Dos Vatos Palabras

By (FR.) Chuck Niehaus

SJCatholic priest working in pastoral ministry in Lexington, Kentucky

Beyond the Border is the very human face of Mexican immigration to the United States.  I was touched profoundly and personally by this 56-minute bilingual documentary.   The video was filmed in Mexico and in the United States by Mexican American filmmakers, Ari Luis Palos and Eren Isabel McGinnis, who are currently working in the border region of Tucson, Arizona.  The filmmakers traveled back to the hometown of Marcelo Ayala, the principal character portrayed in the video.   The documentary recounts the true story of Marcelo as he travels across a dangerous border to work in the thoroughbred horseracing business in the Bluegrass of Kentucky.  In images, Marcelo recounts how difficult it is to leave his large family and his community…and we see their tears of separation and loss.   I personally know Marcelo and have visited Marcelo’s family in his native state of Michoacan in central Mexico.

Our local Lexington, Kentucky police have used this excellent documentary to provide their recruits with cultural sensitivity and to provide better understanding as they progress with their police training.  Beyond the Border illustrates the complex history and the concrete problems of the Mexican community as they immigrate to the United States.

Additionally, the video has been used effectively in our parochial school (middle school students) as they take language classes.  The other possible uses of the documentary are countless and would be of great use in University and high school libraries, as well as public libraries.  The Beyond the Border documentary is excellent, realistic, well developed, and deeply human.

TO ORDER DVDS OF BEYOND THE BORDER PLEASE VISIT:

www.dosvatos.com

Bryan R. Pearce-Gonzales

Ph.D.Shenandoah University

Winchester, VA

Since its premiere screening at the Kentucky Theater in Lexington, Kentucky, Beyond the Border / Más allá de la frontera has continued to be enthusiastically received by crowds everywhere, provoking a profound dialogue centering on the realities of immigrant workers. 

During the present time, when immigration is fueling many of the political debates around the country, Beyond the Border has proven to be an ever-important educational tool as it offers an intimate perspective of migrant worker life in the United States.

I have used the documentary in many classes and in conjunction with a University Film Series entitled “Celebrating the “Other:” Overcoming Us and Them.” University students, many of whom have no personal contact with the immigrant population, relate well to the stories of the Ayala brothers and have commented publicly that, as a result of watching the film, their views on immigrant workers in the United States have been changed.

Beyond the Border succeeds in giving a voice to Hispanic immigrants and their stories, universal stories that stretch beyond political and national borders to speak of family, love, and the American Dream.Beyond the Border, as a unique, profound depiction of immigrant life in the United States, possesses the ability to change one’s preconceived notions of a very important group. For this reason, it should be made available in every public library and school system in the nation.

- Bryan R. Pearce-Gonzales, Ph.D.Shenandoah UniversityWinchester

TO ORDER DVDS OF BEYOND THE BORDER PLEASE VISIT:

www.dosvatos.com