Cinema: Born In East L.A.

Hollywood can be a tough town for non-Anglos

Mama sits in her humble Guatemalan home and spins tales of a promised land she has seen only in the pages of Good Housekeeping. In America, she tells her daughter Rosa, you will find money, cars, TV, even indoor plumbing. "You flush it, and everything vanishes!" And so in Gregory Nava's 1983 film El Norte, Rosa and her brother Enrique embark on a perilous pilgrimage toward the golden north. When they eventually reach California, they do find honest work and small incomes -- the money dreams can buy. But it is a rasping irony to possess so little when surrounded by...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!