June 15 - 29, 2021
The CUNY Mexican Studies Institute and Cinema Tropical present the special online film and conversation series “Mexico on the Hudson,” taking place from June 15 to 29 and celebrating the Mexican community in New York City through the success of recent films including the Mexican Oscar candidate I’m No Longer Here by Fernando Frías, the Independent Spirit Award nominee I Carry You With Me by Heidi Ewing, and the Sundance winner Son of Monarchs by Alexis Gambis.
The series will feature free virtual screenings of three key films—La Ciudad (1998) by David Riker, En el Séptimo Día (2018) by Jim McKay, and I’m Leaving Now by Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda (2019)—combined with panel conversations with filmmakers, scholars, and members of the local community to discuss the Mexican experience in New York City, the ways in which it has changed throughout the years, as well as its legacy and ongoing challenges.
“Mexico on the Hudson” is presented by the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute and Cinema Tropical. Additional support by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) at New York University (NYU) and Celebrate México Now Festival.
Panel Discussions:
New York City’s Mexican Community on the Big Screen
Join filmmakers Armando Croda and Linsdey Cordero (Firmes; I’m Leaving Now) and scholar Luis Bernardo Quesada for a conversation on the multiple cinematic representations of the Mexican community in New York City and the nuances of its local and international impact. Moderated by Carlos A. Gutiérrez, Executive Director, Cinema Tropical.
Panel: Portraying the Mexican Experience in New York City from Outside the Community - A Conversation with Three Non-Mexican Directors
Directors David Riker (La Ciudad), Jim McKay (En el Séptimo Día) and Alexis Gambis (Son of Monarchs) are the creators of three landmark films on the Mexican experience in New York City. Join us in conversation as the trio discusses their research, methodologies, and artistic processes in the making of their groundbreaking films as well as the challenges they faced as directors occupying spaces outside the community itself. Moderated by Pilar Dirickson Garrett, Associate Director, Cinema Tropical.
Thursday, June 17, 5pm - 7:30pm on Facebook Live
Panel: The Making of I Carry You with Me by Heidi Ewing
Director Heidi Ewing artfully blends fiction and non-fiction elements to tell the real-life story of a tender, queer romance between an aspiring chef and a teacher in her latest film I Carry You With Me. Within the scope of the film, the two embark on a treacherous journey from Mexico to New York City with dreams, hopes, and memories in tow. Join director Ewing and the film’s subjects Iván García and Gerardo Zabaleta, as well as the actors Armando Espitia and Christian Vázquez who play them, for a discussion on the process of making the Independent Spirit Award nominated film, which opens in U.S. theaters on June 25.
“New Representations of Difference: Mexican Filmmakers in New York City”
By Luis B. Quesada Nieto, CUNY Graduate Center
Abstract
This essay comments on recent cinematographic productions that explore the complex links between Mexico and New York as part of the ‘Mexico on the Hudson’ Online Film and Conversational Series, organized by the Mexican Studies Institute at City University of New York and the New York based non-profit media arts organization Cinema Tropical. The reflection takes the films I’m Leaving Now (Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda, 2018), En el Séptimo Día (Jim Mackay, 2018), and La Ciudad (David Riker, 1998) as a sample that exemplifies a cultural and political phenomenon in which the mediated representation of contemporary minorities has been contested and challenged as part of a broader public discourse in the seek for social equality in the United States.
Films:
LA CIUDAD / THE CITY
A film by David Riker,
(USA, 1998, 88 min. In Spanish, English, and Korean with English subtitles)
Four gritty stories chronicle the Latino immigrant experience in New York City. In the first, desperate day laborers risk their lives working in unsafe conditions for low pay. Then, newcomer Francisco (Cipriano Garcia) gets a respite from loneliness when he meets a kindhearted woman. Next, homeless puppeteer Luis (Jose Rabelo) battles bureaucracy to register his daughter for school. Finally, garment worker Ana (Silvia Goiz) struggles for the paycheck that could save her sick daughter's life.
Available to stream for free Tuesday, June 15 - Monday, June 29.
*Please note the film is only available to stream in the United States.
EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA
A film by Jim McKay
(USA, 2018, 92 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
En el Séptimo Día is a timely and compassionate look at the lives of undocumented immigrants living in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Bicycle delivery guys, construction workers, dishwashers and deli workers, they work long hours six days a week and then savor their day of rest on Sundays on the soccer fields of Sunset Park. Hardworking and responsible José is a bicycle delivery worker and the team's captain. When they make the finals, José and his teammates are thrilled. But his boss puts a damper on the celebration when he tells José he has to work on Sunday, the day of the finals. If he doesn't work, his job and his future will be on the line. But if he doesn't stand up for himself and his teammates, his dignity will be crushed.to tell stories of their lands and loved ones, and to demand equal representation in the fight against injustice and exclusions in the legal system.
Available to stream for free Tuesday, June 15 - Monday, June 29
*Please note the film is only available to stream in the United States.
