Filmographies - films at UST by Country: Mexico

El Negro gets hired to smuggle a group of undocumented migrants into the United States. When he claims this will be his last trip because he wants out of the business, his superiors become suspicious and send a younger smuggler to keep an eye on him. The two fight during the troubled crossing, and eventually lose part of their human cargo. El Negro now finds himself on the run from his former associates and the law.

"Jorge has only a few weeks before his five-year-old son Natan leaves to live with his mother in Rome. Intent on teaching Natan about their Mayan heritage, Jorge takes him to the pristine Chinchorro reef, and eases him into the rhythms of a fisherman's life. As the bond between father and son grows stronger, Natan learns to live in harmony with life above and below the surface of the sea."--Container.

Three cultures, three countries, three realities introduce us to the lives of three children (one Mexican, one Cuban and one Moroccan girl) that all share the same sentiment, dealing with the absence of a loved one and the need to bring them back home.

American visa: Bolivian English professor Mario Alvarez travels to La Paz, Bolivia, to seek a tourist visa to the U.S. with hopes visit his son, and perhaps stay permanently. But his plans are ruined when his visa application is rejected due to higher post-9/11 security. And when he meets a woman and begins to fall in love, he must make the hard decision of whether to go or to stay.
Rosario Tijeras: Antonio and Emilio are two upperclass friends who one day meet narcotics assassin of Medillín, Rosario Tijeras ("The Scissors"). Moved by hatred against all those who betrayed her and incapable of showing her true feelings, Rosario makes violence her style of life. Nevertheless, the three friends soon lose themselves in a distressing love triangle where they confuse the pain of love with the pain of death.

Three people are catapulted into dramatic and unforeseen circumstances in the wake of a terrible car crash: a young punk stumbles into the sinister underground world of dog fighting; an injured supermodel's designer pooch disappears into the apartment's floorboards; and an ex-radical turned hit man rescues a Rotweiler with a gunshot wound.

"[The...] true story of how Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa allowed a Hollywood crew to film him in battle, altering the course of film and military history in the process... Early movie giants D.W. Griffin and Harry Aiken send a junior executive, Frank Thayer, to Mexico to persuade the cash-strapped, publicity-hungry Villa to let them film his revolution. Stepping into the literal cross fire, Thayer's crew risk their lives in the mingling of fiction and reality. After a string of dangerous exploits, narrows escapes and double crosses worthy of a silent action short, Thayer and Villa make their movie, and 'The Life of General Villa' is released in the U.S. to popular acclaim."--Container.

Growing up in 1930s Mexico, Catalina Guzmán knows little of the world and is unaware of the political storm looming over the whole country. General Andrés Ascensio arrives into Catalina's life and seduces her into marriage. She accepts him willingly, entranced by his power, wealth, sexuality, and the escape he offers from her provincial life; however, she is pushed into the tedious existence of a politician's wife. Catalina is encaged by her marriage until she meets the young and vibrant Carlos Vives, who provides Catalina with her greatest desire, her greatest love, and her greatest tragedy. Based partially on the life of General Maximino Avila Camacho, brother of the Mexican president Manuel Avila Camacho. He was governor of Puebla from 1937 to 1941 and served as secretary of public works in his brother's Cabinet. He was infamous for being ruthless, arrogant and violent with his political enemies.

Elena tries to make a new life for herself after her mother leaves her alone, but she is drugged, seduced, and forced to work as a dancer/call girl in a nightclub. She soon rises to stardom as a dancer, but still plots revenge and escape.

A coming-of-age story about two young teenagers in the violent market neighborhood of Tepito, Mexico City. Nacho is a sweet boy, but his dysfunctional family and social setting threaten to turn him into a criminal. Neglect and abuse run rampant in his household, which is why the smart and entrepreneurial 13-year-old spends much of his time with Cacayo, a kind but dim-witted man who pirates movies for a living. When Nacho meets Mayra, the daughter of a local drug lord named La Diabla, he falls head over heels in love, despite the obvious danger.

Filled with chaos and corruption, the prison system in Mexico is in desperate need of reform. A group of unscrupulous business men manages to get the government representative in charge to agree on building a private penitentiary, Capadocia, inside which the interns, all women, will work virtually for free. The prison, referred to as the "place without forgiveness," quickly attracts the attention of social activists.

Life goes on in the brutal Capadocia prison in Mexico City. The director of the prison, Teresa Lagos, takes care of her daughter, who is now an inmate, while the vice president of ESCO works to expand the program of privatized prisons. As Capadocia is the scene of more crimes, Teresa realizes the prison has lost its sight of justice and reform.

The story of several women whom are all imprisoned in a Mexico City jail for various reasons. The third season of Cappadocia is the showdown between corruption and greed for power, embodied in the figure of Federico Marquez and ideals and moral leadership of Teresa Lagos.

Based on ritual and legends from the Popul vuh and Mayan stories, the film focuses on a small Tzeltal village during a terrible drought. Desperate for relief, thirteen men set out on a quest to save their people by seeking a solitary diviner who lives in the mountains and knows the ways of the ancients. Hoping that he can summon Chac, the rain god, the men follow the diviner who takes them on a strange journey that challenges their beliefs and even their sanity.

The most important battle in Mexico's history, Mexico's Battle of Puebla. In 1862 an unforeseen and mismatched battle against one of the world's mightiest armies became the rallying point for a new nation.

When his ex-wife Nora dies right before Passover, José is forced to stay with her body until she can be properly put to rest. He soon realizes he is part of Nora's plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast. This leads Jose to reexamine their relationship and rediscover their undying love for each other.

Since 1993 the bodies of hundreds of women who were brutally murdered in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico have been discovered. Most of the victims were women between the ages of 12 and 25. Erika, a young journalist for the cultural column in a city newspaper, is up for a promotion that will take her to New York City. Erika's nanny's only daughter, Rosa María, moves to Ciudad Juárez searching for a better way of life. After her mysterious disapperance, Erika's nanny decides to look for her. Still expecting an answer from New York, Erika goes along to Ciudad Juarez without realizing the horror she is about to confront. Four murder cases of hundreds of women pass before her eyes. Little by little, Erika and her boyfriend David, begin to realize the magnitude of the problem. Finally, Erika receives the call expected from New York, but she cannot bear the idea of walking out on the families she has met or the women who continue to suffer because of the emptiness of losing their loved ones. As a result of their investigations, Erika and David start receiving anonymous threats. Nonetheless, having repeatedly comforted indifference and impunity, they decide to take on their battle to unmask the killers in this story based on true events.

Romantic fantasy set in Mexico during the early 20th century. A young couple is blocked from marrying by the demands of the young woman's cold and selfish mother. To be near his love, the young man marries her sister, and she expresses her passion for him through her cooking.

Three short films with magical realist elements, based on shorts stories by Gabriel García Márquez. In the 1st, El espejo de dos lunas, a young woman who is about to wed the son of a prominent family discovers that she can see through time in her bedroom mirror, and embarks on a steamy romance with an unusual soldier. In the 2nd, Ladrón de Sábado, a lonely woman whose husband is away far too often finds herself strangely attracted to the bandit who breaks into her mansion. In the 3rd, Contigo en la distancia, a story unfolds about an ill-fated love.

