Educational Media Reviews Online

This short film presents the situation of one isolated Mexican village, El Alberto in the state of Hidalgo (population 700), as the citizens try to cope with the mass migration to the United States that has claimed 80% of their townspeople. The film is disjointed as are the lives of the people of El Alberto.

The film cuts back and forth between interviews with townspeople affected by migration of family members and footage of the actual nighttime experience of adventure tourism which has kept some villagers alive economically. The tour consists of a “caminata” or journey that simulates an illegal migration to the United States. For a fee of $18 per person, participants are led in groups of twenty on a grueling hike during which they are chased by tour employees posing as immigration police. Approximately 100 townspeople participate in various roles in the reenactment.

Organizers prefer to think of the tour as an act of remembrance and solidarity with those who have faced the rigors of the real caminata. They see it as a patriotic consciousness raising exercise that simultaneously highlights the situation of their abandoned town and provides income to those who remain behind. The town recently celebrated the sixth year of the caminata with a festival that included fireworks, horse races, cock fights and a competition for the loudest car audio system. Local eco-parks, camp grounds and thermal spas have added additional tourist attractions that draw people from Mexico City.

At fifteen minutes, the film can only introduce the personal cost of undocumented migration and what becomes of those who stay behind or return. It attempts to spark interest in an unresolved issue of central importance. Unfortunately, the effort feels contrived and a bit dispirited.