Why Did Pachanga Betray Carlito? | Carlito's Way Explained 

Saso told Carlito that Pachanga was spying for Benny Blanco & he ignored him.

Benny offered Pachanga soft drinks of his choice.

Carlito's Way is perhaps the most underrated film from the 1990s.

"AYE REMEMBER ME" The irony of that scene gets me every time

Carlito himself tells you why. He explains early on that in not clipping Benny Blanco the streets would think he had gone soft and that he'd be food for the game. Duh!

Pachanga did what he did because A) he wasn't getting paid the kind of money he was expecting to get like the old days, I don't think he never knew about Carlito was OUT of that life and that he had plans of leaving out of town hence.. "No hard feelings but I gotta look after my future too" And judging from what Saso told Carlito when he warned him about Pachanga... Saso: [Speaking in Spanish] "Listen to me carefully, Carlito. Rudy says Pachanga is complaining about being broke; that he doesn’t have a single dollar. He’s also saying that you’re a piece of shit, and that you don’t have the balls to take care of the problem; and he’s wasted a lot of time without making any money" So, Pachanga also thought that Carlito wasn't the same guy he was in the past.."a used to be bad guy".... So he turned on him.

Benny told him to his face that he's gonna kill him and he did nothing.

Self-preservation. When Carlito was leaving the life, that would put Pachanga back to where he was before Carlito got out of prison. Being the number 2 guy is a hard position to attain, so he ratted out Carlito to get in good with Benny. At the very moment he was getting on the train no less. One of my favorite scenes in a crime movie. There's no honor amongst thieves and Benny wacked him simply because he knew Pachanga could do the same to him.

Pachanga never had the makings of a varsity henchman.

Trivia Goof: The train scene was filmed in NYC's Grand Central Station. Trains leaving Grand Central only go north (not south, towards Florida or the Bahamas).There was no way Carlito & Gail would've used Grand Central to get a southbound train. They would've had to use NYC's Penn Station.

Puerto Rican’s don’t say “esse”

Pachanga couldn't make it on his own, he needed a strong benefactor. He saw the writing on the wall with Carlito and thought he could get in good graces with the new generation by siding with Benny. But he never understood that loyalty goes both ways. If you betray your boss no one will ever trust you, even the boss's enemies.

side note...Puerto Ricans never say "ese" @6:55

“Ese” is Mexican, west coast slang. Benny Blanco is Puerto Rican.

Pachanga was a typical old-school Puerto Rican… when he first ran into Carlito you can hear him talking about the past and how no one respects the old guys… And when he started working with Carlito, clearly he felt he could do things… but Carlos‘s big downfall was hubris… and Pachanga felt Carlito was too weak to lead. And Pechanga goes out like he said by a young guy....😂

The turning point was Carlito sparing Benny. It’s a machismo animal kingdom. Pachanga respected strength and Carlito showing mercy looked like weakness. Carlito was also preoccupied with his retirement plan and took his eye off the ball.

Puerto Ricans don't say "ESE" that is Mexican slang

Carlito treated Benny Blanco from the Bronx that was showing Carlito respect but Carlito kept acting like Benny wasn't anything like it was still 5 years ago before he got sent to prison not realizing Benny is now one of the active players in the game

For me, Pacino's best gangster movie.

because he saw carlito as weak, aint no such thing as a halfway crook, you're either all in or you're out. Prison shook him. Pachanga saw that Carlito didn't kill Lalin when he found a mic on him, refused to kill Benny Blanco after multiple disrespect.. Pachanga though Carlito was going to make a comeback, thats why he worked with him.. but then he saw that all Carlito wanted to do was to get his money and split.. he had no use for him at this point.

When Carlito didnt get rid of benny blanco pachanga lost respect and joined the enemy

I seriously hated the actor for about a year after this movie. He was just so slimy and greasy I hated it. Fantastic actor! Love this movie, saw it in the theater.

I saw this as a kid 11-12 and it blew me away. I saw it many times to find the little stuff.

For a lot of years I refused to believe Carlito died at the end lol I've since accepted it

Not "weak behaviour" that killed him, it's human behaviour. - T.A.B (That Animal Blundetto)

If you watch ‘Rise to Power’ the prequel to Carlitos way you’ll see Pachanga was never loyal. He was always an opportunist. Though unbeknownst to Carlitos.

Your portrayal of Benny is hilarious, I love it when Brits try their hand at Latino accents 🤣🤣

Carlito should have gotten Rebedow as a henchman. Woulda fixed everything

Also look at the betrayal of Sean Penn‘s character - Penn was masterful in that movie (totally underrated).