Sonia's causes commotion in her village during a time of revolution. Recently betrothed to a young community leader, Miguel, she finds herself walking along a path in the Selva Lacandona one day when she locks eyes with those of Julio, a rebel fighter ; their passion puts the security of her community and the Zapatista rebels in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Alicia, Sonia's younger sister, learns to interpret reality (as government forces surround the rebels on land and in the air) through a mirror she plays with. Sonia's grandmother, Zoraida, tryies to help the girls see "reality."

Kindly antiques dealer Jesus Gris happens upon an ancient golden device, and soon finds himself possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious, crude American named Angel.

Two siblings are both at defining moments in their lives. Ana is about to be married and Daniel is a teenager discovering his personal and sexual identity. Yet the harmony in their lives is instantly shattered when they are kidnapped and something happens which forces them to confront their desires and fears. Nothing they have known will ever be the same again.

Julia is a phone operator in Mexico City who divides her time between her job, her daughter and the danzon: a cuban dance very popular in Mexico and Central America. Every Wednesday Julia does the danzon with Carmelo in the old 'Salon Colonia'. They've danced for years but barely know each other. One night Carmelo disappears without a trace. Feeling lonely and sad, Julia takes a train to Veracruz, where she knows Carmelo has a brother. That sudden trip will change Julia's life forever.

Travels to the states of Oaxaca and Michoacán to witness the Day of the Dead celebration, one of Mexico's most colorful festivals. Visit Puebla and Oaxaca and surrounding towns to see the activities associated with this festival. After setting the scene in Michoacan, the program traces the theme of death as seen at the market, at home, at and the cemetery. It ends with a segment concerning the philosophy of life and death in Mexico and the dance of "Los Viejitos."

Filiberto, a Mexican migrant worker, returns to his home town after working for three years in the United States.

Rufino is 15 and lives on the streets of Mexico City. He gets money by doing odd jobs and participating in the drug deals of La Seno and El Ochoa, a judicial policeman without scruples who controls the neighborhood in which they live. One day, driven by circumstances, Rufino steals money from El Ochoa, unleashing the persecution and harassment of the policeman.

Elias has committed a great sin and is convinced that his children will be punished by premature death. Hoping to prevent the dreaded punishment, he dedicates his life to build a church in order to gain God's forgiveness. The story is told through the eyes of Aureliano, the youngest son, who will portray the family saga in religious altarpieces.

A filmmaker deals with the current events of his life: his wife has just left him, his father has died, he is an alcholic and desperately trying to finish a screenplay. While coping with all of this he meets an aspiring filmmaker who could disrupt it all.

The story follows the relationship between Roberto and his 17-year-old daughter, Alejandra. Roberto is very depressed after his wife Lucia dies in a car accident and decides to move away with his daughter to a new city. They try hard to adjust to their new life and Alejandra does her best to help, but struggles as she becomes the victim of bullying at her new school. To protect her father, she decides not to tell him anything, but as the bullying gets worse her situation becomes more and more desperate.

A young engineer, Pepe Rey, goes to the provincial town of Orbajosa at his father's suggestion to seek the hand of his cousin Rosario, who lives there with her wealthy mother Dona Perfecta and Perfecta's brother-in-law, an engaging bibliophile called Cayetano Polentinos. But Dona Perfecta is quickly induced by her confessor Padre Inocencio (another ironical name) to favour the claims of Jacintillo (son of his niece Maria Remedios) as a suitor for Rosario.

After a lavish dinner party in a stately mansion, the guests believe themselves unable to leave the premises. As the days pass, the elaborate facades of their social positions collapse and they are forced to live like animals. Finally discovering they are actually free to leave, they go to church to give thanks, where they are again trapped.

The Brute deals with a corrupt landlord in search of a thug to intimidate his restless tenants. The Brute is a thick-headed slaughterhouse worker loyal to the exploiters. He is lusted after by his employer's frustrated wife and at the same time longs for an innocent girl whose father he unfortunately beat to death while working for the landlord to quell the tenant's revolt.

This is the story of three neighbors whose lives are intertwined. Rutilio, the family man who experiences homosexual feelings that shatter his domestic life; Susanita, the spinster who dreams of getting married and falls prey to a thief; and Alma, the virgin who becomes cocaine addicted prostitute.

In 1910 General Porfirio DIaz had been in power for 30 years. Madero headed the democratic movement from exile in San Antonio, Texas. A clamor for revolution was heard throughout the nation. The beginning of the film takes place in Mexico, when a teenage couple decides to help Madero in his battle against dictatorship.

A recently ordained priest is sent to a small parish church in rural Mexico to help an aging priest. Upon arriving at his new post, he meets a beautiful young woman with a religious passion that borders on obsession. Quickly her passion for her faith becomes entangled in a growing attraction to the new priest. When the priest crosses the line that separates temptation from sin, he finds himself torn between the divine and the carnal, the righteous and the unjust.

Dionisio Pinzon is a poor peasant living in a small Mexican town with his mother. Born with a deformed hand, and living a very meager life, Dionisio's luck turns around when he is given a losing gamecock which he nurses back to health. He trains the bird for fighting, begins to make money, and begins a relationship with a gold-digging singer. As he makes money, though, he begins to become more and more corrupt--and it becomes apparent that his winning streak will not last.

Three border-crossing stories are intertwined on the contemporary U.S.-Mexican border at Tijuana: those of a young Mexican mother with three children, seeking to start a new life after her husband's death; of a gringa adventurer looking for her whale-watching brother and for a Chicana friend in search of her roots; and of a campesino seeking to cross the border for better living conditions.

In rural Mexico, during the peasant revolts of the 1970s, Plutarco, his son Genaro and grandson Lucio lead double-lives. On one hand, they are simple country musicians, and on the other they actively support the peasant guerrilla movement against the oppressive government. When the army occupies the village, the rebels are forced to flee and leave their ammunition behind. Making the most of the fact that he looks like an inoffensive violinist, Plutarco has a plan: to recover the ammunition hidden in his cornfield.

A satire of Mexican politics that is an adventure of double lives and double meanings. Enrique, a corrupt businessman is kidnapped. His wife, Elena receives a videotape of Enrique with his lover Rita, who wants to be a Rock singer. When Elena and Rita become friends, they decide that he is not worth rescuing. If that's not enough Enrique, who has been laundering money for his corrupt boss under another identity, now has to deal with his inept kidnappers.

The legend of Erendira tells of a brave young Indian woman who took up arms against the Spanish conquistadors during the 16th century. Though soon to be married, Erendira defies the patriarchal conventions of her people, the Purepecha, by stealing a horse, teaching herself to ride, and using her skills to fight the invading Spaniards. In doing so, Erendira became a potent icon of strength and rebellion for indigenous Mexican cultures.

The morality of the three theological virtues is viewed with suspicion in this group of three short films. In Faith, a woman withstands humiliation while on a pilgrimage intended to effect a cure of her paralytic husband. In Hope, a man allows himself to be crucified for exhibition in order to earn money to help his mother. In Charity, an affluent woman sets off a series of tragic incidents when she scatters a few coins among some poor children.

A chronicle of the Cristero War (1926-1929) fought by the people of Mexico against the atheistic Mexican government. Focuses on retired General Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, who was reluctant to join in the war, and José Luis Sánchez del Rio, a boy who witnessed a priest's murder and later is tortured by the government.

The life of artist Frida Kahlo, from her humble upbringing to her worldwide fame and controversy that surrounded both her and her husband, Diego Rivera.

