Suggested Reading/Viewing for US

Suggested Reading/Viewing for US-Mexico Border Posts
The reading/viewing resources listed below have hugely informed my experience living in
Ciudad Juarez, working on the visa line, and traveling in Mexico. While here, I read dozens of
books, hundreds of print/online articles, and saw a ton of movies/documentaries, but the ones
below the “best of the best”.
Books:
I left out the obvious ones like Murder City, The Last Narco, Daughters of Juarez, and Amexica:
War Along the Border Line, among plenty more. Like many of you, I read them as I was arriving
in Juarez, but they miss the mark. They emphasize death and destruction but with no analysis
and, at best, fragmentary info.
This Love is Not for Cowards: Soccer and Salvation in Ciudad Juarez
(Robert Andrew Powell). Amazon description: More than 10 people are
murdered every day in Ciudad Juárez, the city hardest hit in Mexico’s
drug war. And yet more than a million people still live there. They even
love their impoverished city, proudly repeating its mantra: "Amor por
Juárez." Nothing exemplifies the spirit and hope of Juarenses more than
the Indios, the city's beloved but hard-luck soccer team. Sport may seem
a meager distraction, but to many it's a lifeline. It drew charismatic
American midfielder Marco Vidal back from Dallas to achieve the athletic dreams of his
Mexican father. Team owner Francisco Ibarra and Mayor José Reyes Ferriz both thrive on
soccer. So does the dubiously named crew of Indios fans, El Kartel. In this honest, unflinching,
and powerful book, Robert Andrew Powell chronicles a season of soccer in this treacherous city
just across the Rio Grande, and the moments of pain, longing, and redemption along the way.
The Devil’s Highway (Luis Alberto Urroa). Amazon description: In May
2001, 26 Mexican men scrambled across the border and into an area of
the Arizona desert known as the Devil's Highway. Only 12 made it safely
across. In this true story, Urrea tracks the paths those men took from
their home state of Veracruz all the way norte. Their enemies were
many: the U.S. Border Patrol ("La Migra"); gung-ho gringo vigilantes
bent on taking the law into their own hands; the Mexican Federales;
rattlesnakes; severe hypothermia and the remorseless sun, a "110
degree nightmare" that dried their bodies and pounded their brains.
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Down by the River (Charles Bowden). Amazon description: Lionel Bruno
Jordan was murdered on January 20, 1995, in an El Paso parking lot.
Down by the River is the true narrative of how a murder led one
American family into the world of drugs and cartels and how it all but
destroyed them. It is the story of how one Mexican drug leader
outfought and outthought the U.S. government, of how major financial
institutions were fattened on the drug industry, and how the
governments of the U.S. and Mexico buried everything that happened.
All this happens down by the river, where the public fictions finally end
and the facts read like fiction. This is a remarkable American story about drugs, money, murder,
and family.
Border: The US-Mexico Line (Leon Metz). No description available in
Amazon, but the book provides border history beginning in Mexico’s preindependence era and goes through Ronald Reagan’s Immigration
Reform and Control Act (IRCA) or 1986-87.
The US-Mexico Border into the Twenty-First Century (Paul Ganster and
David Lorey). Amazon description: Systematically exploring the dynamic
interface between Mexico and the United States, this comprehensive
survey considers the historical development, current politics, society,
economy, and daily life of the border region. Now fully updated and
revised, the book traces the economic cycles and social movements from
the 1880s through the beginning of the twenty-first century that created
the modern border region, showing how the border shares
characteristics of both nations while maintaining an internal coherence that transcends its
divisive international boundary. The authors conclude with an in-depth analysis of the key
issues of the contemporary borderlands: industrial development and maquiladoras, NAFTA,
rapid urbanization, border culture, demographic and migration issues, the environmental crisis,
the border Native Americans, U.S. and Mexican cooperation and conflict at the border, drug
trafficking, and the security crisis brought by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super-Athletes, and the Greatest Race the
World Has Never Seen (Christopher McDougal). Amazon description:
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara
Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or
injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured
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runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his
readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North
America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit,
and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners
against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your
body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
God’s Middle Finger: Into the Lawless Heart of the Sierra Madre (Richard
Grant). Amazon description: 20 miles south of the Arizona-Mexico
border, the rugged, beautiful Sierra Madre mountains begin their
dramatic ascent. Almost 900 miles long, the range climbs to nearly
11,000 feet and boasts several canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon.
The rules of law and society have never taken hold in the Sierra Madre,
which is home to bandits, drug smugglers, cave-dwelling Tarahumara,
opium farmers, and cowboys. Outsiders are not welcome; drugs are the
primary source of income; murder is all but a regional pastime. Fifteen years ago, journalist
Richard Grant developed what he calls "an unfortunate fascination" with this lawless place.
