
I can high five myself! Let's get it!
Here. Let's do this.
Bring it in, bring it in.
Remember, this is our community.
It's not theirs, it is ours.
Let's shout at them, let it be known.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí...
We're live in Boyle Heights
at a beloved taco shop
that's serving up some controversy.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify...
Ready?
This is, like, so cool.
We can get tacos and make a difference.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no! Gente sí...
Well, you've got
your watermelon radish carne asada.
You know, you look like
a vegan barbacoa and brussels kinda guy.
Try the Masala Morales.
The best!
This is definitely
our new Taco Tuesday hang.
Why do we eat so much
at those other spots? These are amaze!
- Order up! Seventy-nine!
- Seventy-nine!
Yeah? Okay.
Gout is not contagious!
This is outrageous!
Gout is not contagious!
This is outrageous!
Please take my resume. I have references!
Will carne asada
tear this neighborhood apart?
Find out more at eleven.
I think we didn't make enough
for the tour, son.
Well, they're not all from the tour, Pop.
If people see lines out the front door,
they wanna get in them.
Psych 101.
Get a job, losers!
- Gente sí. Gentrify no!
- Uch. I feel bad.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
What?
Connie's been a regular at Taco Tuesday
since I can remember.
We gotta do something.
Yeah. Send the old guy
and the cute kid to make nice.
Real original, cuz.
Free horchata! Mama Fina's loves you all,
even if you don't love us back!
Drink one. It's hot out.
Natalia, don't you dare.
You know I have to hydrate
every 37 minutes or I get faint.
- Oh!
- Ay!
Sorry, Pops.
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
What are you doing?
Yessi, seriously?
I care about this community,
Pop.
So do I.
I'm part of the community.
Then why bring
these people here?
You're better than this, Pop.
Look at them.
You're selling our soul,
and they're buying.
Yessika!
This is wrong.
Maybe you don't see it now,
but in the short or long run,
- this community will suffer!
- What the hell are you doing?
None of this started happening
until you got here.
You think this is happening
because of me?
I told you,
the landlord tried to evict us.
Oh, did the landlord
create this fucking food tour?
Did the landlord create
that dumbass video? No! You did.
It was my idea!
- What?
- I came up with the video.
And it worked!
Listen, if it's us against them,
I choose us. You got a problem with that?
I do.
- Hey, what the hell is going on?
- Why don't you ask your girlfriend here?
Please.
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
Yo!
Even with Yessika acting all Norma Rae,
we cleared three times what we expected.
We made enough rent for next month.
What?
Yo, we do this a couple more times,
we can stash up enough cash.
Lock in the new lease at the same rate.
Booya, Rob!
- May God hear you.
- Hey, nothing talks like money.
- Proud of you, cuz.
- Hey, what are you talking about?
It was your idea that got attention.
I'm proud of both of you.
Oh, okay! Okay...
- What's wrong?
- I gotta... Uh...
- Come on, man.
- I gotta...
- I gotta return the camera we borrowed.
- Okay, come on.
We could've hugged a little longer, bro.
Come on.
Sit down.
I want to talk to you.
Everything all right, Pop?
Today was hard, son.
But we got through it.
Yeah, we did.
- You did this.
- No!
We all did, together.
I always hoped one of you
would step up and take over the taco shop.
Like a real partner
that I could rely on.
But that never happened...
Until today.
I know you want
to be a prestigious chef.
With everything.
But why not do all that here, son?
You and Erik
worked together...
really well.
Why not do that every day?
So I can sleep in
once in a while?
I don't...
I don't know what to say, Pop.
Say yes.
Make this old man happy.
Like, I don't understand.
How could you step to Pop like that?
He asked me to come talk to him.
What was I supposed to do? Say no?
It would've been better
than yelling at him!
I wasn't yelling at him, Ana.
I was trying to talk to him,
and then Thing 1 and Thing 2 jumped in
and came at me
like I was being court-martialed.
And then you joined the fucking battalion,
and y'all treated me
like I'm some angry black girl?
Let's be real.
Your family has never accepted me.
- Yessika, that's just my mom...
- No, it is not!
No, it's not!