A racist, bitter U.S. Border Patrol Agent, moonlighting with a vigilante group, goes undercover posing as a Mexican migrant worker in an effort to expose an illegal alien smuggling operation. When the plan blows up, he is trapped with the aliens, in a web of desperation and tyranny that forces him to confront his secret past.

uan, Sara, and Samuel, three teenagers from the slums of Guatemala, travel to the United States in search of a better life. On their journey through Mexico, they meet Chauk, an Indian from Chiapas who doesn't speak Spanish. Traveling together in freight trains and walking on railroad tracks, they soon have to face exploitation and a harsh reality.

Depicts Mexico's struggle for independence against Spain in thirteen half-hour episodes. The miniseries is a definitive portrayal of Mexico's prominent heroes and key historical moments integral to winning the country's freedom.

Interweaves the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe and San Juan Diego, the Indian peasant she appeared to in sixteen-century Mexico, with the present-day story of a brother and sister, both archaeologists from Spain, who decide to travel to Mexico to investigate the case of Our Lady of Guadalupe for themselves.

Pilar and Felipe are two lonely beings who haven't found love or a sense of belonging in life. At the start of their friendship, Felipe decides not to waste any time and, surprisingly, proposes marriage. With an outright refusal, their relationship spins into a desperate and alarming, if adventurous, new direction. Pilar is introduced to Felipe's most intimate mantra, one that has kept him afloat in his worst existential crises: a memorized hypnotic speech from an archaic seventies cassette. Again, their relationship takes a new course.

A heart-warming story of a Mexican orphan who finds a guardian angel.

Told across eight different stories taking place in one 100-year-old room, [the film] explores the secret lives of its inhabitants--the passions, disappointments and destinies--from the beginning of the 20th century to the dawn of the new millennium. This intricately-woven film gives a compelling and profound portrait of modern Mexico from eight of the country's new breed of cinematic storytellers.

After crashing the family car, teen-age Juan walks the streets all day searching for someone to help fix it. He meets an elderly mechanic whose only companion is a boxer dog, a young mother who wants to sing in a punk band, and a teenage mechanic who loves martial arts and Kung Fu philosophy. As the day drags on, it is revealed that the sadness and silence in Juan's family is due to the death of his father.

An immersive, visually stunning portrait of a childhood on the margins of society ..., La Laguna tells the story of a Mayan boy's remarkable journey from childhood to adolescence. While Yu'uk and his younger brother José enjoy a childhood of uncommon freedom in the rainforests of southern Mexico, Yu'uk's family's problems begin to mount and leaving his village - and his beloved little brother - may be his family's only hope.

When in San Pedro de los Saguaros, the mayor is lynched by a group of indigenous people, the old junkyard operator Juan Vargas is named the Temporary Municipal President. This makes him believe that his dream of power is going to come true; but when confronted with the problems of the place, he decides to resign. However, his boss obliges him to stay by telling him that he's been touched by Herodes Law and gives to him the constitution as an aid and a gun. He soon discovers the delights of power applying the law along the way and provoking reactions that get out of control.

Tells the parallel stories of nine-year-old Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. In the hopes of providing a better life for her son, Rosario works illegally in the U.S. while Rosario's mother cares for Carlitos in Mexico. Mother and son face daunting challenges and obstacles to reunite, but are sustained by their constant hope of finally being together again.

La Monja Alferez: On the desolated coast of Veracruz, seventeen-year-old Sebastián takes over running his uncle's small and cozy rent-by-the hour motel. There he meets Miranda, a regular customer who comes to the motel to meet a lover who always keeps her waiting. As Sebastián and Miranda get to know each other, an ambiguous game of seduction begins between them. El Monje Blanco: The arrival of a new monk causes a stir in a town due to the great mystery that surrounds him.

On the desolated coast of Veracruz, seventeen-year-old Sebastián takes over running his uncle's small and cozy rent-by-the hour motel. There he meets Miranda, a regular customer who comes to the motel to meet a lover who always keeps her waiting. As Sebastián and Miranda get to know each other, an ambiguous game of seduction begins between them

A Mexican peasant finds himself drawn uncontrollably to thoughts of crossing the border to find work and a more dignified life for his wife. The struggles get harder and he decides to set out on this dangerous journey, guided by faith and determination.

When Mama Santos declares, 'Something bad is going to happen' in Presagio, it becomes a bad omen rather than a mere statement. Her provincial town quickly transforms from a close-knit village into a virtual ghost town. Few people in can find work; guilt and hatred permeate the community with devastating results. As Mama Santos watches one resident after another vacate the premises, her self-fulfilling prophecy comes full circle.

Like the rest of the day-laboring migrant workers who gather together each morning on a southwestern American strip mall sidewalk, Jesus and Fausto struggle to get ahead in El Norte. But when a callous gringo boss strands them in the middle of a community that exploits them one minute and insults them the next, the two young men cock their sawed off shotgun and calmly take a troubled housewife hostage in her own home. "Why are you doing this?," asks Karen, a strung-out and paranoid divorcee with little left to lose. "Por la dinero," replies Jesus. Before Los Bastardos reaches its shockingly violent climax, Jesus, Fausto, and Karen will have mapped out a contemporary North American wasteland of affectless, benumbed amorality far surpassing mere greed.

A tale of two unique women who bond while recuperating in a hospital. Martha, a mother of four rambunctious and imaginative children, finds solace when she meets the younger woman, Claudia, and quickly the two build a strong relationship. When Martha invites Claudia to live with her family, Claudia unwittingly takes on the responsibility of becoming a surrogate mother to Martha's children.

Set in the 1950s in Mexico City's slums. A gang of juvenile delinquents cause misery to those less fortunate, while staying devoted to one another. El Jaibo escapes jail and reunites with his street gang that he leads. When el Jaibo goes after Julian the man who el Jaibo believes put him in jail, he enlists the help of the youngest member of the gang, Pedro. Pedro is later accused of the crime and sent to a juvenile rehabilitation program, where he learns to be a better person due to the kindness of the principal. However, when Pedro tells the police that el Jaibo is the one who killed Julian, Julian goes after Pedro and kills him, only to eventually be shot and killed by the police and he tries to flee the scene.

The Young One: The game warden of a Carolina preserve and the teenage girl who lives on the island are isolated until jazz musician Traver arrives, on the run from a lynch mob. Gran Casino: In Tampico, two jail escapees start working for an oilman who is fighting a local casino owner. When the oilman disappears, his sister comes to take over the business, and finds it being run by one of the men. Believing that he has killed her brother to keep the wells for himself, she starts working as a singer in the same casino where her brother disappeared.

Set in a small 16th century Mexican village. Macario is a poverty-stricken peasant who goes on a hunger strike, hoping that someone will take pity on him and give him a turkey dinner. Macario's wife steals a turkey, and just as Macario is about to eat his food, he is visited by Death. The grim reaper offers to bestow magical powers upon Macario in exchange for part of the meal. Macario is gifted with the ability to restore health to sick people, but he is permitted to utilize this gift only upon persons of Death's choosing. At first, Macario is lauded as a hero, but before long he is being shunned as an instrument of Satan. Macario's last effort to redeem himself causes him to renege on his bargain with Death.

Presents the three-generation saga of the Sanchez family as told by the eldest son. From the beginnings of his father's journey from Mexico to California in the 1920s, to his brother, Chucho's, tragic rebellion of the 1950s, to the realities of modern day, the struggle to live the American dream is sometimes darkened but never diminished for Paco Sanchez and his family.

