Misplaced Pages

#307692

72-607: El Norte ("The North") may refer to: El Norte (film) , 1983, directed by Gregory Nava El Norte (Monterrey) , a Mexican daily newspaper, published in the state of Nuevo Léon El Norte, a gang in the television series Oz El Norte , an album by the Gotan Project El Norte (Region) , an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1776. El Norte , Present-day northern Mexico and

144-701: A "good day" large coyote organizations can transport 500 people into the United States. This suggests that on a "good day", larger enterprises can earn an average of $ 1 million, while "mom and pop" rings can earn $ 780,000 annually. "Mom and pop" coyote businesses do not require exorbitant amounts of money to get started. It depends on the method of border crossing an individual or group chooses. Most require transportation, including automobiles and rowboats, while other more sophisticated and expensive options require cash to purchase documents, scanning and graphics equipment to forge said documents, and real estate in

216-527: A better life. The final shot in the film again shows a severed head hanging from a rope, which may be the same image used in Part I of the film; one critic has commented that a hanging, severed head is "a symbolic device used in some Latin films to signify that the character has committed suicide". The origins of El Norte are the director's experiences in San Diego, California, where he grew up. Nava came from

288-750: A border family and has relatives on the other side in Tijuana, Baja California. As a youth, he crossed the border several times a week, often wondering who lived in all those cardboard shacks on the Mexican side. For research the producers of El Norte learned about the plight of indigenous Guatemalans from years of research, much of it conducted among exiles living in Southern California. Nava said "There are hundreds of thousands of refugees from Central America in Los Angeles alone. Nobody knows

360-407: A busload of immigrants eager to cross the border, migrants are placed in hotels near the border, waiting patiently for a coyote to signal an opportunity to cross the border. As the coyotes are the primary means in getting immigrants across the border, they use nicknames to avoid being identified. Being responsible for guiding the immigrants to the border safely, human smugglers have kept up to date with

432-421: A connection to. This provides social capital for the coyote by being perceived as being more trustworthy due to being known in the area if not the prospective migrant personally. These connections also can help the migrants avoid being taken advantage of or being abandoned part way by an untrustworthy or inexperienced guide. These social bonds between the migrants and their guides help to provide increased safety for

504-439: A dangerous and illegal undertaking for the travellers and bring customers for the coyotes. Border Coyotes: Also called border business coyotes or exterior coyotes, they usually live near the border and will regularly take people across all year. Migrants with more experience trying to cross the border or who are traveling during busy times for crossings are more likely to travel with border coyotes. These guides due to living near

576-493: A digital release two days later, to commemorate its 35th anniversary, and featured new interviews with director Gregory Nava and the film's two stars, Zaide Silvia Gutierrez and David Villalpando. The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2017. When released, the staff at Variety described the film as the "first United American independent epic." In his four-star review, film critic Roger Ebert

648-526: A domestic, she is puzzled when her Anglo employer shows her a washing machine. Enrique becomes a busboy and, as his English classes begin to improve his command of the language, is promoted to a position as a waiter's assistant. He is later approached by a businesswoman who has a better-paying job for him in Chicago as a foreman, which he initially declines; he too encounters problems when a jealous Chicano co-worker reports him to immigration, causing him to flee

720-406: A less severe punishment. They distract border patrol agents by throwing rocks at them, or by removing tire spikes set on suspected transport routes while immigrants cross the border. After successfully crossing the border, immigrants are transported to a load house ( safe house ), usually located at the nearest large city. Bosses, also known as patrones or socios, are the highest rank of hierarchy in

792-551: A major studio had been involved in the filmmaking process. Financing for the film was provided by PBS's American Playhouse (50%) and the rest in pre-sales. One such pre-sale was made to the United Kingdom's Channel 4. Parts of El Norte provide an example of how Latin American magical realism , primarily found in novels, has been depicted in a theatrical film. Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote: " El Norte

SECTION 10

#1732784037308

864-474: A passenger screams at the timid Maya youngsters: We have arrived to Tijuana, you damn Indians. David Villalpando , the actor who played Enrique Xuncax, gave an interview to Lear Media about what the film meant to him and why he believes the film is important. Villalpando said: Fifteen years ago, the indigenous people in Guatemala were living a cruel extermination that forced them to flee toward Mexico and

