The proud Mexican tradition of corrido music provides both heartbeat and backbone to this examination of songs, drugs and dreams along the U.S./Mexico border.

September 2008 (check local listings )

The proud Mexican tradition of corrido music - captured in the performances of Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte and the late Chalino Sanchez - provides both heartbeat and backbone to this rich examination of songs, drugs and dreams along the U.S./Mexico border. "Al Otro Lado" follows Magdiel, an aspiring corrido composer from the drug capital of Mexico, who faces two difficult choices to better his life: to traffic in drugs or to cross the border illegally into the United States. Interspersing performance footage by corrido superstars with the day-to-day struggles of Magdiel as he embarks on an uncertain journey, filmmaker Natalia Almada paints an illuminating portrait of the narcotics underworld, illegal immigration and the corrido music that chronicles it all. An Official Selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. By Natalia Almada