Erik has never been down for us!
And Chris?
- He just got here, but he still doesn't...
- I don't care what my family thinks!
Yes, you do.
You're always putting them first.
You're always running to go help them.
And when it's not them,
it's running to go do work for Tim.
That's what this is all about.
This is about Tim.
And you not supporting the fact
that I'm finally doing the shit
that I've dreamed about for years.
I finally have someone
who believes in my work!
I've always believed in your work.
Yeah? But I'm finally getting paid.
Your little white savior
is tearing up our neighborhood
block by block.
How many people in the homeless town
were displaced
due to his beautifying projects? Hmm?
Face it. You are part of the problem, Ana.
And you can't separate the two.
And if you think
he is just your benefactor,
girl, wake up!
Homeboy is your pimp.
You are just the latest flavor
of the month at his fucking paletería.
And he's just gonna keep showing you off
until he wears you out
and discovers a new little token
to claim as his latest find.
Next week he'll have some gender-fluid,
one-eyed, albino Korean
to showcase
in his traveling fucking circus.
Fuck you.
Fuck you! I'm done.
I been done.
Big day, huh?
Sorta.
Heard you're gonna be on the news.
I hope they get your good side.
Shit.
- They're all my good side.
- Oh, word?
You know.
Your dad came by yesterday.
Oh, God.
He's having a hard time
since you accepted Stanford.
You know my dad.
He loves to jump to conclusions.
I mean, I haven't even said yes yet.
But I want to.
Of course.
I'm huge.
You are.
I've been thinking.
Come with me
to Stanford.
I...
Ooh.
I think my water just broke.
Oh, fuck.
♪ All I wanted to be was a dope boy ♪
♪ I only hung around on a dope boy ♪
♪ My great granddad was a dope boy ♪
♪ Dope boy, dope boy, dope boy ♪
♪ All I wanted to be was a dope boy ♪
♪ Dope boy, dope boy, dope boy ♪
- What’s up, man?
- Sup, homie?
Yo, come check out
Mama Fina's food tour tomorrow!
What you got, little homie?
Stephen Hawking, huh?
Uh... You know what, let's start you off
with this one, buddy.
- See you tomorrow, huh?
- See ya.
I'll fix it, bro!
- And remember! Tell your homies!
- Look!
Books for the whole neighborhood
but no ring for the baby mama.
I bet he doesn't even know
when the baby's due.
Lidia's due in four weeks.
Oh, is that when you're proposing?
Is that when
your novio's back, Marie?
Which one?
♪ All I do is ride with that dope boy ♪
♪ With that dope boy,
Trap, trap, we some dope boys ♪
♪ We do it for the dope boy ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah,
Watch me sell that dope boy ♪
Right!
So, I placed a final order
for the food tour supplies with Jorge.
So no need to worry.
Everything's under control.
Huh?
So now all you need to focus on
is having a good time!
I don't know how I let you
talk me into this.
You agreed the food tour was a great idea.
You're the one who came up
with the #tacostienentumbao.
I'm not talking about
the food tour.
I'm talking about the date
with Lupe. I'm not ready.
I'm not fucking Drake!
I don't know what I was thinking.
You were thinking you were gonna be
the star of your own rom-com.
Which you will
if you just chill out.
- And you fix that cowlick, right...
- Ay!
Hey, Chris! Ah...
- See what you do?
- I was trying to help.
You can help by getting outta the way.
And you can help by getting outta here.
Go, go, go, ándale.
I can handle one Morales man
stressing me out, but two? Olvídate!
- Calm down, Norma.
- You know what, Casimiro?
You clean up pretty nice.
Don't let it get to your head.
Now get outta my kitchen,
and go bother another woman for a change.
Ah, your kitchen?
Your kitchen!
- Yes, well...
- Your kitchen.
You don't know. You're not her father!
This hurts a lot, cabrón!
Hey, Pop, looking good!
- Yeah, you've looked worse.
- Why are you so serious? Huh?
How's Lidia and the baby?
- It's nothing.
- Should I cancel the date?
- Pop, relax! It's fine, all right?
- I can cancel.
Everything's fine.
Go on. Go and enjoy yourself.