With gorgeous detail, fascinating insight, and an undercurrent of dark humor, God's Middle
Finger brings to vivid life a truly unique and uncharted world.
El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency (Ioan Grillo). Amazon
description: The world has watched, stunned, the bloodshed in Mexico.
40,000 murdered since 2006; police chiefs shot within hours of taking
office; mass graves comparable to those of civil wars; car bombs
shattering storefronts; headless corpses heaped in town squares. Who
are these mysterious figures who threaten Mexico's democracy? What is
El Narco? The conflict spawned by El Narco has given rise to paramilitary
death squads battling from Guatemala to the Texas border (and
sometimes beyond). In this "propulsive ... high-octane" book (Publishers Weekly), Ioan Grillo
draws the first definitive portrait of Mexico's cartels and how they have radically transformed in
the past decade.
Mañana Forever? Mexico and the Mexicans (Jorge Castañeda). Amazon
description: Why are Mexicans so successful in individual sports, but
deficient in team play? Why do Mexicans dislike living in skyscrapers?
Why do Mexicans love to see themselves as victims, but also love
victims? And why, though the Mexican people traditionally avoid
conflict, is there so much violence in a country where many leaders
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have died by assassination? In this shrewd and fascinating book, the renowned scholar and
former foreign minister Jorge Castañeda sheds much light on the puzzling paradoxes of his
native country. Mañana Forever is a compelling portrait of a nation at a crossroads.
Perpetuating Power: How Mexican Presidents Were Chosen (Jorge
Castañeda). Amazon description: The widely acclaimed explication of
Mexican politics from "one of the most insightful Mexican intellectuals"
(The New York Times Book Review). Jorge Castañeda, Mexico's former
foreign minister, has been both an insider and an outsider in Mexico's
political system. In Perpetuating Power, he lays bare the often
mystifying workings of power in Mexico, offering readers what the New
York Times Book Review called "an unusually revealing explication of the
inner workings of three decades of presidential succession."
Opening Mexico: The Making of a Democracy (Julia Preston and
Samuel Dillon). Amazon description: Opening Mexico is a narrative
history of the citizens' movement which dismantled the one-party
state that dominated Mexico in the 20th century, and replaced it with
a lively democracy. Told through the stories of Mexicans who helped
make the transformation, the book gives new and gripping behindthe-scenes accounts of major episodes in Mexico's recent politics. The
narrative focuses largely on the 1997 gubernatorial elections in the
state of Chihuahua, which the PRI lost to the PAN and which marked the first major election the
PRI lost in over 70 years.
Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People (Ramon
Eduardo Ruiz). Amazon description: A narrative study of Mexico's
tumultuous origin and development--from its Olmec, Aztec and
Mayan heritage to its present-day incarnation as an independent, but
struggling, modern country. Winner of a Commonwealth gold medal
for Nonfiction and lauded as one of the five best history books of the
year by the Los Angeles Times, this epic history of Mexico tells the
story of that country's tumultuous origin and development, from its
Olmec, Aztec, and Mayan heritage to its present-day incarnation as a dependent, struggling and
economically unstable modern country. The history of Mexico, writes Ramón Eduardo Ruiz, one
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of our most distinguished Mexicanists, is one long tragedy intermittently punctuated by
triumph.
The Life and Times of Mexico (Earl Shorris). Amazon description: The Life
and Times of Mexico is a grand narrative driven by 3,000 years of history:
the Indian world, the Spanish invasion, Independence, the 1910
Revolution, the tragic lives of workers in assembly plants along the
border, and the experiences of millions of Mexicans who live in the
United States. Mexico is seen here as if it were a person, but in the Aztec
way; the mind, the heart, the winds of life; and on every page there are
portraits and stories: artists, shamans, teachers, a young Maya political
leader; the rich few and the many poor. The result is a work of magnificent scope and profound
insight into the divided soul of Mexico.
The US and Mexico: The Bear and the Porcupine (US Ambassador Jeffrey
Davidow). The bear and the porcupine, a parable created by the author,
introduces the hypersensitive Mexican porcupine and the insensitive
American bear and their difficult relationship. This image has now entered
Mexican political discourse. Davidow outlines the forces drawing Mexico
and the US together as well as the ignorance and arrogance on both sides,
which impede greater cooperation. His expansive study includes a
discussion of the two "cowboy presidents" Bush and Fox. Davidow points
up how the US understanding of what was truly happening in the Mexican drug world was
frequently manipulated, and notes that the US immigration policy has been a failure according
to any criteria. Davidow recounts many humorous details about what an embassy must go
through when attending to important congressional visits, especially presidential ones. He ends
the book with an epilogue envisioning the future of US-Mexican relations.
