Barrio Beats x Taiko Streets, Far East L.A.

The stories of Japanese American rapper MoNa and Mexican American taiko drummer Maceo Hernandez are woven together in the second episode of ITVS and CAAM-funded documentary series Far East L.A., exploring the historic connections between Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights in Los Angeles.

Born in Japan, MoNa, also known as “Sad Girl,” named herself after the character in 1993’s Mi Vida Loca, after moving to America and becoming absolutely enamoured with Chicano culture, from the lowriders to the rap beats. Maceo started devoting his life to taiko drumming as a teenager, when he was the subject of the documentary Demon Drummer from East L.A., before eventually inventing his own style of taiko, influenced by hip hop and Latin rhythms.

Directors Ruben Guevara and Jun Shimizu explore the questions of cultural appropriation versus appreciation, through two musicians who have devoted their lives to studying the art of another culture – and found ways to make it authentically their own.

Plays in

Revival & Reconnection

In these three CAAM and ITVS funded short documentaries, reconnecting with cultural lineage and histories paves the way…