I was a fascinated fly on the wall when David Barajas (your left, my right) and Ruben Palomares (your right, my left) met for the first time since their notorious partnership as drug dealer and cop 20 years prior.

 

Both had been out of prison a couple years, but had that stillness from their decades inside. David could have gotten out much sooner had he just admitted it was Ruben who pretended to arrest him when they did all those lucrative drug raids together.​ Ruben probably could have avoided prison altogether had he just turned David in and kept the bands of cash, the bricks of blow and the arsenal of hot firearms for himself. But they split the loot, faced the consequences and had kept the story to themselves, until that day.

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I understood loyalty, but I didn't know what to say to that. I asked about their childhood, growing up across the street from each other in a Southeast L.A. neighborhood being decimated by gang wars. David was raised by women he was obligated to protect. Ruben was talented, shrewd and driven to transcend poverty. Neither chose to fight, just to survive. Ruben talked about his teen boxing days and joked how David was his punching bag back then. David chuckled and nodded. A light went off in my head.

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With my background in brand marketing, I look for what separates a life-changing narrative from the litany of noise competing for audience attention. I knew instantly that "Punching Bag" would showcase the unignorable dynamic between these two. Witnessing how David and Ruben fortify each other will pull you out of your seat and into the boundless fray of the life we are replicating.

 

I can't just say any more than that. You'll just have to read this script.

 

George Mehelis