936-458: A person who is visiting family or friends in the country and then to illegally stay in the country and work. Through these methods they would work to hide their connections to employers and would use the services of coyotes to obtain information, a job and connections they are able to use in the country to continue to live without being deported. In the group of people that work as coyotes there are two important subgroups that have been categorized,

1008-418: A soldier attacks him. Enrique fights back and kills the attacker, then escapes with his sister Rosa and hides in a safe house until morning. Enrique and Rosa thus escape capture, only to learn that many of their fellow villagers have been rounded up by soldiers. The children's mother too "disappears": abducted by soldiers. So, using money given to them by their godmother, Enrique and Rosa decide to flee Guatemala,

1080-458: A species of North American wild dog (Canis latrans) . Migrants pay coyotes a fee to guide them across the border. Fees are normally collected once the migrant arrives at a predetermined destination, usually a border city in California , Texas , or Arizona . Since the 1990s, the proportion of migrants who hire coyotes has increased drastically as a result of intensified surveillance along

1152-434: A wholesale scale by means of organized efforts" had emerged. Ciudad Juarez became a hub for coyotes during the mid-1920s. In his study on Mexican migration, anthropologist Manuel Gamio details the process. Coyote fees were considerably less than those needed for visitor's visas; an approximate $ 100 to $ 150 difference (based on today's exchange rate). Working individually, or with others, a coyote would lead his client across

1224-556: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages El Norte (film) The drama features Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando , in their first film roles, as two indigenous youths who flee Guatemala due to the ethnic and political persecution of the Guatemalan Civil War . They head north and travel through Mexico to the United States, arriving in Los Angeles, California, after an arduous journey. The picture

1296-551: Is that life has a cyclical nature. Rosa sings in her Maya language: We came only to sleep, to dream. All things are lent to us. We are only on Earth in passing. Throughout El Norte young Rosa and Enrique and their family are subjected to many epithets, hatred, and bigotry due to their indigenous heritage. When the father Arturo inadvertently kills a soldier, for example, a ladino screams: That bastard Indian killed Puma! And, when Rosa and Enrique reach their destination in Mexico,

1368-416: The "frontera" , in which a man posing as a coyote deceives and attempts to rob them, they have a horrific experience when they finally cross the U.S.-Mexico border through a sewer pipe laden with rats; critic Roger Ebert noted: The scene is horrifying, not least because it's pretty clear these are real rats. Disease-free rats purchased from a laboratory, yes, but real rats all the same, and although Gutierrez

1440-722: The Great Depression . Demand in Texas for cotton harvesters through the use of coyotes allowed them to recruit about 400,000 migratory workers by the end of the 1930s, two-thirds of which were Mexican. Coyotes would load trucks with fifty to sixty workers to be delivered to different Texas companies. The practice received international attention in 1940 when a "delivery" truck got into an accident, resulting in forty-four Mexican migrant injuries and twenty-nine fatalities, including eleven children. The U.S. and Mexican governments worked together to end labour-brokerage coyote, by implementing

1512-574: The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), hardened the civil and criminal penalties for alien smuggling and expanded the use of the IDENT database (fingerprint recording system), coyotes increased their fees to match the risk. According to experts such as sociologist Douglass Massey, coyotes gross more than $ 5 billion a year. Crossing fees can range from $ 1,500 to $ 2,500 in Mexico. Police note that on

SECTION 20

#1732784037308

1584-491: The 1920s, although there was not a national quota restricting Western Hemisphere immigrants until 1965. Increasing restrictions caused the demand for cheap migrant labour to exceed the legal ability for foreign workers to enter and work in the country. The conflict between the Nativist demand for restrictions and the many business owners who wanted less expensive labour, lead to a demand for unauthorized persons to be brought into

1656-557: The Border Patrol, while the Mexican government enacted laws penalizing individuals convicted of aiding illegal entry into the United States. Coyote strategies evolved during this period. Some Mexican cities witnessed the emergence or growth of smuggling rings. Larger organizations had expansive networks with contacts across Latin America. Several of these rings were capable of moving an estimated eight to ten thousand migrants into

1728-668: The Bracero Program in 1942. The popularity of the Bracero Program resulted in a greater Mexican demand for guest-worker contracts than there were contracts to give. Consequently, thousands of Mexican laborers unable to participate in the program sought the help of coyotes to enter the United States. "Clandestine-crossing" coyote saw a rise during this period. By 1950, the United States Border Patrol relied on approximately 1,000 agents to patrol