Viewing material:
8 Murders a Day. 2011 documentary by El Paso-based indie filmmaker
Charlie Minn. Very insightful documentary into Juarez’s period of killing,
especially 2008-2010. WARNING: Very strong footage, including newsreel
of the March 2010 killing of US Consulate CDJ personnel. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMVJgpYiXMQ.
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Murder Capital of the World. Kind of a part II to the above, also by Charlie
Minn. WARNING: Very strong footage, including newsreel of the March
2010 killing of US Consulate CDJ personnel. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyX1BlA4qGY.
La frontera infinita. Amazon description: Every year, hundreds of
thousands of Central Americans enter Mexico on their way to the United
States. La frontera Infinita is the story of the will and hope of these
individuals. The story is told through the words of those men and women
vying for a better life on their treacherous and endless journey. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75C8ea77tiw.
La bestia. For close to two decades, thousands of Central American
migrants have lost their dreams, limbs and even their lives trying to
illegally cross Mexico. Crossing Mexico is the insurmountable challenge
that faces all those whose only goal is to reach the United States. The
nightmare begins the moment they step onto Mexican soil. Here they
must jump on to a cargo train known simply as The Beast , a trip
comparable only to hell itself. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka1fehUoqA8.
Presunto culpable. Amazon description in Spanish: A pesar de ser inocente
del homicidio del cual lo acusaron, Toño Zúñiga es condenado a 20 años
de prisión. Trágicamente, un Tribunal de Apelación de la Ciudad de
México confirma la sentencia, dejando a Toño casi sin perspectivas de
recuperar su libertad. Gracias a la tenacidad de amigas y su novia, Toño
logra hablar con dos abogados jóvenes, Layda Negrete y Roberto
Hernández, quienes deciden pelear el caso y filmar sus esfuerzos de
liberarlo. Cuando descubren que su abogado defensor había falsificado su
cédula profesional, la condena se anula y las piezas están puestas para que Toño sea juzgado
nuevamente. Pero esta vez, su reencuentro con el Juez que lo había condenado dos años atrás;
con los Policías Judiciales que lo detuvieron, y con el Testigo que lo acusó, será videograbado.
Entire movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VtS55jUufc.
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De panzazo. Documentary about Mexico’s public education system. Entire
movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4BbdUds90s. Elba Esther
Gordillo, who appears numerous times in the movie at the head of the
Mexican teacher’s Union, was jailed recently on corruption/embezzlement
charges, likely one of the first symbolic steps of President Enrique Pena
Nieto’s stated goal of overhauling the national education system.
Los que se quedan. Many Mexicans go to the US to work, leaving family
behind. This documentary addresses the families remaining in Mexico
and their experiences. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saZpNudIU4E.
La pasion de Maria Elena. Amazon description: The Raramuri is an
indigenous people who are native to the hills of Sierra Tarahumara in
Northwestern Mexico. Maria Elena was a 24-year-old of Raramuri
heritage whose son was killed in an incident with a hit and run driver.
When the driver of the car refused to accept responsibility for the crime,
Elena attempted to bring him to justice through the courts, only to find
both the Mexican government and tribal leaders working against her.
The Passion of Maria Elena is a documentary which examines her
determination to make the driver accept responsibility for his actions. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vigS4MqRFFk.
Mi vida dentro. Amazon description: Rosa is a Mexican woman who, in
1999 at the age of 17, illegally crossed the U.S. border and settled in
Austin, Texas. In January 2003, she was arrested and accused with
suspicion of murder and then trialed in August 2005. Documentary
follows her experience going through the US court system as an illegal
alien. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLh1C8yGvF0.
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Gimmee the Power. About Mexican rock/rap band Molotov and their
rebellious music, how it fits into the context of Mexican history, etc.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq6la-0q6fY. This is also
available on Netflix Mexico.
A Place Called Chiapas. Amazon description: A trip into the perilous
state of Chiapas in southern Mexico is taken in this documentary,
which focuses on the Zapatista National Liberation Army and its
mysterious leader, Subcomandante Marcos. Entire movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TffwElt_UU.
Acorazado. Comedy filmed in Veracruz and Cuba. A Mexican decides
he wants to work in the US, but realizes he lives far from the border.
He decides to make a raft and travel to Miami, faking his way as a
Cuban seeking asylum. He gets knocked off course and ends up in
Cuba instead. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLbr567_NQc.
0.56%: Que le paso a Mexico. Documentary on the 2006 presidential
candidacy of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE4HiUV11uQ.
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La vida breve y precoz de Sabina Rivas. Drama about a Honduran stripper
trying to go to the US. She has been trafficked to the Mexico-Guatemala
border and the movie takes place partly on there. Starring Joaquin Cosio,
one of the best Mexican actors of his generation and himself a Juarez
native. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vz9d5BkBm0.