A small Mexican village threatened by development and how a single act of rebellion rekindles its pride and strength of spirit.

"Left on the doorstep of a monastery as an infant, Marcelino was raised by the Monks. He was well cared for but lonely and missed having a mother. One day he found a special friend in the forbidden attic... hanging on a cross. A friend that would repay Marcelino's kindness by granting him one heat-felt wish."--Container.

An aspiring beauty queen finds herself in the wrong place at the worst possible time amid Mexico's violent drug war. After witnessing a shooting in a nightclub, the young woman is kidnapped and forced to work for gangsters in order the keep her dreams, and her family, alive.

A simple priest tries to live by Christian precepts and becomes an outcast and an outlaw. Using a variation of the Don Quixote theme applied to religion and hypocrisy, this candid comedy presents the impossibility of spiritual purity in a corrupt world.

Richard Burton plays a defrocked clergyman who travels to Mexico to become a tour guide for a busload of spinster school teachers.

A delightful depiction of the adventures, suffering, love affairs and difficulties of two Mexican Jewish girls in the early 1960s.

Pablo, a shy teenager, meets the slightly older Marco. Together they go on a impromptu road trip to the Mexican desert, a trip that will make them face what they mean to each other. This experience will turn Pablo's life around: his points of view, his strength, and his own sexuality. Two guys and a video camera, which will record their friendship, struggles and the possibility to find another destiny.

Follows a Mexican family whose move to the countryside in search of an ideal life results in domestic crisis and class friction. An exploration of the primal conflicts of the human condition.

When Mama Santos declares, 'Something bad is going to happen' in Presagio, it becomes a bad omen rather than a mere statement. Her provincial town quickly transforms from a close-knit village into a virtual ghost town. Few people in can find work; guilt and hatred permeate the community with devastating results. As Mama Santos watches one resident after another vacate the premises, her self-fulfilling prophecy comes full circle.

Sebastián and Helena are two teenagers who live with their dying mother. On the death of their mother and the arrival of Juan, a lower class teenager, a painful clash is unleashed between the brother and sister about life, love and family.

A series of ten short films that come together to celebrate the one hundred years since the Mexican revolution. A powerful and multifaceted compilation that expresses the rich culture and customs of contemporary Mexican society. Stories include the journey of a young Mexican-American woman bringing back her father's body to Mexico for burial, a tuba player living in a small village, children rescuing a priest that they find hanging upside down in a tree and a woman who works in a big box store.

Set entirely in the city residence of a notable, but not ruling-class family of Mexico, this drama explores what happened during a 1968 student uprising, which was brutally suppressed by the government. In the story, the family's two college-aged boys are ardent advocates of change. Despite the vigorous warnings of their parents, the boys have left to attend a street meeting. The family looks out onto the streets as the dramatic events of that time unfold.

With his eighth and most personal film, Alfonso Cuarón recreated the early-1970s Mexico City of his childhood, narrating a tumultuous period in the life of a middle-class family through the experiences of Cleo ..., the indigenous domestic worker who keeps the household running. Charged with the care of four small children abandoned by their father, Cleo tends to the family even as her own life is shaken by personal and political upheavals.

From the rural banana plantation where they play soccer for the village team to the big city stadiums, two brothers have become rivals and battle each other on opposing sides. When a talent scout gets stranded in their tiny town, brothers Beto and Tato are discovered. They are whisked away to Mexico City to play for the big leagues where they quickly achieve fame. Beto is nicknamed 'Rudo' for his hotheaded goalkeeper style and Tato is called 'Cursi' for his peculiar scoring technique. Success leads to excess. Rudo descends into a quagmire of gambling debt and drug abuse. Cursi is distracted by beautiful women and a second career as a pop singer. Having come so far, will the siblings remember their original goal to build a home for their mother?

Simon of the Desert is about the life of devoted 4th century ascetic Saint Simeon Stylites, who waited atop a pillar surrounded by a barren landscape for six years, six months, and six days, in order to prove his devotion to God. Yet the devil, in the figure of a beautiful woman, huddles below, trying to tempt him down.

Fifteen-year-old Frank sells his body to men to survive, but still can't afford his own drug habit. His best friend and dealer helps him out with loans and offers advice on how to bed a woman, something the young gay hustler knows nothing about. Frank's obsession with the pretty blonde, Angelica blossoms, but an older man from Frank's past turns up again, the young boy becomes even more sexually confused and fierce.

"Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra, joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper, who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past. Together they have to rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives."--Container.

Life would be hard for anyone following the unexpected death of their father. But life is harder for young Adrian, Sheila, and Alfredo, because their family is not normal. Theirs is a family of cannibals and their father was the hunter. So not only do they have to cope with their grief, they also have to deal with the hunger. One of them must learn to kill if any of them are going to survive.

Susana is the story of a delinquent girl who escapes from detention and hides out on a remote finca, a Spanish American plantation. There she destroys a rigid, uptight family with her immoral scheming and feminine wiles.

On a Sunday morning in a run down estate, childhood friends Flama and Moko prepare for a day without parents. Arming themselves with junk food, porn, and video games, the pair order pizza and settle down to let the fun begin. However, they soon find their plans interrupted by Ulises, a pizza deliveryman who refuses to leave, and by Rita, a voluptuous 16-year-old neighbor who wants to use their oven to bake a cake.

A comedy about crime in Mexico City and its effects on the city's inhabitants. A filmmaker finds himself the victim of crime and violence as frequently as three times a day.

Out of his love for her, but without any sentimentality, a strong-willed man imposes his dominating will on his weak and sentimental wife, thus bringing her to adultery, almost to insanity, and finally to her death.

Presents the story of an ill-fated love between Teresa, a student activist, and Manolo, an ambitious petty criminal. Takes place in 1957 Barcelona during the Franco dictatorship.

Early one morning Ramon finds the dead body of his secret teenage love, Adela, in the oat fields of Carranco. He covers the naked body with his shirt. Of course the gossip in town is that Ramon's girlfriend has been found murdered and the prime murder suspect, the Gitano (the gypsy) has left town. Later at the local bar, where Justino, the town sheriff and other regular customers discuss what should be done, La Amistad, pointing his flashlight to them shouts "el gitano murdered the girl". Marcelino, a bitter old man pushes Ramon to avenge his girlfriend's murder. Now Ramon will have to prove to the people in his town that he is now a man or leave the town in shame.

Stepping into a small town with the intent of getting revenge, a suspicious man interrupts the lives of the local men and women by summoning their deepest fears and desires.

When Sonia receives the news that her husband's cancer has progressed to a terminal stage, she races to secure the insurance company approval for the care that can help him. Met with indifference and negligence at every turn, Sonia's desperation triggers a primal survival instinct as a series of increasingly violent confrontations unfold. A tale of a distraught woman intent on protecting her family at all costs.

This classic of Mexican cinema follows the adventures of six young men who leave their rural homes to join Pancho Villa's army. Together the men endure hardship, tragedy, and disillusionment for the cause of the Mexican Revolution.

Juan, an older man of Mayan ancestry, falls victim to a mining accident, and embarks on a hallucinatory journey in a Yucatan underground cave world. He is guided along by Vera, an attenuated blue spirit.