Carlito Brigante has lost his killer instinct while he was in prison and that is fatal in his line of work. Giving a rat a pardon in front of your top Hitter is have been a sign of weakness in this world that would not have been missed.

This is something I missed in my video essay! Thank you!!! 🙏🏼 great video!

Benny Blanco isn't a "new Carlito", he's just a small time and he will never reach Carlito's level

CineRanter, I gotta admit, this was a great fxcking concept for a video man. Kudos. Some of your shit is off-balance sometimes but you hit it out the park with this one.

It was spelled out pretty clearly in the film that greed was a factor. miscalculated attempt at self. More subtly implied was also a miscalculated attempt at self-preservation we get with the line "I have to think about my future too Carlito". With Carlito on his way out, he likely figured that betraying Carlito was the best option with Benny likely convincing him that he would be spared any reprisals & secure a place in his crew if he cooperated. Obviously a lie, Pachanga felt for it and paid with his life, right along with Carlito.

Benny did not disrespect Carlito. I mean okay, yeah, after a certain point at the top of the stairs, but Carlito had disrespected Benny more than once, because he didn't like seeing who he had been. Carlito called him a punk. There was no need for that. Truthfully, Benny was in that club before Carlito, spent money there, and Saso owed him money. He was mostly in the right the whole time, Carlito just needed to give him the time of day really.

Hey! Thanks for the spoilers! Always appreciated!👍🏽

Sorry, sometimes it Beez that way papi.

Pachanga betrayed Carlito for one simple reason - he should have 'removed' Benny Blanco when he evicted him from the nightclub. He saw weakness in Carlito and lost his respect. That was the one wrong move of Carlito and he knew it.

6:50 I don't think Benny or Pachanga were 🇲🇽...

How did Benny disrespect Carlito. He violated Benny for no reason

Carlito's Way. My favourite film, ever. I like your analysis.

Carlito foreshadowed the whole betrayal in the early part of the film after seeing his cousin murdered. He said he should've known "ain't no friends in this game"

Carlito's Way I think it's highly underrated. . Definitely one of my favorite gangster movies. ... Everyone in it was perfect Al Pacino of course though I think Andy Garcia could have done a good job as well. . Sean Penn plays the sleazy lawyer to perfection.. even viggo mortensen short but memorable part was great, When I first saw the movie l didn't know who viggo was , I thought that the actor was actually Hispanic.. definitely two 👍👍 up for me!

Hate the fact that we didn't get to see the Pachanga character in Rise To Power. Instead we got Luis Guzman, the Pachanga actor, playing at totally different character. RTP had many flaws, but that in my opinion was the worst of them

I need a Benny Blanco movie where he’s now the old guy. We can still do this movie

Pachanga wasnt too bright. He actually thought that he would team with Benny after the beating he put on him??? Pachanga was clearly about the money. When he knew Carlito had a goal of saving money for his rent-a-car business and leaving the club, Pachanga knew his services would no longer be needed.

This movie is based off of two books amazing books written by a Puerto Rican judge from this area and this time and he says the character Carlito brigante it's a compilation of guys. They were great books this was a great adaptations of film amazing job all the way around. The books fully explained Carlito's background when he was a kid coming up and getting involved with organized crime it's f****** awesome.. PS.. Puerto Ricans don't say essa

It was no secret seeing the betrayal. Carlito's narration does the trick.

If Carlito killed Lalin the Feds would be on him in 5 minutes. The guy is literally talking to Carlito and then he vanishes? That woulda been stupid

This is a great film, one of my favourites. I like when Sean Penn pours an epic vodka mix. Reminds me of me partying.

Pachanga turned on Carlito but always stayed loyal to Edmond Dantes.

@ 7:30 when you said " its subtle but its there"... was that another line you got from the movie Gotti wit Armand Assante??

You left out where sasol warns Carleto about him having no money and being unhappy

Pachanga is an example of why loyalty is important. No one can ever trust a rat.

Great show 🎉

Carlito messed up for not paying him. I think Pachanga would have been faithful

I completely forgot about Carlito’s Way even though I own it. Al Pacino is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest actors of my generation.

This video was fun to watch but there wasn’t anything we didn’t already know if you’ve seen the movie and understood it. Pachanga lost respect for Carlos, and Benny getting rid of Pachanga at the end was his way of getting rid of the old guard.

Thanks for this. I always wondered why Pachanga turned on him- but even more so- why didn’t Carlito heed the warning from the fat club owner/partner (self named “Saso?”).

because he had to think of his future

I liked the dialogue. I could picture the scene.

