Masa Revolution: The Backstreet to The American Dream is a documentary about the food truck industry, which began and boomed in Los Angeles.  At the center of this pop-culture phenomenon is Mexican street food.  In summer 2015, the Masa Revolution crew took a production trip to Mexico.  The team wanted to show the connection between street food in Los Angeles and the long tradition of its origins in Mexico.  The film captures the essence of this in the opening animation, which is based on the oldest open-air market still standing in South America: The Tlacolula Market in Oaxaca, Mexico.

bill-at-market

Street Food Expert Bill Esparza compares a tamale from a vendor at the mercado Baltazar R. Leyva en Chilpancingo, Guerrero to those from the food truck, Tamales Elena in Watts.

Another goal of the trip was to capture the authenticity of three food trucks in Los Angeles by comparing them to their Mexican hometowns:
*Shrimp tacos from San Juan de Los Lagos – Mariscos Jalisco in East L.A.
*Tamales from Guerrero – Tamales Elena in Watts (South L.A.)
*Tacos like those in Cuernavaca – Tacos Cuernavaca in Montebello

Street Food Expert Bill Esparza identified the above trucks as destinations that serve authentic Mexican food from Jalisco and Guerrero.  These locations became the bases of their trip, so that they could pull off the comparison.

Traveling with Bill Esparza were Film Producer Patricia Nazario and Photojournalist Karla Henry.  Together, they traveled for 10 days.  Discussing tradition and street food is a refreshing look at the Mexican culture and its broad influence.  That’s why Mexican tourism officials supported our project with transportation and lodging at each stop of our trip.  Thank you
Mexican Tourism Board Los Angeles Regional Office, the tourism offices in GuadalajaraAcapulco and Oaxaca.  The Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de California has also been a major resource during film production, and supported the team’s trip abroad with a grant.