Plots(1)
Every year hundreds of Mexican youngsters leave their village in an attempt to build up a new life in the United States. They travel to the boundary river the Rio Grande and try to cross it. At the other side is America, 'la puta tierra prometida' (the damned promised land). The American border patrol do everything they can to stop the stream of illegal immigrants. Not surprisingly, many of them get picked up and sent back. Velo negro is about the urge to leave, the difficulties these people meet along the way and what remains of their dreams after they have crossed the border. The film follows a few immigrants and their families back in Mexico. From their correspondence and from interviews the true tragedy emerges: neither party is happy. In the United States they are again faced with poverty and unemployment. But what may be even more important is the homesickness, which makes many fortune-hunters long for their native country. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
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