This film is an explicit and unflinching exposé of global prostitution. In Bangkok, Thailand, women punch a clock and wait for clients in a brightly lit glass box; in the red-light district of Faridpur, Bangladesh, a madam haggles over the price of a teenage girl; and in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico, crack-addicted women pray to a deity named Lady Death.

This historical drama tells the story of Juana Ines de la Cruz, one of the greatest poets of the Spanish Siglo de Oro. In order to pursue her passion for writing, Juana enters the convent. There, she develops an intimate relationship with the vicereine, who inspires her poetry. But when the forces of the Inquisition invade the convent, the women have only each other to turn to.

Two teens set off on a wild cross-country trip with seductive, 28-year-old Luisa. Lisa schools them in the finer points of passion, but will their mutual desire for her destroy their friendship forever?

Shows how a young American falls for a teenage boy while on holiday in Mexico. Equally smitten, he decides to leave everything he knows and travel to New York in pursuit of true love.

After Iván ... an aspiring chef and young father, meets Gerardo ... at a clandestine gay bar in provincial Mexico, they fall deeply in love. When their secret relationship is discovered by Iván's family, he makes the risky choice to cross the border to try his luck in the United States, promising both his young son and his soulmate Gerardo that he will return. Alone in New York City and faced with the daunting challenges of a newly arrived immigrant, Iván's decision costs him more than he ever imagined.

An eight-part documentary of life in North America before the arrival of Europeans and of the struggles of Indian Nations caused by their contact with other races.

"Exposes the ever-intensifying phenomenon of enforced disappearance in Mexico. A boy and his father disappear one morning, snatched off the road by armed men. Left behind, alone with her daughter, Lulu, a victim who refuses to give in, decides to tell the unacceptable story: the unfillable void, the absence of loved ones, the unanswered questions and the suffocating silence. After 5 years, absence has her living in a limbo that gives way to desire, hope and the struggle to find her 9-year-old son Brandon and her husband, alive."--Container.

Retells the story of the historic 1836 battle in the Texan War of Independence. Facing 4,000 Mexican troops, 186 Texan soldiers and volunteers - including William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie - retreat within the walls of the Alamo, a Franciscan mission that was converted into a military fort. Once inside, the men prepare themselves for what will be a bloody battle to the death. U.S. General Sam Houston leads the charge from the outside. The Texans held the fort for 13 days under siege by General Santa Anna.

Shows how history and art have been brought together in Mexico by such painters as Rivera and Siqueiros. Demonstrates that plastic art is the shared possession of all social and educational levels in Mexico.

This program provides an overview of the Mexican Revolution and traces its human legacy through the Mexican population in San Antonio, Texas. Several prominent Mexican-Americans discuss how the war drove thousands of poor Mexicans across the border into the U.S., and how their descendants are still struggling today for integration into American society. Segregation and exploitation of Mexican farm workers examples of ongoing racial prejudice are discussed, along with cultural contributions by Mexican-Americans in the areas of art, business, and education.

The Blue House, located in Mexico City, is the home where painter Frida Kahlo was born (1907) and would die (1954). She associated with famous people, from her husband, painter Diego Rivera, and Leon Trotsky to André Breton, Sergei Eisenstein, Pablo Neruda, Waldo Frank, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Vassily Kandinsky. This film recalls the great adventures of the house: its parties, its manifestos, its artists, its freewheeling love affairs, its betrayals, as well as its unlikely melding of art and revolution, of Surrealism and Mexico, of the Old and the New Worlds.

This is the definitive profile of one of the most fascinating civilizations of the Ancient World where beauty was balanced by savagery, and mysticism was soaked in blood. Leading scholars trace the rise of the Aztecs from their island in present-day Mexico City to the pre-eminent culture of ancient America, and reveal how the Spanish were able to bring this mighty society to its knees in mere months! Tour the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City, where ongoing excavations are unraveling some of the enduring enigmas of the Aztecs. Director Eduardo Matos Moctezuma provides a behind-the-scenes look at the seat of the ancient empire and reveals astonishing new discoveries.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. travels to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Peru to discover the African influence on Latin America. He examines the shared legacy of colonialism and slavery in a region that imported ten times as many slaves as the United States, and kept them in bondage far longer. Gates finds that the influence of people of African descent has had a massive influence on the history and culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, despite sometimes being forgotten or ignored.

Author Elena Poniatowska described the legendary women of Juchitan, a city in Oaxaca, Mexico, as guardians of men, distributors of food. Artists like Miguel Covarrubias and Frida Kahlo celebrated their beauty and intelligence. Blossoms of Fire shows them in all their brightly colored, opinionated glory as they run their own businesses, embroider their signature fiery blossoms on clothing and comment with angry humor on articles in the foreign press that flippantly and inaccurately depict them as a promiscuous matriarchy. The people interviewed in this film share a strong work ethic and fierce independent streak rooted in Zapotec culture. These qualities have resulted not only in powerful women but also in the regions progressive politics, manifested in their unusual tolerance of homosexuality. Veteran film editor and former Les Blank collaborator Maureen Gosling and codirector Ellen Osborne illuminate the infectious self-confidence of the Juchitecan people. A midwife laughs over a young husband₂s behavior during birth, a gay man cheerfully asserts that, the mom's in charge, in Juchitecan society and many proudly describe the challenges they face in their work and their families. Their lives may be hard, and maintaining Zapotec culture and language may be an ongoing battle, but it₂s plain that not one of these individuals, man, woman, young, old, gay or straight, would willingly change places with anyone in the first world.

For almost 2000 years, the ancient Maya of Central America recorded their history and ideas in an intricate and beautiful hieroglyphic script. Then, in the 16th century, Spanish invaders burned their books and ruthlessly extinguished hieroglyphic literacy. By the 18th century, when stone inscriptions were discovered buried in the jungles of Central America, no one on earth could read them. Breaking the Maya Code is the story of the 200-year struggle to unlock the lost secrets of this ancient civilization.

This is a study of the cultural heritage and traditions of the Totonac people of Veracruz, Mexico, who have resided in this region for thousands of years. The film features rare footage of the Totonac's "voladores" ritual ("the flying dance"). Director Jose Álvarez transports the viewer to a small village in Zapotal, Santa Cruz, as preparations are underway for their rituals. Children are seen learning a traditional dance; women knead, mold, and sculpt clay to produce the Totonac's signature pottery; and boys and men are observed practicing the voladores.

Carlos Fuentes, noted Mexican author talks about his life and his literary work. In addition, Mr. Fuentes gives readings in English & Spanish at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

Presents Mexican customs relating to the care and remembrance of the dead. Discusses the imposition of Spanish Catholicism on traditional Indian beliefs and the purpose in celebrating the Day of the Dead.

Traveler Justine Shapiro starts her journey in Merida, Mexico, the capital of the Yucatan peninsula, where she takes in the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum. She then travels south through Belize to Guatemala. Further south Neil Gibson begins his journey in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose traveling through the Monteverde Cloud Forest before ending his journey in turbulent Nicaragua.

The captivating look at the unconventional life of beloved performer Chavela Vargas, whose passionate renditions of Mexican popular music and triumphant return to the stage late in life brought her international fame.

Examines the 30 year rebellion and conflict between the Mexican government and the indigenous population in Chiapas through interviews with village residents, journalists, politicians, and rebel Zapatista leaders.