Keep an eye on your cousin.
He's already broken three pitchers.
Never better. Ándale.
Tell me all the gossip later
at the bar.
Tell her not to go to Stanford.
Please, Erik. I beg you.
Okay, make her change her mind, muchacho.
I told you, Pancho!
Listen, like it or not,
this has always been her dream.
- We both gotta support it.
- What about my dream?
My dream of finally
being a grandfather, cabrón.
You're still gonna be an abuelo!
No. She can't go back to San Francisco.
Have you tried
the barbacoa tacos up there?
- They're barba-CACA!
- Listen, I'm not talking her out of it.
Okay.
No more free beer
for you, dick!
You never gave me free beer
in the first place!
And now I know why!
Wow, Casimiro.
How handsome!
You look so...
- You look so beautiful, Lupe.
- Thank you.
Mm...
Relax, Casimiro.
We're going to have
a good time.
Let's walk?
Give me your arm. No.
Like this. Let's go.
- Have you been here before?
- Eh...
Seriously, Chris? You're really
going through with this shit?
Look, I completely understand
where you're coming from.
No. You don't understand.
Welcoming outsiders en masse
with open arms like this
is pushing people out of their homes
- and into the tents around every corner.
- I get it.
I've been listening to
"There Goes The Neighborhood," all right?
- But, Yessika, we need the money.
- Chris, please.
Talk to the organizers!
Pull Mama Fina's out of the lineup!
- We already printed out the flyers.
- Fuck the flyers!
We can find other ways
to help fundraise for Pop!
Oh, really? By doing what?
Selling homemade zines
on a sliding scale?
No. Okay.
Sorry. That was a dick move.
But we gotta do what we gotta do
to save the shop.
You think there's only one way
to help save the shop? Huh?
That your only option is selling out
your community? My community?
We'll see you Sunday.
Wait, what's that mean?
- Guess you'll find out.
- No, tell me right now! You're still here.
♪ I'm a boss ass bitch,
Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch... ♪
Okay. All right, well.
As it turns out, Yessika is planning
some food tour guerrilla warfare type shit
because, apparently, I am responsible
for LA's staggering rate of homelessness.
And you... you gotta do something
about your girl, okay?
- All right, all right, deep breaths.
- Okay?
Deep breaths.
- Okay. So, what is Yessika planning?
- I don't know.
Tag our walls? Burn the place down?
Release a pack of feral cats?
- Ana, I am deathly allergic to cats.
- Okay, dude,
she loves Pop, and she loves his shop.
I mean, what is she gonna do?
Throw bricks through a window in protest?
- Oh, God. I didn't even think about that.
- Chris!
- It was a fucking joke.
- We can't afford new windows, Ana.
It's my girlfriend you're talking about!
She practically grew up in Pop's backyard!
You know what? We have bigger problems
in Boyle Heights right now.
♪ I'm a boss ass bitch ♪
♪ Bitch, bitch, bitch... ♪
Oh, my God, Chris. I told you...
Oh. Hey, babe.
- You gotta talk him out of it.
- You know I'm on your side.
- Are you, though?
- Yes, of course I am!
Aren't you always telling me
to set boundaries with my family?
Yeah. With your time and your art.
But this is different!
You know, Chris said you were up
to something, but, I mean...
Are you really gonna protest?
Okay, look, I know that you don't like
my coconut cousin Chris, but...
- his intentions are good.
- That's not the point, Ana.
Babe...
just please, think about Pop.
It's just so fucked up!
Yeah.
This is fun, Lupe.
Thank you.
What's on your mind?
Are you hungry?
Do you want some real food?
Let's go grab a taco at the shop.
You just want to spy
on the boys.
I just want to make sure
they don't burn the place down!
If you want to keep working
until the day you die,
keep it up, chulo.
But not me.
You want the boys
to run the shop someday, right?
Then give them space
to figure it out on their own.
While you figure out...
what we're doing next. Hm?
I want more days like this,
Lupe.
Sleeping a lot
wouldn't be bad.
Have brunch.
Do you know what "brunch" means?
"BR" is for breakfast.
"UNCH" is for lunch.
