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Music and Movies on the Immigrant Experience
Music and Movies on the Immigrant Experience
Music
Music
Maná is the most successful Latin American band of all time with over 40 million records sold worldwide. They wrote "Pobre Juan" in 2002, around the time that border crossings were at an all-time high. As they explain, “Pobre Juan” … es una triste realidad que sucede todos los días, una historia de Juan y miles de inmigrantes mexicanos y Latinoamericanos que fallecen en la lucha de cruzar la frontera (y) fallecen o desaparecen."
Jesse & Joy is a Mexican pop duo formed in 2005 by brother and sister Jesse Eduardo Huerta Uecke and Tirzah Joy Huerta Uecke. "Un Besito Más" is the story of a couple attempting to make a new life in the U.S. after crossing the border, and the terrible complications of children who have citizenship being separated from undocumented parents. It is written from the perspective of a child who stayed in the U.S. after her parents were deported.
Gabriela Moreno is a Guatemalan singer-songwriter and guitarist. You may not have heard of her before, but you have heard her music as she co-wrote the theme song for the series Parks and Recreation. "Ave Que Emigra" describes her experience of emigrating to America.
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s, and she became known internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" due to her contributions to Latin music. In 1960, Cruz left her native country, becoming one of the symbols and spokespersons of the Cuban community in exile. In "Por si acaso no regreso" Cruz sings of her regret not seeing Cuba liberated, saying that kills her to be far from her land and expressing guilt for leaving it behind.
Los Tigres del Norte are a norteño band from California, originally founded in Mexico, with sales of 60 million albums. They have long been popular within the Mexican community in the diaspora. They are famous for their political corridos, some of which have been censored, even in their own country. "America" is a reminder that everyone who lives in North, Central, and South America is an American.
Jimmy Cliff was an immigrant from Jamaica who moved to the UK in search of better opportunities. However his struggle to find success in the UK is reminiscent of many refugees who struggle to rebuild a new life in a place where their skills and qualifications are not recognized.
Maya Youssef began writing music after she fled Syria as a result of the Syrian Civil War. Since then she has traveled the world sharing her music, which she performs on the qanun, a traditonal Middle Eastern instrument. In this instrumental piece, the rhythmic riffs of the qanun echo the internal chaos of a nation breaking apart and the healing peace that is yet to come.
Cherish the Ladies is an American all-female female group that plays traditional Irish music. The band began as a concert series in New York in January 1985 and takes its name from a traditional Irish jig called "Cherish the Ladies." "Érin grá mo chroí" is an Irish folksong that tells of emigration from Ireland.
Film
Film
El Norte (1983)
El Norte (1983)
After their family is killed in a government massacre, brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee Guatemala and embark on a perilous journey to "El Norte": the United States.
Avalon (1990)
Avalon (1990)
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
District 9 (2009)
District 9 (2009)
What if aliens arrived to earth as refugees? How would we treat them? This film explores these themes within a science fiction setting.
Europa (2021)
Europa (2021)
A young man flees Iraq and tries to enter Europe. At the Turkish-Bulgarian border, local mercenaries are hunting down migrants. Alone in the forest, he has three days to escape.
Amreeka (2009)
Amreeka (2009)
A Palestinian-American family moves from the Palestinian territories to suburban Chicago, where they encounter prejudice in post 9/11 America.
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Four Chinese women living in San Francisco routinely gather to play mahjong, creating a practice of community that allows them to speak freely and explore this unique cultural experience together. The experiences of these mothers are juxtaposed with the experiences of their daughters, creating a dialog within the film between generations and differing cultural experiences.
The Immigrant (1917)
The Immigrant (1917)
Charles Chaplain's famous Little Tramp arrives into Ellis Island, New York, as an immgrant.
In America (2002)
In America (2002)
A family of Irish immigrants adjust to life on the streets of Hell's Kitchen, New York.
Exhibits
Exhibits
Immigration Stories: Exploring the Diverse Cultural History of the Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell Communities
Immigration Stories: Exploring the Diverse Cultural History of the Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell Communities
Pejepscot History Center
OPEN JULY-DECEMBER 2022
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