INTO THE HEART OF MUSIC

Al Otro Lado

by Natalia Almada
(U.S./Mexico, 2005, 66 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
New England Premiere
Introduction by Elijah Wald, musician, music historian, author of Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns, and Guerrillas, and advisor and principal interviewer forAl Otro Lado

For over 200 years corridos—narrative songs, or ballads— have been Mexico's musical underground newspaper and the voice of those rarely heard outside their communities. In recent years, they have focused on the narcotics underworld and Mexican immigrant life. 23-year-old Magdiel, like many in Sinaloa, the drug capital of Mexico, faces two choices to better his life: trafficking drugs or crossing the border into the United States. However, Magdiel has a special talent that could be his ticket out: composing corridos.  From Sinaloa to the streets of South Central and East L.A., Al Otro Lado explores the world of drug smuggling, immigration and the corrido music that chronicles it all.

 VIDEO