Shaul Schwarz was among the first photographers from outside Mexico to focus on covering the drug wars that have turned Juárez into one of the world's most dangerous cities. Mr. Schwarz worked in Juárez from 2007 to 2009, and decided to make a feature documentary film about narco-culture in general and narcocorridos specifically. The violent lyrics, similar to gangster rap in the United States, here are juxtaposed with images of actual violence. It's easy to caricature the culture, which most people enjoy for the music and not the violent imagery, similarly to what happened with hip-hop in the 1990's in the US, which also faced spiralling drug-related violence. That said, the issues faced by the border towns sandwiched between the USA's insatiable appetite for illegal drugs and Mexican cartels' willingness to do whatever it takes to maintain their position, are deadly serious. The challenge this film faces is to get people's attention in the United States without making a one-dimensional cartoon out of the culture.
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