Educational Media Reviews Online

Monarch Butterflies and Violins features two documentaries set in central Mexico: A Visit to the Butterflies and Viva mi Tierra Caliente.

A Visit to the Butterflies has a wonderful premise: to take viewers to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary (la Biosphera de la Mariposa Monarca) near Angangueo, Mexico, where millions of butterflies spend the winter months between the incredible 2,500-mile migrations across North America. Despite the extraordinary setting of the sanctuary and the images of millions of monarch butterflies, the filming is practically amateur home video and the narration is awkward at best.

With the limitations of quality in video and editing, the strength of this film is undoubtedly the footage of the butterflies at the sanctuary. One thing that made this film more interesting was how it set the sanctuary in context of the nearby town of Angangueo, which is almost entirely dependent upon the tourism generated by the butterflies.

A Visit to the Butterflies is for butterfly lovers who may never get to the sanctuary in person. Educators and others should see the excellent PBS documentary The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (watch for free online).

Viva mi Tierra Caliente on the other hand, is a charming documentary that celebrates traditional Calentano music and the legacy of Juan Reynoso, a folk violin virtuoso and the last of the old Calentano masters. Don Juan, as they call him, has played the violin since he was 6 years old and while renowned in Mexico, it is only in the last few years that he and Calentano music has gained an enthusiastic following among some American violinists. Reynoso himself is a charming character and his stories and humor give depth to his music. At one point, he accounts for his 20 children born to different mothers and the time he was almost eaten by an alligator.

Much of this film is devoted to listening to Reynoso’s music, whether in the courtyard of town or on stage at a festival, and is played by Reynoso alone or with other older musicians, his students, and his children. The director, Pacho Lane, does a nice job of mixing the music, interviews, and performances with footage and imagery of life in small-town central Mexico. Viewers get a feel for the life and culture that created this vibrant music although very little background information is given to biography, history, or cultural significance.

Notably, there is no narrator, so it may be confusing at times what is happening in the film, yet it flows and all comes together nicely. There are not any language options for viewers, but English subtitles showed up automatically on the review copy when Spanish was spoken, and the subtitles seemed generally accurate though sometimes delayed.

While the first feature is not recommended, and the audio and video quality is reminiscent of older public broadcasting, Viva mi Tierra Caliente stands on its own and would augment high school and college courses studying Mexican culture and music. As a whole, Monarch Butterflies and Violins is recommended with reservations.