Carlito says it himself. Pachanga thinks I’m gonna make him rich. He thought they were gonna go back to their old ways but when he realizes Carlito is just playing things straight, he checked out.

Only thing Carlito had to do was lissen to his narrative voice.

Carlito's Way is one of the best gangster films out there. I don't think there's been many characters on screen who are as memorable and unique as Dave Kleinfeld, a lawyer who decides to be a gangster, such a cool character

You're also missing Pachanga's frustration at not being able to steal from and take out Sean Penn's character, the crooked lawyer Klinefeld. Carlito insists on showing loyalty to Klinefeld while not knowing that Klinefeld is snitching on him, robbing a mafia boss, and being sketchy. Pachanga got stationed at Klinefeld's office and probably saw this plus he wasn't around to stop the stabbing Klinefeld got. Throughout the movie Pachanga is dropping hints that he's willing to screw over, murder, and rob anyone- he finds Carlito's loyalty befuddling. Finally, the entire theme of the movie is betrayal. We get a preview of it at the very beginning when Carlito's cousin gets robbed and murdered going on a drug buy. The final betrayal is Benny from the Bronx dropping Pachanga, but even when Carlito is battling the Italians he has to deal with Sasso's perfidy. Everyone in this movie is a two faced liar except Carlito and his lover Gail. It's almost like Carlito is Lott in Sodom & Gamorrah.

Because Carlito he's flaky man!

What gave Carlito's Way it's originality is how we are privy to Carlito's inner thoughts throughout the film. Carlito was keenly aware of every misstep he made. He wanted to believe that he could jump back in the streets real quick, put the 75 grand together, then leave New York and never look back. The streets rarely allow it. You can't have one foot it and one foot out. Carlito knew it, but you can't anticipate a Benny Blanco, a partner in crime turned stoolpigeon showing up, a wanna be gangster coke head lawyer pulling a pistol not understanding the ramifications. Towards the end he knows it's a race against time. He's going to be forced to do what he's been trying so hard not to do, kill someone. Crossing that line would mean he was in with both feet. Just when he thought he had beat the odds and was gonna make it out, the dice stopped on seven, and he crapped out. On Ice T's Power album, the last song, Soul on Ice is a similar story of a drug dealer who's going out to celebrate getting out the drug game, only to to get hit by a stray bullet and die at the party. Happy endings are rare in that world.

My favorite part was when benny from the Bronx went l.a. chicano when talking to pachanga😂😂😂

3:35 Carlito was in for 5 years. Not 20. There's a definite adjustment period sure. But he didn't NEED Pachanga, Pachanga stepped to him likely as he walked down memory lane in the barrio.

Because when he saw that Carlito did not kill Benny, he knew Carlito was showing weakness and that he was on a sinking ship and needed to jump ship as grimmy as that is and hes a piece of shit for doing so. But there were 2 reasons: 1. Carlito showing weakness by not killing Benny. 2. Pachanga a greedy, jealous & stupid person. He mentions a few times in the movie that he feels like Carlito is doing well hinting that he feels he should be payed more for his services and he feels disrespected by Carlito that he doesn't see him as more of a equal, even though Pachanga is not in his mind he is.

It's subtle but it's there...nice

For $ and he knew Carlito was getting weak and leaving

Pachenga left the table when Vinnie was going to attack him over Steffie. Klienman pulling out his weapon saved Carlito

That's just Puerto Ricans being Puerto Ricans

Never tell anyone your plans. Especially when there’s nothing in it for anyone but you. He should have told Benny. This is my man Pachanga . Be a friend to him and maybe we talk in the future but at this moment I gotta chill. Everyone walks away happy

When Pachanga wanted to kill Benny and Carlito refused,he felt Carlito was looking down on him,trust me.

Killing him was not the mistake not being humble and treating Benny like shit is what got him killed

B.B.F.B. was Carlito's hardest obstacle. Reform Carlito would want nothing to do with the lifestyle, Old Carlito saw him as a punk minion

Pachanga had an inferior mentality through out the film. He wanted to be the man throughout the film. His quick anger toward Benny was another sign of it. He didn’t have a good head for the game, and the only reason Carlito got killed was through his duplicity.

Carlto two mistakes was not killing Benny, and the rat. Pactinga look like he was weak.

I kinda thought pachanga was helping viggo mortinson character with the wire because he reaction of surprise seemed forced or over acted when the wire was discovered. I couldn't verify it but I felt it.