Ah... Yes.
Chris taught me that
a while back.
Yes. What else?
Maybe take a day off...
or even the whole weekend.
Or maybe a week for a cruise?
If Chris steps up
and helps Erik handle
the day-to-day stuff at the shop,
- then maybe...
- He will.
I've seen him do it.
I just need to take
a step back, a small step,
so they can take a step forward.
It sounds like
you got it all figured out, Casimiro.
They need me at the shop.
Listen, we gotta do something,
Yessika don't play.
Hey, hey, hey... Relax!
Take a deep breath. Center yourself.
Let's just talk to her.
Two words:
- conflict resolution.
- What the hell's gotten into you?
I've been listening
to Eckhart Tolle's audiobooks.
My stillness speaks.
Seriously?
You've been listening to Eckhart Tolle?
You think the path to enlightenment
is just for you white-washed Mexicans?
What's going on?
I thought it was
an emergency.
Yessika came by. She got in a fight
with this fool, and he got scared.
That's not accurate.
She wants to protest the shop
over the food tour.
Guys, I was thinking...
maybe Yessika was right.
Yeah, we need customers, but...
maybe this isn't the way to do it.
I mean, Chuy finally stopped asking
if I could speak Spanish!
Oh, okay, Mr. Identity Crisis.
We'll pay the rent with your Spanish.
Yessika's like family.
She won't protest over one event.
She just needed
to speak her mind.
Pop, if she doesn't protest the shop,
she'll send her little homegirls to do it.
Maybe we could use this to our advantage.
Listen, we're not stupid.
We understand what foot traffic
in this community does.
We're fighting for our lives here.
We're fighting to save the shop.
But how?
There's nothing gentrifiers hate more
than being called gentrifiers.
Yeah. That's a good point.
That's exactly what
Yessika's protest does.
It'll scare away our hipster foodies
by tapping into their biggest fear.
- Brown lesbians?
- White guilt.
Oh...
So, how do we get them
to cross the picket line
and spend more of their money
on our specialty menu?
Don't worry. It was a rhetorical question.
Let's lean into the spectacle of it all.
Create a piece
of next-level immersive performance art.
- Ah, okay. I still don't get it.
- What?
Let's make the protest
seem like it's part of the food tour!
Like George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum!
Teatro Campesino and it's satirization
of the foreman-fieldworker relationships!
- Pass.
- I met Cesar Chavez once.
He really loved buche tacos.
Really? I would've thought
he was more of an asada man.
- No, no. Buche.
- Nayeli.
What do I always tell you to do
when you're selling your chocolates
for your school fundraiser?
Pick a shirt from the bottom
of the hamper, don't brush my hair,
- look extra poor?
- And what happens?
I sell out in an hour.
Exactly! It's performance, it's...
It's a stereotype.
It's a reclaiming of a narrative.
Okay.
Okay, all right. I...
- don't get it yet.
- Of course you don't get it.
Erik, let's school this fool.
Let's.
Bro, we gotta send a signal
to the rest of Boyle Heights.
A show of solidarity, like a warning
to any other locals
thinking about pulling this kind of shit.
You know I love stunting on a megaphone,
but this is Mama Fina's.
Not some new brunch spot
serving 18-dollar churro waffles.
Okay, but we can't make an exception
when it comes to accountability?
How many of our parents call Pop compadre?
How many times did we go there
after school growing up?
How many of us knew we could be queer,
brown, and badass thanks to Norma?
This isn't about Pop or Norma.
This is about coconut-ass Chris
crossing a line.
- This is about Pop trying to survive.
- Yeah! But at our expense!
Yessika, this is our neighborhood.
And what they're doing
is putting us at risk. Uh-huh.
Ana has to do something.
Oh, shit.
What?
Mm-mmm...
Oh, my God!
It's Mama Fina's!
No justice. No tacos.
Eat shit,
Christopher Columbus!
That's right, Christopher Columbus!
- Eat shit! Get out!
- Hey! Get out!
- What's up homeboy?
- Oh, you're a cholo.
You tired of Echo Park, huh?
Over the breweries in the art district,
in Boyle Heights?
