The Arroyo

"The Arroyo" http://thearroyomovie.com/ is a movie that was developed in the Lubbock area.  It is the story of an Arizona rancher who is tired of dealing with the crossing of illegal immigrants on his property.  They cut his fences, scatter his herd, and he finds dead bodies and abused, scared, immigrants on his property. The authorities are not helping or helpful, or even trustworthy. So, he takes matters into his own hands, and things spiral out of control. It becomes a violent, bloody mess.

The director, Jeremy Boreing, is from Slaton, just outside of Lubbock. There are locals in the leading roles of the movie: Glenn Polk, Kenny Maines, David Armendariz, and Junior Vasquez.

Glenn Polk is the moving force behind the Ragtown Gospel Theater http://www.ragtown.com/.

Kenny Maines http://www.kennymaines.com/ is a member of the Maines Brothers Band, http://www.mainesbrothersband.com/, a Lubbock area singing group. And related to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks http://www.dixiechicks.com/

David Armendariz is not a person with whom I am familiar.  I have heard of Junior Vasquez, but I am not sure I know much about him, either.

I went to the movie to support the local artists who are involved. It premiered in Lubbock, and had a limited engagement, the length of which was dependent upon interest: the more interest, the longer the engagement.

I was discussing the movie at work today, and one of my coworkers, a knowledgeable Hispanic woman said the story was right on.

I would not normally watch or support a movie like this. Not because I disapprove of it, but it was very intense, violent and bloody.  Generally, I do not watch that type of movie. But, there are exceptions.  I have watched "Saving Private Ryan" which had these same characteristics. And is a great movie.

The acting was tolerable, the story intense.  For the resources and budget, this is a really good movie. 

It addresses a timely issue that is important to the states that border Mexico: Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  The illegal crossing of immigrants between the border of Mexico and the United States is a serious problems. The "coyotes" are the scum of the earth. They charge exorbitant fees. They extort their clients to require them to carry drugs. They take people across the border in impossible conditions: no water, no shelter, no safety.

The drug cartels add insult to injury to this situation. They behave as if they are above the law, and anyone who counters their efforts is at risk.

This movie depicts a serious social problem in the southwestern states of the United States of America. 

I hope that more people become aware of this situation, based on this movie. I hope it helps to raise social awareness 

It is a good movie.

Musical

I had thought that I had written about this before, but I do not see it under the label of musical, which would be the most likely place to label this.

I really like musicals, and have watched some of them so many times, that I almost know the dialogue as well as the songs.

I was watching Fiddler on the Roof  with a friend from West Texas.  After we watched the musical, he asked why the Jews were persecuted.  I think that is interesting. This person is a well educated man who is culturally sensitive. He did not "get it" that the Jews were persecuted in Europe and Asia (Russia) even before World War II, and that is why many immigrated to the United States, and many immigrated to Palestine to work to establish Israel.

I did not explore this, but I wonder what his perception of the Holocaust was. I am appalled at the number of people who do not believe that the Holocaust occurred. Or even, that the Holocaust occurred because of something the Jewish population in Europe did.   Can you imagine?

This same person and I were watching West Side Story, a musical he professed to know and like.  When we watched it, he revealed to me that he did not know that some of the songs were part of the story of the musical. Specifically, this was clear about the song "America."  He had never really paid attention to the lyrics before, so he did not realize the significance of the song.

That amazed me. But it made me wonder how many other people also discount the message of songs in musicals.  That would be so sad.

Musicals are not fluff. Specifically, but not limited to, the Rogers and Hammerstein http://www.rnh.com/ musicals are not fluff. They were deep, intense musicals that deal with intense social issues.

There are a lot of other musicals that made social commentaries, and this is good. Social commentary from a musical is very palatable to the public.