Chulas Fronteras

The documentary is about a kind of music. It is called norteño. It also goes by conjunto. It is played on both sides of the Texas and Mexico border. German polka is at the root of it. Mexican elements were built on top. Small groups play it. An accordion, a standup bass and a twelve string guitar called the bajo sexto carry the sound. The camera goes in among the musicians. It visits birthday parties, small cantinas and modest church halls. Families who work the fields appear as well, and the songs carry both a sense of belonging and a history of struggle. Flaco Jiménez, Lydia Mendoza, Narciso Martínez and Los Alegres de Terán all appear in it. Les Blank made the fifty eight minute documentary, an American production finished in 1976.