Los heroes del norte. This is actually a TV series chronicling the
comedic exploits of a Mexican grupera band formed by a corrupt cop,
a Mennonite tuba player, a music conservatory reject, and two thrash
metal enthusiasts. A rags-to-riches story almost entirely set in
Chihuahua and Durango states, plus DF, it could serve as a primer on
Mexican slang. One of many clips on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18pa9tZ--ew. The entire boxed
set is available on Amazon or at your local Sanborns. The second season just began two months
and shows on Televisa usually on Tuesday nights.
El infierno. Movie released in Mexico in 2010 at the height of the drug
wars. Really intense, probably some of the worst dramatic torture
scenes imaginable, one of which made the cover of a 2011 special
edition of Proceso magazine. But in the end, a very appropriate take on
small town life once taken over my cartels. Filmed mostly in northern
Mexico. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suJTY94dH1I
Bala mordida. Great movie about police corruption in Mexico City. Stars
Damien Alcazar and Miguel Rodarte, who are in just about every recent
Mexican movie you can imagine and for good reason- they’re some of
the best actors of their generation. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6YVfTs-018
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Pastorela. Amazon description: The devil is on the loose in this actionpacked comedy. It all starts when Chucho misses the deadline to
reprise his role as the Devil in his church’s annual play. What ensues is
an epic battle that will blur the line between good and evil, as Chucho
fights for a coveted role. Brian comment: Like Heroes del Norte,
probably one of the best primers on Mexican slang you can imagine,
AND provides a great take on contemporary Mexico’s attitude toward
the Catholic Church through humor. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vxF94rLVEc
Salvando al Soldado Perez. Amazon description: Julian Perez, Mexico's
most powerful man, must embark on a mission given to him by the
only authority he respects...his mother. Joined by a colorful band of
unlikely heroes, Julian must risk his life to fulfill his mother's wish and
rescue his brother from the war-ridden prison of the most treacherous
land in the world, Iraq. Brian comment: A humorous take on
Mexican family values, narco-reality, and the country’s international
relations. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRFrGtTPZ4Q
Lucha Libre: Life Behind the Mask. Amazon description: In Mexico,
soccer is a passion… Lucha Libre is a way of life. Next to soccer, Lucha
Libre (Mexican Wrestling is the most popular sport in Mexico and tens
of thousands of fans avidly follow their favorite wrestlers. Lucja Libre:
Life Behind the Mask is a film that explores the life of the Luchador, the
man behind the mask, and the cultures and passion that drive this
incredibly popular sport. The unique aspects of Lucha Libre are
explored by intertwining four stories that span generations of wrestlers
and fans. I) an older Luchador facing the end of his career, II) a
current Luchador carrying on the tradition of his father, III) an
unknown Luchador carrying on tradition of his father, IV) a young boy who hopes to
continue the tradition of his father and grandfather in the sport. Through these stories we
will experience the behind the scenes world of Lucha Libre and live the life of a Luchador.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSq-ZDiEd3U
Coyote: El documental. A Guatemalan coyote decides to film his
final run to “el norte” for posterity. He takes a small group – 3
Guatemalans in total – and documents the entire process of
getting them through Mexico and into the U.S. Reveals a lot of
trade secrets and tricks, etc. Entire movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTy8HpuJOhM
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Rudo y Cursi. Amazon description: The charismatic young stars of Y Tu
Mama Tambien bring dynamic life to a familiar tale of lives ruined by
ambition and rivalry. Rudo y Cursi are the nicknames given to two
brothers who rise from provincial obscurity to stardom in soccer. Cursi
(Gael Garcia Bernal) takes his gift for sport for granted as he dreams of
success as a singer, despite his modest talent. Rudo (Diego Luna) is
ferocious in his dedication to being a goalie, but succumbs to the
compulsive highs of gambling. The arc of their rise and fall is predictable,
but Luna and Garcia Bernal bring such vibrant energy to their roles that
the movie becomes richly involving; the rapport between the actors (who
have been friends since childhood) makes their sibling rivalry potent. Brian comment:
probably no finer movie exists showing Mexico’s love for soccer. And despite Amazon’s
rueful description, the film has a lot of light moments as well. Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAMlwcJchoQ
La ley de herodes. Comical take on how power works in Mexico. Set in
the furthest reaches of rural Mexico during the 1930s when the PRI was
just beginning to formally establish dominion over all of Mexico, bringing
it under state tutelage and introducing peasants to the party’s unique
version of law and order. Also a good movie for understanding Mexico’s
attitude toward its complicated relationship with the US and gringos in
general. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-i9VJpKI3U
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