This program is the third in a three part series. It is the 13th Katun on the Mayan wheel of favorable times, in the 10th Mayan Katun, and the last days of the Mayan empire at Chichen Itza are at hand. This visually stunning reenactment examines the course of its demise through codices written by Chilam Balam, the last Mayan diviner.

People who immigrate to the U.S. do so because they are looking for a better quality of life--risking their own lives, paying any price to survive--even if this means leaving behind their loved ones. Each year there are an estimated 100,000 unaccompanied minors entering the United States, crossing the US/Mexico border alone to reunite with their mothers. These children's journeys illustrate a problem--presented by the mass media as a security crisis--which is really a question about how social policy, the legal system, and economic pressures conspire against men, women, and children trying to create a life with greater opportunities. A strong tool to help people desirous of finding peaceful and fair solutions to the "problem" of undocumented immigration, this film captures a piece of American history as it unfolds amidst misconceptions, confusion, and ultimately, transition.

A general overview of Mexican life, showing Aztec, Mayan, and Spanish influences. Visits a variety of locations including Mexico City, Chichen Itza, Merida, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Taxco, and Acapulco.

Four part series on the discovery of the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors and the subsequent fall of the Aztec and Inca empires.

The colorful Mexican "Day of the Dead" rituals are explored through popular art and traditions. Experts on anthropology, history, and folk art express their views along with peasants, artisans and housewives who place offerings for their deceased relatives each year on the first and second of November.

Presents the annual commemoration of the Day of the Dead as it is celebrated on the island of La Picanda.

The dangerous journey of poor Central Americans though Mexico as they attempt to sneak into America in search of a better life is brought to the screen in this documentary. The majority of Central Americans live below the poverty line and most are in a constant struggle for survival; desperate to improve their circumstances, many try to leave their home behind and attempt to improve their circumstances by joining the underground economy in America. However, the path through Mexico to America is not a safe or simple one to follow, and each year an estimated 145,000 Central Americans are captured by Mexican police and sent back home. Many suffer brutal treatment at the hands of Mexican authorities, and hunger, disease, and exposure also claims the lives of many undocumented immigrants. Filmmaker Tin Dirdamal interviews a number of Central Americans trying to make their way through Mexico, as well as others who were unsuccessful in their efforts, and a handful of Mexicans sympathetic to the plight of the immigrants.

On a visit to the Rivera Museum, the life, works and pre-Columbian collections of Diego Rivera are presented.

A documentary illustrated by Ignacio Lopez Tarso, telling in songs the struggles and triumphs of the Mexican revolution. These songs tell the stories of battles fought and lives lost, and of the men who changed the course of Mexican history.

El espejo--para los indios americanos simbolizaba el poder, el Sol, la Tierra y sus cuatro rincones, y su gente. Ahora se esta levantando ante el viejo y el nuevo mundo un "espejo" extraordinario para reflejar las difirentes culturas de los paises y pueblos hispanohablantes, junto con los temas, instituciones, creencias y simbolos que han permanecido o cambiado a traves del tiempo. Carlos Fuentes looks for his ancestors in the mix of people that created Latin America: Spanish, Arab, Jewish, Indian, and African. He asks what is unique in their culture that is cause for celebration in the 500th anniversary year of Columbus.
programa 1. Virgen y el toro -- programa 2. Batalla de los dioses -- programa 3. Edad de oro -- programa 4. Precio de la libertad -- programa 5. Tres hispanidades. (No English subtitles)

As Mexico was born through the fusion of two traditions, a unique culture emerged-- one that embraced liberal philosophies, such as those promulgated by Rousseau and Voltaire. Just as the Catholic Church once targeted the indigenous cultures, so too did it seek to suppress this new tradition. Nonetheless, Mexico during this period gave birth to such great philosophers as Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz. This program examines the clash between the emerging culture of the New World and the conquerors from the Old World, who imported the Inquisition.

The treasures brought back from Mexico by the Spaniards soon resulted in the arrival of more Europeans-adventurers, explorers, missionaries. The rush for gold and silver was on. European diseases and forced labor in the mines decimated the Indian populations. The treasure houses were looted and their contents melted down for bullion.

Documents the personal struggles behind the construction of a massive elevated freeway from 2003-2005. With lyricism and compassion, this reveals the medieval nightmare underneath an ambitious utopian dream.

Victor and Fernando, a devoted, unassuming couple from Mexicali, Mexico, find themselves in the center of a legal firestorm over their desire to get married. Weighing all their options, the pair opt to stay in their hometown of Mexicali and fight for their legal rights. With the help of two committed attorneys, Victor and Fernando withstand a seemingly interminable series of bizarre hurdles and bureaucratic nitpicking with grace and dignity.

Food for the ancestors takes a look at one of Mexico's most mysterious festivals, Days of the Dead. On the colorful streets of Puebla, witness such cultural traditions as Mask Dancing Dance of the Volodores performed from a 60-foot pole and artisans creating skull artwork. Share in eating Mexican meat grasshoppers, ant eggs, and mosquitoes. Wait with families at grave-sites, watching for ancestors to return.

Through extensive archive footage, interviews with friends, scholars, and critics, and featuring readings from her diaries, this film offers a portrait of 20th century Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. At twenty-two, she married the artist and muralist Diego Rivera, and they embarked on a stormy, passionate relationship that was to encompass and help define the 'surrealist' revolution. Drawing on the deep-rooted traditions of her culture, Frida created a whole universe composed of fragments of her inner "self" which has a poetic and emotional force in its symbolism and naïve surrealism.

Using rare, never-before-seen footage, family interviews and photographs, The Ribbon That Ties the Bomb explores the intimate details of the life of the infamous Frida Kahlo. This documentary explores her tubulent relationship with Diego Rivera, her scandalous lesbian affairs, and her mastering of the art that depicted her anguished life. Using rare, never-before-seen footage, family interviews and photographs.

Documentary on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, incorporating archival material, journals and letters and interviews with friends and scholars.

Mexico, crimes at the border: In a joint project with the New York Times, Frontline/World correspondent Lowell Bergman investigates the business of human smuggling across the busy ports of entry between Mexico and the United States. In Tijuana, masses of people attempt to cross illegally every day with the help of increasingly organized and expensive smugglers.

For more than 20 years, global economic forces have been dismantling public education in Mexico, but always in the constant shadow of popular resistance. This is the story of that resistance, the story of a grassroots, non-violent movement of public schoolteachers who took Mexico by surprise and who have endured brutal repression in their 25 year struggle to defend public education.

Protest against the World Trade Organization meeting held in Cancun in September 2003. "The WTO is not meeting in Mexico. It is meeting in a non place: a flat, cultural simulacra that appropriates culture and history only in order to destroy it. The WTO's Cancun is a thin strip of hotels looking out over the sea with its back to the city and the jungle. It is an illusion of a place outside of history and geography - where there is no poverty, no memory, and no need to change your dollars. This illusion is one tanned plastic face of the big lie of the Power. A lie that is repeated and enforced in different ways in different places. A lie that sustains and is sustained by massive systemic violence."

Fed up with the mass migration of their community, the small Mexican town of Alberto creates a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction they call La Caminata, a simulated nighttime border crossing, complete with fake border patrol chasing balaclava-clad coyotes. The experience is a cross between adventure tourism and a way for participants, largely middle class Mexican tourists, to experience firsthand the hardships of the border crossing. La Caminata details the story of this unlikely attempt to save a small community, offering a powerful look at the effect of migration in home communities, and opening a view to the immigration debate on the other side.

