In "Trokas Duras," an L.A. jornalero's truck is a vessel for beauty, joy and survival

“This movie was ne'er made for radical who don’t get it,” says Jazmin Garcia, the manager down “Trokas Duras,” a emotion missive to L.A.’s jornalero assemblage and the trucks that service arsenic containers for their survival, dreams and desires. The victor of the Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction astatine Sundance this year, “Trokas Duras” is simply a lush depiction of a time successful the beingness of a time laborer, oregon jornalero, successful L.A. It’s astir the humor, surrealism, pride, beauty, camaraderie and, ultimately, solemnisation that awaits a jornalero successful their journey.

For Garcia, an L.A. native, a jornalero’s motortruck is an inextricable portion of the ocular and taste individuality of L.A. The trucks are easy identified by their vivid colors, the peculiar benignant of patina that is lone acquired from endless miles connected the 10 oregon the 405 nether the beating sun; the customized decals stretching the magnitude of a windshield that rep the driver’s location authorities oregon the sanction of the vehicle; motortruck beds accessorized with effect histrion branches, pieces of lumber, tools. Every clip Garcia saw 1 of these trucks connected the freeway, she couldn’t abstracted it from who the idiosyncratic driving it whitethorn be, oregon what their communicative was.

“I wanted to astir proclaim the quality that is inherent successful the truly hard labour that mostly migrant workers do,” says Garcia. The trucks service arsenic a benignant of blessed vessel, a protection, a marker of individuality and durability. “To me, quality successful Los Angeles is the mode radical past it.”

The six actors successful the film, including El Barrio arsenic El Barrio and Nancy arsenic Juanita, were each formed from the jornalero oregon movie assemblage successful L.A.

“Trokas Duras” is told done lyrical vignettes representing antithetic parts of the larger jornalero’s communicative connected done a formed of characters. It explores themes that see warring backmost against wage theft, knowing one’s worthy oregon knowing however a motortruck tin beryllium a beingness unto itself. The movie opens with a poem written and recited by 1 of the actors, Benjamin Moreno, who plays Don Zapata: “Mañanitas tranquilas, tibias y perfumadas / Jornalero bendito, de caminar seguro / tu figura refleja a quien ha de triunfar / Hombre de gran estima que buscas trabajo en las esquinas …” There’s an undercurrent of magical realism charging done the dreamlike imagery of “Trokas Duras,” with a victorious people that signals to america that we are connected our mode to immoderate spot important, that the travel is conscionable arsenic captious arsenic the destination.

Garcia wrote the movie successful 2020 during the pandemic, filmed it successful 2024 and released it successful 2025 successful collaboration with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, known arsenic NDLON, an enactment that’s been protecting the rights of time laborers, low-wage and migrant workers since 2001. NDLON funded the movie and helped with casting. Garcia had been connected with NDLON and the jornalero assemblage for years earlier making the movie — befriending 1 of the stars of the movie aboriginal on, Luis Valentan, an activistic and laminitis of a vigor amusement for time laborers called Radio Jornalera. He and Garcia had a substance concatenation wherever they would nonstop each different photos of trucks they would spot connected freeways astir L.A. — each much fantastical than the last.

Nancy wears a apical and jewelry from her ain closet.

El Barrio wears each vintage from Palace Costume.

The six actors successful the film, Valentan arsenic El Ñero, El Barrio arsenic El Barrio, Nancy arsenic Juanita, Moreno arsenic Don Zapata, Elmer Mayorga arsenic Mi Barrio and Tricia Sarmiento arsenic Paloma, were each formed from the jornalero oregon movie community. “I privation to marque definite that this makes them consciousness truthful orgullosos of their show of who they are, and to spot themselves successful this beauteous light,” Garcia says. “I wanted to springiness them that arsenic a gift.”

At the photoshoot for this story, 2 of the actors from “Trokas Duras,” Nancy and El Barrio, shared what it was similar acting successful a movie for the archetypal clip and however profoundly they connected to their characters.

In some existent beingness and successful the film, El Barrio is charismatic and considered, a antheral who contains multitudes. A time laborer, an organizer, a serenader, a skilled cumbia dancer and, now, an actor. As helium sat connected set, waiting for Nancy to get her hairsbreadth braided successful agelong plaits earlier they got their photograph taken successful beforehand of the benignant of motortruck that is truthful symbolic successful “Trokas Duras,” helium began casually strumming his guitar, past belted retired a full-bodied rendition of “La Rubia y La Morena,” the classical from Los Dinámicos Del Norte. There were astir 10 radical connected acceptable and we were each enraptured, each of america stopping what we were doing to beryllium successful this infinitesimal with El Barrio. He has a likewise commanding beingness successful the film, wherever a antithetic benignant of serenade is simply a cardinal crippled constituent for his character.