'Cause you heard Mama Fina
has the best tacos in LA!
Well, you heard right, fool!
This Sunday, come take a bite
of Boyle Heights...
before it's gone forever.
Ah...
Please. Please...
Not only do you get to go on
a food tour, you also get to participate
in a sweet-ass live protest, which means
you get to help out
a small family business
while also checking
your privilege!
Go get your tickets now
on Eventbrite down below!
Below!
And we'll see you at...
Mama Fina's!
- Fuck.
- Now do you get it?
We have to do something about this!
We don't have to stop
eating there, though, right?
- Right?
- Girl.
Natalia! "Before it's gone forever!"
Shoot. There's like a fine line
between satire and stereotype,
and they crossed it.
Ain't nothing funny about that shit!
- Okay, wait, but this is my family.
- And this is our neighborhood.
They're just trying to make a buck.
We get it, they're trying to survive.
But this isn't the way.
Why are we surprised?
They're a bunch of sellouts.
- Like their vendida cousin.
- No, bitch. Don't call her no sellout.
If she wasn't your girlfriend,
would you be saying that?
I know how this looks, babe.
But this is Chris's doing.
He's not from around here.
He doesn't know any better.
Look,
I can't tell Pop not to do
what he needs to do to save the shop.
Just like I can't tell you not to do what
you need to do to defend Boyle Heights.
I'll see you later.
Today is a new day at Mama Fina's.
The day we stake our claim to victory.
All the hard work, the sacrifice
has led us to this moment.
But make no mistake.
It will take everything we got.
And I mean everything.
- Including these brand-new uniforms.
- I am not wearing that bougie Mangiashit.
- Yeah, hard pass. Hard pass.
- I'm not taking fashion advice from you.
Okay, but it looks clean, it looks great.
I was trying to pump you guys up. Come on.
- Okay. Hold on.
- Come on. Come on...
It's one small step for man.
And woman.
One giant leap for Mama Fina's.
Fine. Whatever.
- Thanks.
- I got you, Li' Bro.
I'm gonna airdrop the playlist,
so you guys can dress up to it. Okay?
Golly, we are a good-looking group
of bunch of peoples!
Okay, let's get it!
Morales on three!
A-one, a-two...
Okay, we're done here, fool.
Let's go, come on.
Do I even look like a Morales?
- Oh, mijo.
- It's all right!
Ain't nobody gonna bring me down!
I am pumped!
I am ready for battle! Let's go!
I can high five myself! Let's get it!
Here. Let's do this.
Bring it in, bring it in.
Remember, this is our community.
It's not theirs, it is ours.
Let's shout at them, let it be known.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí...
We're live in Boyle Heights
at a beloved taco shop
that's serving up some controversy.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify...
Ready?
This is, like, so cool.
We can get tacos and make a difference.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
Gente sí. Gentrify no! Gente sí...
Well, you've got
your watermelon radish carne asada.
You know, you look like
a vegan barbacoa and brussels kinda guy.
Try the Masala Morales.
The best!
This is definitely
our new Taco Tuesday hang.
Why do we eat so much
at those other spots? These are amaze!
- Order up! Seventy-nine!
- Seventy-nine!
Yeah? Okay.
Gout is not contagious!
This is outrageous!
Gout is not contagious!
This is outrageous!
Please take my resume. I have references!
Will carne asada
tear this neighborhood apart?
Find out more at eleven.
I think we didn't make enough
for the tour, son.
Well, they're not all from the tour, Pop.
If people see lines out the front door,
they wanna get in them.
Psych 101.
Get a job, losers!
- Gente sí. Gentrify no!
- Uch. I feel bad.
Gente sí. Gentrify no!
What?
Connie's been a regular at Taco Tuesday
since I can remember.
We gotta do something.
Yeah. Send the old guy
and the cute kid to make nice.
Real original, cuz.
Free horchata! Mama Fina's loves you all,
even if you don't love us back!
Drink one. It's hot out.
Natalia, don't you dare.
You know I have to hydrate
every 37 minutes or I get faint.
- Oh!
- Ay!
Sorry, Pops.
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
What are you doing?
Yessi, seriously?