1800-570: The First Cello Concerto and De Natura Sonoris No. 1 by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki , the latter of which is used twice. The Criterion Collection released El Norte on DVD and Blu-ray on January 20, 2009. Coyotaje Colloquially , a coyote is a person who smuggles immigrants across the Mexico–United States border . The word "coyote" is a loanword from Mexican Spanish that usually refers to

1872-500: The Rio Bravo via automobile, boat, or by swimming. Crossings were widely successful as Gamio notes: “These people know their ground thoroughly... and sometimes even have an arrangement with some district official.” The prevalent use of false documents, or "leased" legitimate documents, contributed to the success. Increased restrictions on migrants, including ones from Mexico into the U.S. were primarily starting to be put into place in

1944-549: The Southwestern United States. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title El Norte . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=El_Norte&oldid=1208462684 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2016-491: The U.S. and with prospective coyotes. These two broad groups are called Interior and Exterior Coyotes. Interior Coyotes: Usually known to the people they are taking and are more often used by people with less experience trying to cross the border or who lack strong ties to people in the U.S. Persons without connections to where they are going in America usually travel with interior coyotes because they tend to be people from their hometown or people that they otherwise have more of

2088-400: The U.S. implementing stricter laws and patrolling the border. Each role plays a part in the process of transporting immigrants. The lowest position in the human smuggling hierarchy is the vaquetón. While the human smuggling organizations are headquartered at the border, vaquetones are assigned to recruit migrants within their communities at the interior of the country. After vaquetones recruit

2160-407: The United States annually. The use of tractor-trailers to carry passengers across national lines proved to be extremely effective. Hidden compartments were built in the floors of truck beds to hide "cargo." Furthermore, coyote leaders strategically chose juveniles as drivers or guides, so as not to be tried in the United States if caught. That way they could then be recycled into the system. The IRCA

2232-579: The United States, coyotes were paid their fees and migrants were delivered to their employers. Competition for Mexican workers grew so high among labour contractors that it inspired a short-lived coyote system in the United States. For a fee, "man-snatchers" would kidnap Mexican workers from one company and deliver them to a competing firm. The threat of losing money, on account of a stolen employee, "led labour contractors to keep workers en-route to employers locked up and under armed guard to prevent their theft." Labour-brokerage coyotes continued to profit despite

El Norte - Misplaced Pages Continue

2304-434: The United States. Explicit restrictions on Mexican immigration during the late 1910s and early 1920s caused U.S. labour-seeking migrants to increasingly rely on middlemen for labour-brokerage with American companies. The U.S. Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 required foreign individuals crossing the border to take literacy tests , undergo medical exams, and pay head taxes and visa fees. The new requirements "combined with

2376-529: The United States. This exodus lasted a decade and half a million Guatemalans made the journey to the United States seeking for asylum and refuge... El Norte became a powerful fighting element, grew an audience, searched audiences, and left the theaters to tell its truth. When Nava and his production crew were, more or less, kicked out of Mexico during the film shoot, he had to re-create a Mexican village in California. Nava said "We were filming in Mexico during

2448-494: The acting top-rate and noted the realism they bring to their tasks. He added: "Mr. Nava does not patronize his 'little people.' This has something to do with the straight, unactorly quality of the performances, especially by Zaide Silvia Gutierrez as Rosa and David Villalpando as Enrique, two splendid Mexican actors." Rotten Tomatoes reported that 92% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 60 reviews. Wins Nominations Other distinguishments A soundtrack for

2520-408: The border patrol and when and how it is best for a person to sneak across. Some may try instead of getting over a border wall to slip past the patrol by pretending to be a valid, inconspicuous traveller. A trick that many migrants use is to deceptively cross legally but stay and work illegally. One trick they may use is to obtain a BCC (Border Crossing Card) to enter the country by posing as a tourist or

2592-405: The border patrol's new technologies, monitoring their surveillance activity, aware of border patrol shift schedules and their stations. Another important role in the human smuggling hierarchy is the chequador. The chequadores work for the coyotes and the coyotes’ assistants, keeping an eye out at checkpoints and border patrol areas enabling them to signal for a safe crossing. They are provided with

