Every year, half a million brave the border patrols to enter the States illegally. Though many live below the poverty level, in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities, their determination and courage enable them to endure. The study of holiday ritual in any culture is an excellent way to pull young people into multiculturalism. In Mexican culture, the Days of the Dead in early November acknowledge friends and family who have died. This film shows the cathartic purposes of this holiday, while leaving its mystery and irony intact.
Narration is spare, and English subtitles are plentiful.
By any measure, a fantastical and festive film. A Luis Rodriguez, award-winning poet and social critic, recounts the story of his youth in a gang in East Los Angeles with a group of students from Manual High School in Indianapolis. Rodriguez, whose memoir Always Running provides a vivid account of gang life, describes his barrio youth, and how literature served as a way out of the cycle of self-destructive behavior. He provides insights into why young people are drawn to gang life and the action he thinks communities and young people must take to break the recurring pattern of violence. Starting from the Spanish conquest of the Aztec people in 1521, this video covers the Mexico-U.S. battle over Texas and the southwestern United States.