The dream lives up there, in “El Norte”

Thirty-five years have passed, but this story is as relevant as it was in 1984. In his film El Norte, Gregory Nava wanted to give a heart and soul to the undocumented immigrants and refugees that risk their lives coming to the North. El Norte tells the story of siblings Rosa and Enrique, who flee to the United States in search of a better life, and face challenges of both getting to “el norte,” as well as assimilating in this country. Start Hispanic Heritage Month viewing El Norte in a theatre close to you. All proceeds will go to the victims of the El Paso massacre.

“El Norte.” The north, that place looked up to, that country of prosperity, of opportunity. The north, those states where violence can be escaped, where education can be attained, where goals can be achieved, where wealth and well-being is available, where life is safe. The north, that place where the American Dream is lived, that place where human rights are protected. The north, the United States, the country of diversity and inclusion.

At least that’s the ideal.

In the last few years, our community has gone through attack after attack, with the current administration policies, from family separation to their criminalization for taking care of their families, and rippling into society, making our community the target of assaults such as the El Paso massacre.

In today’s environment, the film El Norte, although 35-years-old, is as must-see as ever. This story is still repeating every day, and the film not only puts a face to the hundreds of immigrants and refugees crossing the southern border looking for the American Dream, but it tells their story from their perspective, allowing our community to take charge of our narrative and our realities, bringing our voice to a divisive debate.

With Rosa and Enrique, we see their lives back in Guatemala as Mayan workers, we understand why they decide to make the dangerous trip to the north, we watch the difficulties they go through as undocumented immigrants once they reach the promised land, and we witness the tough personal choices they have to make between work and family.

El Norte is the story of our community told by our community, with the hope of giving that heart and soul to the million of undocumented immigrants and refugees that are in the simple search of our human rights, among them, the right to life, liberty, and security. With El Norte, director Nava wants “to inspire us and our nation to be more compassionate, because there is no wall that can hold back a dream.”

Join the start of Hispanic Heritage Month by viewing El Norte at a theatre near you: “[Bring] friends and family as well as people who do not understand the issue, and create a dialogue to change the current narrative of hate and intolearance that plagues our nation,” wrote Nava on an email to followers. “I know that if we work together, we can build something much stronger than a wall—we can build a bridge.”

Find a theatre showing in your town, and don’t forget to share your experience and tag the actors David Villalpando (@villapandotv) and Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez (@ZaideSilvia), and the organizers, @Pantaya and @FathomEvents. #ElNorte