I care about this community,
Pop.
So do I.
I'm part of the community.
Then why bring
these people here?
You're better than this, Pop.
Look at them.
You're selling our soul,
and they're buying.
Yessika!
This is wrong.
Maybe you don't see it now,
but in the short or long run,
- this community will suffer!
- What the hell are you doing?
None of this started happening
until you got here.
You think this is happening
because of me?
I told you,
the landlord tried to evict us.
Oh, did the landlord
create this fucking food tour?
Did the landlord create
that dumbass video? No! You did.
It was my idea!
- What?
- I came up with the video.
And it worked!
Listen, if it's us against them,
I choose us. You got a problem with that?
I do.
- Hey, what the hell is going on?
- Why don't you ask your girlfriend here?
Please.
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
We defend the hood!
We don't sell it!
Yo!
Even with Yessika acting all Norma Rae,
we cleared three times what we expected.
We made enough rent for next month.
What?
Yo, we do this a couple more times,
we can stash up enough cash.
Lock in the new lease at the same rate.
Booya, Rob!
- May God hear you.
- Hey, nothing talks like money.
- Proud of you, cuz.
- Hey, what are you talking about?
It was your idea that got attention.
I'm proud of both of you.
Oh, okay! Okay...
- What's wrong?
- I gotta... Uh...
- Come on, man.
- I gotta...
- I gotta return the camera we borrowed.
- Okay, come on.
We could've hugged a little longer, bro.
Come on.
Sit down.
I want to talk to you.
Everything all right, Pop?
Today was hard, son.
But we got through it.
Yeah, we did.
- You did this.
- No!
We all did, together.
I always hoped one of you
would step up and take over the taco shop.
Like a real partner
that I could rely on.
But that never happened...
Until today.
I know you want
to be a prestigious chef.
With everything.
But why not do all that here, son?
You and Erik
worked together...
really well.
Why not do that every day?
So I can sleep in
once in a while?
I don't...
I don't know what to say, Pop.
Say yes.
Make this old man happy.
Like, I don't understand.
How could you step to Pop like that?
He asked me to come talk to him.
What was I supposed to do? Say no?
It would've been better
than yelling at him!
I wasn't yelling at him, Ana.
I was trying to talk to him,
and then Thing 1 and Thing 2 jumped in
and came at me
like I was being court-martialed.
And then you joined the fucking battalion,
and y'all treated me
like I'm some angry black girl?
Let's be real.
Your family has never accepted me.
- Yessika, that's just my mom...
- No, it is not!
No, it's not!
Erik has never been down for us!
And Chris?
- He just got here, but he still doesn't...
- I don't care what my family thinks!
Yes, you do.
You're always putting them first.
You're always running to go help them.
And when it's not them,
it's running to go do work for Tim.
That's what this is all about.
This is about Tim.
And you not supporting the fact
that I'm finally doing the shit
that I've dreamed about for years.
I finally have someone
who believes in my work!
I've always believed in your work.
Yeah? But I'm finally getting paid.
Your little white savior
is tearing up our neighborhood
block by block.
How many people in the homeless town
were displaced
due to his beautifying projects? Hmm?
Face it. You are part of the problem, Ana.
And you can't separate the two.
And if you think
he is just your benefactor,
girl, wake up!
Homeboy is your pimp.
You are just the latest flavor
of the month at his fucking paletería.
And he's just gonna keep showing you off
until he wears you out
and discovers a new little token
to claim as his latest find.
Next week he'll have some gender-fluid,
one-eyed, albino Korean
to showcase
in his traveling fucking circus.
Fuck you.
Fuck you! I'm done.
I been done.
Big day, huh?
Sorta.
Heard you're gonna be on the news.
I hope they get your good side.
Shit.
- They're all my good side.
- Oh, word?
You know.
Your dad came by yesterday.
Oh, God.
He's having a hard time
since you accepted Stanford.
You know my dad.
He loves to jump to conclusions.
I mean, I haven't even said yes yet.
But I want to.
Of course.
I'm huge.
You are.
I've been thinking.
Come with me
to Stanford.
I...
Ooh.
I think my water just broke.
Oh, fuck.