Downtown Boys - Somos Chulas (No Somos Pendejas)

What this video is

Released September 19, 2017, at a flashpoint moment in U.S. immigration politics — days after the Trump administration announced the rescission of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Downtown Boys, a self-described 'bilingual political dance sax punk party' from Providence, RI, used the video's release via Univision as a deliberate act of outreach to Latinx audiences. The piñata imagery — featuring cop…

Why it matters

A key artifact of mid-2010s bilingual political punk, the video documents Downtown Boys at the peak of their visibility — newly signed to Sub Pop, produced by Guy Picciotto — while preserving the raw DIY energy and activist urgency of their earlier work. It exemplifies how punk music video…

The director

Philadelphia-born, Brooklyn, NY-based filmmaker and editor. Initially rooted in music documentaries, O'Neal works across fiction and non-fiction. His short film Mister Backlash (2022) premiered at the New Hampshire Film Festival. He has edited series for…