The archetypal clip we spot El Barrio successful the film, he’s coating a plywood motion propped connected the broadside of a motortruck furniture with attraction and precision arsenic Radio Jornalera plays successful the background. “Tu envidia es mi bendición,” the motion reads successful wavy bluish script. Your envy is my blessing. He’s recounting a infinitesimal that was inspired by jornalero lore, erstwhile decades ago, a radical of time laborers protested a wage-stealing contractor by gathering extracurricular of his location and singing, “Ese wey nary paga.” That fool doesn’t pay. (The legendary chant would aboriginal beryllium turned into a opus by NDLON’s in-house philharmonic group, Los Jornaleros Del Norte.) El Barrio was determination erstwhile the protests happened, helium tells me. It was successful the San Fernando Valley and helium was the 1 to telephone Telemundo. “Me identifico bastante con el personaje que yo hice,” helium says. “Si ha pasado esos puntos, esas palabras. Yo lo helium vivido.” I place a batch with my character. I’ve lived those moments, those words.

The movie drew from real-life experiences and intentionally features non-actors. Garcia worked intimately with the formed connected the publication to recognize however they wanted to archer definite stories done their roles. But it was not a documentary — the actors rehearsed, did the interior enactment it takes to get comfy successful beforehand of the camera and transformed themselves into their characters. Still, determination was a level of sensitivity and extortion that felt important for Garcia to make connected set.

“[As a director], I’m not present to archer you what to bash and to request things from you,” she says. “I’m present to assistance you consciousness unfastened and person a bully clip and enactment and sometimes stock susceptible aspects of yourself successful a mode that feels being held.” For Garcia, a earthy empath, filmmaking is different signifier of caregiving.

Nancy has the uncommon favoritism of being idiosyncratic with the benignant of contented and warmth that lone comes from surviving galore lives, with the curiosity and openness of idiosyncratic who is inactive bare for much experiences. Acting successful this movie was that for her — an accidental to bash thing different. “Dije, ‘Será que lo podría hacer?’ Pero algo maine dijo, ‘Sí.’ Si helium hecho tantas cosas difíciles,” she says. “Could I bash this?” she thought. Something successful her said yes — she’d done galore hard things before. On set, she’s talking to maine astir her work, which similar her character, Juanita, is cleaning houses. For Nancy it’s a benignant of sorcery — to alteration thing with your bare hands, to volition and enactment a abstraction into being much beauteous than it was before. “Es una magia que yo hago,” she says. It’s a magic that I do.

In the film, Juanita enters the country being rushed into a motortruck by her person and chap jornalera Paloma, who is picking her up from work. (Paloma is played by teacher Tricia Sarmiento, the parent of movie director-model-multidisciplinary creator Pablo Simental, who assisted Garcia passim the improvement of the film, specifically with organizing casting.) Juanita and Paloma person determination to get to, and connected the way, Juanita is venting astir her brag asking her to bash much enactment than was agreed upon and however she demanded a raise. “Yo nary maine voy a dejar de nadien,” Juanita says, matter-of-factly. No 1 messes with me. “Eso, chingona,” Paloma responds. In talking astir this country with Nancy, she says the acting looked existent due to the fact that it came from her ain experiences. “Normalmente los actores actúan haciendo papeles, pero yo pienso que lo mejor es vivirlo.” Normally actors enactment with scripts, but I deliberation it’s amended to unrecorded it.

In different scene, Juanita, with wistful eyes, stares retired of the truck’s model arsenic she talks astir however hard it was to instrumentality attraction of her boss’ children portion being distant from her own, however she inactive recovered a mode to rise her kids from a distance. “I deliberation that’s the infinitesimal that feels the astir earthy — it’s truthful tender and sincere due to the fact that she’s talking astir the emotion of her children,” Garcia says astir this scene. On set, Nancy shares however arrogant her children are of her for acting successful a film, however it was unbelievable to them astatine archetypal — however it inactive sometimes is unbelievable to her. “A veces, lo miro y digo, ‘Wow,’” she says. Sometimes I spot the movie and say, Wow.

The time connected acceptable for this photoshoot is filled with the benignant of joyousness that you retrieve for a agelong clip after. On acceptable for “Trokas Duras,” the vibe was akin — an acquisition that’s inactive palpable for El Barrio, Nancy and Garcia. The movie doesn’t shy distant from the difficulties successful the beingness of a jornalero — the struggles are weaved into the conversations betwixt the characters, inherent successful their shared experiences — that’s conscionable not wherever the communicative ends. As we scope the last moments of the film, we statesman to recognize what happens aft a hard day’s work. The trucks get to a clearing successful the brush, a stacked DIY dependable strategy is acceptable up similar an altar, orangish airy streams done the branches successful the trees shadowing the nighttime sky. “La Cumbia Jornalera,” performed by Los Jornaleros Del Norte, is booming. The jornaleros are dancing, spinning, stepping. They’re here. They’re free.

“The calamity is inevitable, but I didn’t privation to absorption connected that,” Garcia says astir jornalero life. “I wanted to absorption on: What would it beryllium similar if each these workers, what they’re looking guardant to astatine the extremity of the day, is gathering nether a histrion to person a small cumbia? And however tin I get to this party?”