2664-467: The border will help people cross all year long as long as the customers are willing to pay their price and take the risk of traveling with them. Experienced border crossers will more often go to the border on their own and travel across with the help of a professional border coyote. Coyotes cross immigrants through many different borders, but the main border is Tijuana, the cities of San Ysidro and El Chaparral. Because of anti-smuggling legislation, such as

2736-401: The border. Since the end of the nineteenth century, coyotes have been a part of the illegal migratory process for many Mexican migrants . From 1882 to 1917, a series of U.S. legislations contributed to the rise of the coyote in illegal border crossings. The Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and Immigration Act of 1885 caused the flow of labour to decline. This led to severe labour shortages in

2808-543: The border. Mexican migrants seeking entry relied on the coyote. Crossing the Rio Grande became the route of choice. This was achieved mostly by boat with the help of a patero (boatman), or more dangerously, by swimming, thus creating the slur "wetbacks.” In 1953, Border Patrol reported to have detained 1,545 "alien smugglers" along the border. The end of the Bracero Program would lead to greater illegal crossings. The Hart-Celler Act, passed in 1965, set strict quotas on

2880-411: The country. This led to an economic draw for desperate people to illegally enter as well as reasons for employers in the U.S. to use and support illegal methods to get more migrants into the country illegally to have more workers than the quota allows for. Therefore, both groups required the help of guides to get migrants into America, requiring the help of the coyotes and similar groups. Upon arrival in

2952-443: The coyote business. The bosses' duties are to manage the finances and business aspects of the operation. Due to the coyotes being the primary source to guiding the immigrants through the border, the bosses heavily depend on them. Most commonly the bosses fund the process and are the owners of the hotels, safe houses and vehicles used in the process. Since 9/11, the U.S. government has taken numerous measures to tighten security along

El Norte - Misplaced Pages Continue

3024-428: The creation of the Border Patrol in 1924, prompted thousands of Mexican migrants to cross the Rio Bravo surreptitiously to enter the country." As a direct result, demand for coyotes grew exponentially. The U.S. Commissioner of Immigration observed the trend commenting, in a Congressional report, that a "new and thriving industry... having for its object the illegal introduction into the United States of Mexican aliens on

3096-474: The end of the López Portillo presidency, one of the last of the old-fashioned caciques to rule Mexico. One day, men with machine guns took over the set. I had guns pointed at my head. We were forced to shut down production, bribe our way out of the country, fight to get our costumes back, and start shooting again in California. Ironically, in the United States our extras were real Mayan refugees. They were

3168-474: The exact number, but a recent television inquiry estimated 300,000 to 400,000. In our own research, we came across a community of Mayans from Guatemala—5,000 from one village—now in Los Angeles. The original village, which is now dead, had 15,000." Annette Insdorf of The New York Times wrote that Nava discussed the singular nature of the US-Mexico border. Nava said: The border is unique—the only place in

3240-491: The film was produced in France by Island/Phono-Gram. The album was produced by Gregory Nava and Danny Holloway . The CD features original music for the film by Los Folkloristas, Emil Richards , and Linda O'Brian. It also features "Rosa's Song" sung by the actress Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez. Adagio for Strings by the American composer Samuel Barber was featured at two different points in the film. It also contains excerpts from

3312-497: The form of safe-houses. All coyotes need social capital "in the form of social connectedness to trustworthy collaborators willing to assume the risks of engaging in extra-legal conspiracies." The construction of a good reputation is also critical to the success of coyotes in an ever-growing competitive market. Reputations are defined by competency, trustworthiness and decent customer service. They are primarily achieved by word of mouth amongst migrant social networks. When considering

3384-415: The fruits of their harrowing journey to the U.S. Rosa sums up the film's major theme when she says to Enrique: In our own land, we have no home. They want to kill us....In Mexico, there is only poverty. We can't make a home there either. And here in the north, we aren't accepted. When will we find a home, Enrique? Maybe when we die, we'll find a home. After Rosa dies, Enrique is shown once again waiting with

3456-443: The interior and exterior coyotes. Both groups work to get migrants illegally into the United States, however, they do it in different ways and will take different types of people. Which group a migrant uses (if they do choose to use a coyote and don't go alone or with their own group), depends on many factors such as if they are familiar with what they need to do to get into the U.S. along with what connections they have to both people in