I’M LEAVING NOW / YA ME VOY
A film by Lindsey Cordero and Armando Croda
(USA/Mexico, 2018, 75 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
I'm Leaving Now tells the story of Felipe, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, who has reached a crossroads: after 16 years in Brooklyn, working three low-paying jobs and sending the bulk of his earnings to his wife and children in Mexico, he's decided to return home to the family he hasn't seen in almost two decades. But when he informs them of his plans, he discovers that they've squandered the money, are deeply in debt and don’t want him to return. They need him to stay in the U.S. and continue to earn. Shot over two years in the heart of Brooklyn’s immigrant community, I’m Leaving Now is a searing and intimate portrait of one undocumented worker on the margins. The film brings a warm humanity to one of the most pressing political issues of our time, without sentimentalizing or trivializing its subject. In allowing the rhythms, emotions and sounds of Felipe’s day-to-day life to drive the story, Cordero and Croda open an impressionistic, cinematic window onto a life that might otherwise remain unseen.
Available to stream for free Tuesday, June 15 - Monday, June 29
*Please note the film is only available to stream in the United States.
Other Films:
I CARRY YOU WITH ME / THE LLEVO CONMIGO
A film by Heidi Ewing
(USA, 2020, 111 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
“As a young aspiring chef in Mexico, Iván works at a restaurant, hoping to land a spot in the kitchen while supporting the mother of his child. One night he meets Gerardo, a handsome teacher who, unlike Iván, is out as a gay man. Their chemistry is instant. The discovery of their romance, however, causes conflict, and he is told he can no longer see his son. In despair, Iván makes the arduous decision to cross the border to advance his culinary career, promising his son and newfound love he will return. After co-directing many award-winning documentaries, many of which have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Heidi Ewing returns with her solo directorial narrative debut. This bittersweet American Dream is based on an acclaimed New York City chef, whose cuisine pays homage to his beloved country. Lensed by the impressive and fast-rising Mexican cinematographer Juan Pablo Ramírez, Iván’s memory is rendered indelible, making Iván’s predicament of not being able to return to Mexico all the more heartrending. The film is a tender romance and a complicated journey beautifully captured.” —Sundance Film Festival
I’M NO LONGER HERE / YA NO ESTOY AQUÍ
A film by Fernando Frías
(USA/ Mexico, 2019, 106 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Winner of the Best Film Award at the Morelia Film Festival, Fernando Frías’s electrifying second feature follows a street gang from Monterrey named “Los Terkos." Spending their days listening to slowed-down cumbia music, attending dance parties, and showing off their outfits, hairstyles, and gang alliances, the members call themselves Kolombianos for their mix of cholo culture with Colombian music. Ulises, their leader, tries to protect his friends from a quickly evolving drug-political war, but after a misunderstanding with a local cartel he’s forced to migrate to New York City. There he tries to assimilate, but when Ulises learns that his gang and the whole Kolombia culture is under threat, he questions his place in America and longs to return home.
SON OF MONARCHS / HIJO DE MONARCAS
A film by Alexis Gambis
(USA/Mexico, 2021, 97 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for best science or technology-themed film at the Sundance Film Festival, Son of Monarchs follows the return of Mendel (Huerta in an outstanding performance), a Mexican biologist living in New York, to his hometown—nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoacán—after his grandmother’s death. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal and spiritual metamorphosis. Mirroring the annual, instinctual flight of the monarch butterfly across the Americas, the ravishing Son of Monarchs presents a different kind of immigration story.
Coming soon!
SANGRE DE MI SANGRE
A film by Christopher Zalla
(USA, 2007, In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Winner of the Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Dramatic Prize, Sangre de mi Sangre tells the story of Pedro (Jorge Adrián Espíndola) is a Mexican immigrant who is traveling by truck to New York City to find his wealthy father, Diego (Jesús Ochoa), a man he has never met. All Pedro has is a 17-year-old letter with an address at which Diego once worked. But on the road a confident man named Juan (Armando Hernández) takes the letter and steals Pedro's identity. Pedro slowly makes his way to New York, but Juan arrives first and finds Diego, convincing him that he is his long-lost son.
Now streaming on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Sling TV
DON’T LET ME DROWN
A film by Cruz Ángeles
(USA, 2009, 99 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Two young people are brought together by a tragedy that has touched both of their families in this independent drama from writer and director Cruz Angeles. Stephanie (Gleendilys Inoa) is a teenaged girl whose family has moved to Brooklyn shortly after the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, which claimed the life of Stephanie's sister. While Stephanie's family is wracked with grief, her father feels a rage over the loss of his daughter than he can't clearly express or purge from himself, and it's left to his wife to hold the family together. Meanwhile, Lalo (E.J. Bonilla) is the son of a Mexican immigrant who was part of the cleaning crew at the WTC before the attacks; now Lalo's father works sifting through the debris at Ground Zero. Stephanie meets Lalo at a party in a city park, and while she's not sure how she feels about him at first, he's immediately infatuated with her and as he pursues her, they discover how much they have in common and they find themselves falling in love. Don't Let Me Drown received its World Premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Now streaming on Amazon Prime and Sling TV
NÓMADAS
A film by Ricardo Benet
(Mexico/USA, 2013, 80 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
A Mexican immigrant who cleans windows in New York City skyscrapers meets a woman who makes a documentary about suicides in Mexico City subway. Urban loneliness and the search for reasons for survival will make them clear their social differences and settle in the brevity of the meeting.