Lucio Cabañas led one of the most important peasant revolts in Mexico's history. Teacher-turned-guerrilla leader Cabañas was beloved by the poor of South Mexico, scorned by his government, and closely watched by the CIA. In a seven-year campaign of theft, kidnappings, and shootouts, Cabañas acquired a mystique reminiscent of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. Ruthlessly gunned down in 1974 by the Mexican army, Cabañas is remembered fondly in the mountains of Guerrero where he still symbolizes commitment to the poor. Testimonies from former guerrilla fighters, companions, relatives, and historians tell his story and explain why there have been so many armed social uprisings in Mexico in the last century.

Many important events in Ana Maria's life have been disappointing. Will her Quince Años (fifteenth birthday) be any different? Her mother and five siblings are determined that it will be: hoping and struggling to make her Quinceañera a special day, despite a lack of support from her father. Exploring issues of family, faith, and coming of age, La Quinceañera is a touching portrait of a Mexican family's love and devotion to each other.

The harbor of Veracruz, and the harbors of Pánuco and Campeche were the main channels through which African slaves were introduced to Mexico. From there, they were taken to practically all parts of the country to work in mining, cattle raising and other activities. On the shores of Gulf of Mexico, Africans descendents held positions from mine and plantation workers, to servants and even landowners. As a result, important African settlements developed in this region. The area known as Costa Chica was a region very much isolated until thirty years ago. Today we find in this region clearly differentiated with Afromexican phenotype communities. Most of the black population was taken there by the Spanish to replace indigenous labor, mainly as foremen and cattle hands, while others drove pack animals and arrived to the region to settle. Those escaping slavery found a fitting place on the coast to keep their freedom. Costa Chica, one of the regions least known by Mexicans, constitutes one of the most interesting examples of cultural mingling between Western Hemisphere Indians, Africans and Europeans, producing an entire coastal culture on the Pacific Shore. This documentary details the history of Mexico's often-overlooked African populations. Drawing on interviews and archival photographs, the film traces the slavery of the colonial era to today's Afro-Mexican communities in Guerrero, Oaxaca, Campeche, Morelos and Veracruz. This film also argues that Mexico's famous mestizaje includes the important contributions of African groups, as well as Spaniards and Indians.

Emilio Zapata, southern leader of the 1910-20 Mexican Revolution, has inspired millions ... and the revolution lives on through this myth. This video tells the history of Zapata and the agrarian revolution he led. Zapata's legacy lives on in old Emeterio Pantale?n, who rode with Zapata.

On December 22, 1997, in the southernmost Mexican province of Chiapas, 45 indigenous residents of Acteal, who had taken refuge in the village church, were massacred by paramilitary troops. Most of those killed were children and women (five of them pregnant). The Acteal villagers were members of the pacifist group "Las Abejas" (The Bees), supporters of the newly emergent Zapatista Army of National Liberation, but who renounced that organization's violent methods. Although the murders of the unarmed peasants garnered worldwide news coverage, no serious government investigation of the atrocity was ever conducted. A massacre foretold chronicles these historic events, including the 1994 emergence of the Zapatistas, the Mexican army's attacks on rural peasant communities involving destruction of homes, forced displacement of entire communities, and disappearances and murders meant to terrorize the indigenous population and government negotiations with the Zapatistas. In addition to archival footage including scenes of those seeking refuge in the church photographed just hours before they were killed, as well as meetings between Zapatista and Mexican government representatives, and comments by Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos, the film features moving interviews with massacre survivors and eyewitnesses, the Bishop of Chiapas, human rights activists, and a lawyer for Las Abejas.

The Maya are best known for their spectacular architecture that made up their city centers, but they are also the most misunderstood of the great ancient civilizations. First, they were not the blood thirsty warrior society as they are often portrayed; and second, they were the world's first environmental farmers, creating a thriving agriculture society on poor land through advanced farming techniques and a profound sensitivity to their environment.

While Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages, the Maya of Central America were developing a culture responsible for a complicated writing system, mathematic and astrological calculations and archeological marvels. Explore ruins in the jungles of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to understand a people both sophisticated and bloodthirsty and a society that collapsed with mysterious speed.

Examines the rise of Mexico's economy, and the series of crises which led to economic collapse. Includes interviews with members of Mexico's finance community and its micro-business association CAME.

This is the story of Mexican women who have fought, and continue to fight, for equality and women's rights. They are women looking for children kidnapped during political pogroms, journalists, writers, and political activists.

This program defines Mexico City's globalization in terms of winners and losers, examining how, in the world's largest metropolis, immigration challenges are linked to poverty and population influx from surrounding rural areas. Contrasting the city's high-tech facilities and fashionable neighborhoods with its sprawling slums and struggling inhabitants, the program outlines the relationship between foreign investment and the worldwide need for cheap labor, which Mexico and its indigenous peoples readily supply. Glimpses into a tech-savvy youth culture and the persistent Zapatista movement reinforce the capital's nickname: City of Contrasts.

Filmed over the course of ten days, following four men into the world of illegal border-crossing between Mexico to United States. Director Tommy Davis tags along with the four men as the embark upon a 120 mile journey across the Texas desert, evading the U.S. Border Patrol and fighting off dehydration and hypothermia, they ultimately come face to face with death.

Frida Kahlo: (July 6, 1907--July 13, 1954) was a Mexican painter who depicted the indigenous culture of her country in a style combining Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. An active communist supporter, she was the wife of Mexican muralist and cubist painter Diego Rivera. Kahlo was noted for her exceptional beauty and unconventional appearance. Frida Freddy Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon in her parents' house in Coyoacan, which at the time was a small town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Her father was Guillermo Kahlo (1872-1941), Frida's mother, Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez, was of primarily indigenous descent mixed with Spanish and a very devout Catholic.
Elena Poniatowska: (born May 19, 1932, in Paris, France) is a Polish-Mexican journalist and author. Poniatowska was born in Paris to Prince Jean Evremont Poniatowski Sperry and Paula Amor-Escandon. Her father was a Polish nobleman. Her mother was a Mexican citizen of mixed French ancestry. Poniatowska fled France with her mother from World War ll.The family settled in Mexico City. In 1949 Elena was sent to study in the United States. She returned to Mexico in 1953 and started her career as journalist working for the Mexican newspaper La Jornada. She is best known for her 1971 work La noche de Tlatelolco, in which sherelates her interviews with survivors and families of those who died in the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre in Mexico City.

Octavio Paz reads from the Collected Works of Octavio Paz, 1957-1987.

This program examines the influences of Marxism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, along with existentialism and surrealism, throughout Octavio Paz's work. Archival material and commentary from friends, family, and scholars provide a comprehensive portrait of this extraordinary man and his work.

Filmed over 25 years ago. The film dramatizes the story of Juan Diego, a simple Aztec Indian who lived in sixteenth century Mexico in the aftermath of the Spanish conquest. It relates the story of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531.

Explores the growing popularity of the Zapatista movement and its leader known as "Subcomandante Marcos", who has given a voice to the nation's poor and indigenous people during the controversial 2006 Presidential election. With gripping footage of police violence and in-depth interviews, this video explores the growing political and socioeconomic crisis which will have far reaching effects for both Latin America and beyond.