3528-425: The land of their birth, and head north. During the second part of the film, the two teenagers flee Guatemala, travel through Mexico, and meet a Mexican coyote who guides them across the border. This section includes various comic scenes relating to mutual stereotyping among different ethnic groups; the two attempt to pass themselves off as indigenous Mexicans, failing to convince one Mexican truck driver after naming

3600-650: The locations were San Diego and Los Angeles. The film was released in Scotland on October 11, 1983. On December 11, 1983, the movie opened in New York City and on January 27, 1984, it opened in wide release. It was screened in the un certain regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival . A director's cut was re-released in May 2000. The film was re-released theatrically by Fathom Events in association with Lionsgate on September 15, 2019, followed by

3672-455: The more secluded corners of Hispanic restaurants, are increasingly the scenes of blatant wheeling and dealing of phony documents at premium prices." Since the practice of human smuggling is a financially growing sector, many people want to participate in the business. To guarantee a successful journey for the immigrants, human smugglers have created an organized hierarchy of coyotes playing various roles. Demand for their services increased due to

SECTION 50

#1732784037308

3744-410: The motivation to come and work in the U.S. only rises, leaving potential migrants one realistic option – engaging a coyote. Avoiding the attention of the border patrol even as the security and restrictions increase, and helping migrants get around them is the primary focus of coyotes. This is because it is their job to guide their clients around these dangers. A skilled coyote will know the movements of

3816-424: The number of annual visas it issued. More than ever before, Mexican workers in search of American jobs were dependent on the coyote system to accomplish their goals. A study reports that, by the 1980s, "do-it-yourself" border crossings were rare and "virtually everyone" was paying a coyote. The coyote industry's prosperity garnered the attention of the U.S. and Mexican governments. U.S. authorities continued to expand

3888-460: The other day-labor hopefuls in a parking lot, offering his services to a man looking for "strong arms"; reviewer Renee Scolaro Rathke observes: "It is a bitter realization that Arturo's words about the poor being nothing but arms for the rich holds true even in El Norte." Although Enrique is temporarily employed once again, he is distracted by haunting daydreams about his sister's lost desires for

3960-416: The people the movie was about." Nava tells the story that, at one point, Mexican police kidnapped their accountant and held him for ransom, and at the same time, his parents had to pose as tourists in order to smuggle exposed film out of the country in their suitcases. The film was shot in Mexico and California. In Mexico, the locations were Chiapas , Morelos , México, D.F. , and Tijuana. In California,

4032-462: The period they had resided illegally." The IRCA also required employers to ask potential employees for documents confirming their authorization to work in the United States as a result of both provisions, a black market of counterfeit documents emerged catering to the demand. Shortly after, the media covered numerous stories revealing a coyote network of document falsification. The Houston Chronicle reported that "flea markets, grocery store lots, even

4104-418: The possibility of going to the United States where "all the people, even the poor, have their own cars". Because of his attempts to form a labor union among the workers, Arturo and the other organizers are attacked and murdered by government troops when a co-worker is bribed to betray them—Arturo's severed head is seen hanging from a tree. When Enrique attempts to climb the tree that displays his father's head,

4176-437: The railway in acceptance of American jobs. The enganche system was not a novelty in Mexico. It had been established to recruit southern peasants for work in northern industries within the country. Companies in the United States effectively used the system to satisfy their labour needs. It can be argued that enganchadores are an ancestor of the modern-day coyote. Like today's coyotes, they acted as middlemen between migrants and

4248-447: The restaurant and seek out the businesswoman. When Enrique finally decides to take the position, Rosa becomes gravely ill with typhus contracted from the rat bites she received during their border crossing. When this happens, Enrique must make the tough decision of missing the flight to Chicago to be by her side, and thus loses the position. As Enrique sits by her bedside in the hospital, a dying Rosa laments that she will not live to enjoy

4320-437: The same quality equipment as the border patrol agents, such as night-vision scopes, and consistently use their cell phones or two-way radios to track patrol movements. To make the chequadores’ job less suspicious, they often rent a room near the border and set up telescopes to have a better view. Cuidandonos are also known as caretakers. Most are American children that are hired from local high schools who, if caught, will receive