He wasnt his friend he was carlito brother what makes it more scandalous

The biggest mistake that Carlito made in the first place Was being rude and arrogant , disrespecting Benny Blanco, instead of trying to talk to him and work things out Benny Blanco tried to be nice to him. He should have talked to Benny Blanco. And if he would have talked to him , he could have gotten what he wanted from Benny Blanco with no problem. And Pachanga is a damn fool. You want to kill the guy one minute, but you want to go into business with him the next minute, It looks very disloyal. It looks suspect. It doesn't add up Puchengo has no foresight for the future not even Thirty seconds ahead

Sorry, had to come back, I scrolled and didn't see anyone bring this up properly. PACHANGA WANTED TO RAID BLANCO. He expected for them to kill Blanco and take over that racket. If not that night, at some point thereafter. Also not killing Lalin; as someone further down the scroll beat me to the punch on that one.

Pachanga saw weakness in Carlito's hesitation in killing Benny. It was the beginning of the end from that moment on

THIS IS ONE OF MY TOP 🔟 FAVORITE MOVIES 🎥 …. A FILMMAKER MYSELF WITH A STREET BACKGROUND THE MAIN THING THAT STUCK WITH ME FROM THIS MOVIE 🎥 IS BENNY BLANCO FROM THE BRONX IS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE 🎥 THAT RESPECTED CARLITO WHAT HE WAS WHAT HE STOOD FOR TO THE UTMOST , ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS ACKNOWLEDGE BENNY & ACCEPT HIS PRAISE …. IT WAS HIS DAY 1 & HIS LAWYER THAT WAS HIS REAL ENEMIES 💰💰🔫🪖🩸💯💯💯💯🤞🏿

no hard feelings carlito it bees that way sometimes papi

Once Carlito let Benny go he knew Carlito was not the same man and would prob get killed by someone and he would be right by his side dead also. Carlito also made the mistake of having him bring Gale to the train station

Yeah he did, he had a choice, Benny was the only one who realized it must be done

I enjoyed they brought him back in the second one as nacho

one of the best movies ever 👌

Remember, one thing about the club sence with Benny Blanco. if he would have killed Benny, his friends would have went to war with Carlito. remember his friends were there and they saw Benny get hauled away. So killing Benny Blanco is not the answer. if you kill the leader of the gang, then the rest of the gang comes after you. Then it becomes a gang war. This is reality, not a movie Please understand that killing Benny was not the end all be all trying to talk to Benny because there was no reason for them to argue in the first place

None of those theories make any sense, reason being Carlito was trying to get out, not stay in. He was at the train station leaving when they clipped him. They killed him for two reasons only, revenge and hubris. Benny Blanco from the Brox would have ended with a similar fate. And the wheel turns on.

Nice dialogue on bennie

Carlito was too weak! When Carlito gave Benny a pass…Pachanga had to make a choice..not to mention Carlito was about to skip town. Pachanga would either have had to kill Benny, or join forces. And Benny was an emerging force.

Benny and pachanga and all those guys from wayy bk when carlito was a gangster.. that happened even ur own friend's,family will betray u at the end or even try to kill u for 💵💵💰

Pachanga thought Carlito had gotten soft, after not going thru with the Benny Blanco thing… for starters.

The street abhors what it thinks of as weakness. Could be in American Me, or in this film - but basically the perception that you are done with the game, by itself is enough. Pachanga was just a henchman, and I guess knew he was not boss material, but what he wanted was to be someone still looking for action, sidekick to a real gangster, not some guy trying to get out of the game. In the start, he thinks Carlito is still a badass with all the old street instincts to push back against a young punk like Benny Blanco, therefore he's loyal, and even more eager to snuff out Blanco than Carlito is. But once he sees Carlito's genuinely reformed, he's disappointed. In that light, showing mercy to a disrespectful try-hard or a pathetic broken rat is not a sign of your power over a lesser being; it's a sign you don't have the stomach to put people in the dirt anymore. From that point on, it's all calculation in Pachanga's head about what is best for himself. Sure, he could have just let Carlito board the train and leave the game, so why be cruel and prevent it? Because Pachanga knew that Benny Blanco and /or the mob might have a beef with Carlito, and would appreciate someone handing them the ability to get revenge. Pachanga gets to score some points with people still in the game - or at least that is what he thought.

One word. - money. And Also there’s no honor or loyalty in that game no matter how much movies and rap songs try to glamorize it. It’s a dirty disgusting game where your best friend will put a bullet in your head. No thanks

I soooo have been wondering this daily for the last several decades. Not.