This documentary looks at the Aztec culture of death; the conquest of Cortes; apparitions, miracles, conversions and the end of human sacrifice; the missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, signs, wonders, conversions and the end of abortion; the culture of life with testimonies of mothers saved from abortion; and the Pope and the Mother of Hope.

This program is part two of a three part series. Using the first known settlement of the Mayan culture as a setting, this program illuminates several important rites and rituals of the Mayans who lived there through the interpretations of the many inscriptions found on the walls of its main buildings. The rituals that are explained and reenacted include the daily blood ritual, at which Mayan warriors, slicing into their own flesh, hoped to secure everlasting life and perpetuate the seasonal corn crop essential to the culture's existence.

He led the first raid of a foreign force onto U.S. soil since the war of 1812. Outlaw, soldier, general and politician, he led a life that ended in violence but left him a legend. Pancho Villa is one of the most compelling figures of the century. A notorious outlaw, he rose to the rank of general during the Mexican Revolution and later was governor of Chihuahua.

On January 1st, 1994, the indigenous Zapatista National Liberation Army took over five towns and five hundred ranches in southern Mexico. Three years later the Zapatistas and their charismatic leader, guerrila poet subcomandante Marcos, are trapped in the Lacandora jungle. Surrounded by 30,000 Mexican army troops, they struggle to maintain a nervous cease-fire.

"In December 2005 Toño Zuniga was picked up off the street in Mexico City, Mexico, and sentenced to 20 years for a murder he knew nothing about. A friend of Toño's contacted two young lawyers, Roberto Hernández and Layda Negrete, who gained prominence in Mexico when they helped bring about the release of another innocent man from prison. Looking into Toño's case, Roberto and Layda managed to get a retrial--on camera--and enlisted the help of filmmaker Geoffrey Smith to chronicle the saga. Shot over three years with unprecedented access to the Mexican courts and prisons, this dramatic story is a searing indictment of a justice system that presumes guilt."--Container.

Examines the devastating, untold story of British Petroleum's Corexit cover-up following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill is well-known as one of the largest environmental disasters in United States history. But what is not well-known is that BP, with U.S. government approval, attempted to sink the oil rather than clean it up, using the controversial dispersant Corexit--and then covered up the practice. Some estimates are that 75 percent of the oil, 150 million gallons, is still unaccounted for. The film questions whether public safety and environmental health took a backseat to restoring the tourist-based economy, and exposes the symbiosis between big oil and the U.S. government.

In the early 1830s Texas was about to explode. Although under Mexican rule, the region was home to more than 20,000 U.S. settlers agitated by what they saw as restrictive Mexican policies. Mexican officials, concerned with illegal trading and immigration in Texas, were prepared to fight hard to keep the province under their control. Caught in the middle were the area's 4,000 Mexican Texans or Tejanos who were forced to choose a side. The conflict pitted brother against brother and devastated the community. This film shows the Tejano gamble for a more prosperous future in an independent Texas proved tragic.

Discusses the life and work of artist Rufino Tamayo. Tamayo, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, was noted for his portrayal of indigenous Mexican culture in modern forms.

A documentary on how people who depend on the Ayuquila River for their survival worked together with a sugar mill, the main polluter of the Mexican river, towards a sustainable future.

The Sea of Cortez, alongside Baja California, is a biological wonderland that supports vast numbers of sea birds and marine mammals. This program takes us close to sea lions, blue-footed boobies, and various gull species, the camera and narrative track explains the relationships between members of the same species, different species, and between the animal life and its environment.

A new find near Mexico City is turning history on its head. Over 550 bodies were found, more than 40 of which appear to be European, indicating that the Aztecs not only resisted the invaders, they sacrificed them to their gods.

This film "tells the haunting story of the more than 350 kidnapped, raped and murdered young women of Juárez, Mexico. Visually poetic, yet unflinching in its gaze, this compelling investigation unravels the layers of complicity that have allowed for the brutal murders of women living along the Mexico-U.S. border. In the midst of Juárez's international mystique and high profile job market, there exists a murky history of grossly underreported human rights abuses and violence against women. The climate of violence and impunity continues to grow, and the murders of women continue to this day. Relying on what Portillo comes to see as the most reliable of sources, the testimonies of the families of the victims, Señorita Extraviada documents a two-year search for the truth in the underbelly of the new global economy.The perpetrators of these crimes have not been apprehended, even though these crimes have been occurring regularly since 1993.

Discusses the life and work of Jose David Alfaro Siqueiros, one of Mexico's foremost artists of the twentieth century, and how he played a leading role in the political revolution of the '30's.

Illuminates the complex historical, social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shaped the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the struggle to establish a democratic, stable, and prosperous nation. Considers the legacy of the revolution and its relation to the 1968 massacre at the Tlatelolco housing project in Mexico City. Features extensive archival material and interviews with Zapatistas and historians. (In English).

Despite defeating the Texians of the Alamo, he lost the war of Texas Independence and gave away half of Mexico (including Texas, New Mexico, and Oregon).

This program, part one of a three part series, dramatizes the history of Teotihuacan through reenactments of the everyday life of its multicultural inhabitants. Traces the events leading to its eventual rise to dominance as the stronghold of Aztec rule in Central Mexico and the city's abandonment in the face of barbarian invasions by tribes from the north.

Tells the dramatic story of a war in which Mexico lost almost half of its national territory to the United States. This critically-acclaimed documentary series explores the events surrounding the conflict between two neighboring nations struggling for land, power and identity.

This video details the sufferings of impoverished, indigenous peoples at the hands of paramilitary forces in this region of southern Mexico, an outgrowth of the Mexican government's four-and-a-half-year conflict with the Zapatista Army for National Liberation. Those interviewed include survivors of a Dec. 22 massacre that left 45 unarmed villagers dead in Acteal.

During the 1970s and 1980s, paramilitary groups and the "White Brigade", of the Federal Security Directorate, abducted hundreds of people in Mexico, for their alleged involvement in guerrilla groups. Since those days the government of Mexico has refused to give information about the whereabouts of the disappeared politicians. Relatives of those missing formed a political committee in 1977 called EUREKA, and for more than 30 years have demanded freedom for 557 political disappearances in the "Dirty War." This documentary tells the story of the Eureka Committee, who for over thirty years of relentless struggle, has managed to recover o 148 of the missing alive.

Features the life of Mexico's revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata, who works for the son-in-law of the dictator Porfirio Diaz. He is in love with the wealthy Rosa Rendon, daughter of a rich land owner of English descent. However, they realize that their relationship cannot be a lasting one as they face many problems.

Zapatista is the definitive look at the uprising in Chiapas, Mexico. It is the story of a Mayan peasant rebellion armed with sticks and their word against a first world military. It is the story of a global movement that has fought 175,000 federal troops to a standstill and transformed Mexican and international political culture forever.

In Mexico folk art is still present. Some Mexicans dedicate their lives to preserving their traditions, others to celebrating them. The burning of the Judas is a custom that is in danger of becoming extinct. One of the places that is working to preserve this tradition is the City of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and it is celebrated during Easter week. The Judas or figures are created to symbolize different issues. Some of them are more traditional than others. They could represent social injustices, evil, corrupted officials, illness, sins, and religious beliefs. It is considered a protest against public officials who do not fulfill their obligations as they should, and it reflects the anxiety, courage and humor of the town and their disappointment.