4392-441: The scene sums up its rare strength". Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of the website Spirituality and Practice were touched by Nava and Thomas' story and the attention they give to the character's native roots, and wrote: "Nava's attention to details, particularly the aesthetic and religious beauty of Indian culture, and his sympathy for the protagonists' inner lives lift this story above its melodramatic moments and make

SECTION 60

#1732784037308

4464-527: The south-western and western regions of the country. The demand for Mexican workers from U.S. employers rose and by 1884, supply was guaranteed when the railway connection of El Paso , Texas, with Mexico was completed. The illegal migratory crossings were largely unregulated and accepted as de facto acceptable practices. "Enganchadores", Spanish for "hookers" (from the verb "to hook"), were Mexican individuals hired by U.S. employers as labour recruiters. Enganchadores would persuade Mexican peasants to travel on

4536-571: The southern border. Part of the Border Patrol's mission statement declares that "an ever-present threat exists from the potential for terrorists to employ the same smuggling and transportation networks, infrastructure, drop houses, and other support and then use these masses of illegal aliens as ‘cover’ for a successful cross-border penetration." Increased surveillance makes clandestine crossing much more difficult, but not impossible. In reality, when economic conditions in Latin America deteriorate,

4608-543: The story into three parts: The first part takes place in a small rural Guatemalan village called San Pedro and introduces the Xuncax family, a group of indigenous Mayans . Arturo is a coffee picker and his wife a homemaker. Arturo explains his worldview to his son Enrique and how the indio fares in Guatemalan life, noting that, "to the rich, the peasant is just a pair of strong arms". Arturo and his family then discuss

4680-421: The tale a memorable one." Some film reviewers objected to what they considered the film's overly sad end as Vincent Canby of The New York Times , wrote: "Until its arbitrarily tragic ending, El Norte seems about to make one of the most boldly original and satirical social-political statements ever to be found in a film about the United States as a land of power as well as opportunity." However, Canby did find

4752-614: The world where an industrialized first-world nation shares the border with a third-world country. In California, it's just a fence: on one side are the Tijuana slums, on the other side—San Diego. It's so graphic! This was the germ of the story. The movie has become a staple of high school Spanish language and Human Geography classes throughout the United States and multiculturalism studies in college. Nava and Anna Thomas spent two years raising money for El Norte but they did not pursue film studios or television networks because much of what makes El Norte special would have been jeopardized if

4824-414: The wrong destination, but later succeeding in convincing a U.S. Border Patrol officer by copiously peppering their responses with the Mexican word for "fuck", which a neighbor had suggested was how all Mexicans speak. Thus, Enrique and Rosa are only deported to a border town in Mexico and not to Guatemala, giving them a base for a second attempt to cross the border. After their first failed attempt to cross

4896-751: Was partly funded by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a non-profit public broadcasting television service in the United States. El Norte received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1985, the first Latin American independent film to be so honored. In 1995, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The writing team of Nava and Thomas split

4968-595: Was passed in 1986 under the Reagan administration . It created an amnesty program allowing currently undocumented immigrants the opportunity to legalize their status in the United States and eventually obtain citizenship, and established employer sanctions against individuals hiring undocumented workers. To obtain amnesty, migrants had to demonstrate they had been continuously living in the United States since 1982. Documents of proof included "pay stubs, rent receipts, bank statements, and affidavits from persons who knew them during

5040-405: Was phobic about rats, she insisted on doing her own scenes, and her panic is real. In the final part of the film, Rosa and Enrique discover the difficulties of living in the U.S. without official documentation. The brother and sister find work and a place to live and initially feel good about their decision. However, Rosa is nearly caught up in an immigration raid and must find a new job. Working as

5112-444: Was pleased with Nava and Thomas's work and likened it to a classic film of yesteryear, writing: " El Norte (1983) tells their story with astonishing visual beauty, with unashamed melodrama, with anger leavened by hope. It is a Grapes of Wrath for our time." In a scene where the characters cross into California by means of a rat-infested sewer tunnel and emerge to a view of San Diego, Commonweal critic Tom O'Brien wrote: "...  

5184-412: Was seminal, both for its graceful blend of classical narrative and magic realism, and the power with which it brought an otherwise invisible world to life." El Norte portrays an Amerindian point-of-view and this is exemplified by the religion they follow. An example is when Rosa Xuncax sings the eulogy at the funeral of her father and its Native American-Maya religious theme. A traditional Maya belief

#307692