There is a venue in the faraway depths of East LA where young people dance all night long to Norteño and banda music. It’s called Pico Rivera Sports Arena, and it’s been there since before its multifarious young patrons were even born. In his debut short film “Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven,” James Pearson-Howes documents a typical night at Pico for a group of young dancers. He tells Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer how he first came across his cast, and how he captured young romance and the love that can be found through dance.
At least once a month, East LA venue Pico attracts countless young Angelinos in search of love and fun; they come in droves, dressed to the nines and itching to move their bodies. In his debut short film, London-based photographer James Pearson-Howes captures the frenzy that defines Pico’s legendary all-nighters—the propulsive music that sets the scene, the killer fashion and the lively dancing that attracts denizens from all over LA. Shot in a way that reflects the vibrant spirit of Pico and its patrons, Pearson-Howes’ “Taller the Hat, Closer to Heaven” offers a close-up look at a youthful community invested in their heritage and intent on reinventing its traditions.
As Pearson-Howes tells it, he first found out about Pico’s while doomscrolling. “At this point, my feed is just full of crazy dance stuff from all over the place,” he says. “But two dancers dancing at Pico just popped up and I was like, “Woah, this is really interesting.” Next thing you know, he’s out on the scene, with a camera on hand capturing snapshots of his first night at Pico. “It was a trust my gut, trust my instinct kind of thing,” he says. “It was beautiful, amazing, hypnotic.”
Aside from the sheer visual spectacle of the dances Pearson-Howes came across online, he also became quickly enamored with the community of young people who participated in the venue’s bailes each month. “I was amazed to see this new generation picking up this tradition. It’s queer-friendly, the doors are open to all people,” he says. “I thought it was a really cool thing—the antithesis of western cowboy stuff, which is all bravado.”
Human beings want to be in a space with other human beings dancing to the same music. That’s never going to stop.
Their diligent party-planning and infectious love of dance—not to mention their tall hats, flared jeans and cowboy boots—reminded him of his own pre-rave rituals from when he was growing up in the United Kingdom. “There’s something about going to that one place where you’re all doing the same thing,” he says, “and I loved it. Even though the happy hardcore music of his youth certainly wasn’t too similar to banda, Pearson-Howes sensed his spirit was aligned with that of the Pico crowd. “Human beings want to be in a space with other human beings dancing to the same music,” he says. “That’s never going to stop.”
Pearson-Howes didn’t just want to document the goings-on at Pico, he wanted to be part of them. “I can’t dance very well anymore, but I would’ve loved to be a young 18-year-old kid growing up in LA and going to this,” he says. “It’s such an intoxicating venue.” When he first arrived at Pico, his eyes immediately turned toward the “corner where all the good dancers were.” It was right then and there that he knew he’d found his cast: Dalia, Richy and Junior, among several other talented folk on the dancefloor.
Pearson-Howes decided to structure his film around what a typical night out for them looked like, recalling his own experience getting ready for raves, driving out to clubs and dancing the night away. He shot “Taller the Hat Closer to Heaven” in two days, with minimal equipment. This approach lends the short its intimate and immediate feel, as Pearson-Howes documents a friend group from the moment they start getting ready to head out to Pico until they’re lost in its dancing flurries. Freewheeling and absorbing, Pearson-Howes’ film embodies the intense rhythm and dense soundscape of its dancers and their music.
“I wanted stuff that was a bit loose,” Pearson-Howes says. “It gets really crazy, especially at the end of the night.” With young couples spinning around in circles, seeing if they’ll land a kiss or possible new partner, there’s a heat that emanates off their bodies. That sense of love and romance is a huge part of the film—Pearson-Howes captures the youthful excitement of wondering who you might meet at the dance, the enduring hope of finding love in the midst of the dance, and the ecstasy once that has happened. As he says, it’s something “pure and honest,” and his playful camerawork leans into it, making use of slow-shutter speeds to give the spins a real vibrancy and getting as intimate as can be with the dancers, thrusting viewers straight into the action that has come to embody Pico—its high-energy shuffles, dizzying footwork, and spellbinding twirls.
There’s this beauty within the Mexican community in LA that I think is really special.
As in his photography projects, Pearson-Howes crystallizes a unique scene into a snapshot with “Taller the Hat Closer to Heaven.” And whether he went out looking for it or not, he stumbled upon a vision of America that’s often dismissed: a joyous vision that reflects the nation’s promise of a multiethnic space that promotes cross-cultural understanding and inspires creativity. As long as people of all ages, from all over LA, continue to dance at Pico, this vision of America will persist. “There’s this beauty within the Mexican community in LA that I think is really special,” Pearson-Howes says. “Pico embodies that—the good things in America.”