Celebrating “Zoot Suit” By Luis Valdez

Luis Valdez's "Zoot Suit" deserves recognition as one of the great Chicano classics.

As an aspiring director and self-identified Chicano, I’ve always thought four Chicano films should be placed on the Mount Rushmore of Chicano films. I’m not saying these are the best Chicano films, but the most influential and well known of the Chicano “genre.”

Those films are “El Mariachi” (Robert Rodriguez’s directorial debut that started his career wi…