Diarios de Motocicleta

  In the Motorcylce Diaries, Ernesto Guevara starts off as a normal med-student, who is close to getting his degree. What happens during his journey that changes him so radically? Several scenes that are shown to begin this change.  One of the most important scenes is the campfire scene.  As Ernesto listens to the Native Americans tell of their hardship, struggle, and need, it is obvious to the audience that a change is coming over him.  Another important one is when they go to the mines with the Natives.  He sees their treatment and the injustice first hand.  When Ernesto arrives to the leper-camp, he learns that he is capable of helping others less fortunate than himself.  And when he swims the Amazon, he realizes that he can do the "impossible".  He knows that if you fight hard enough for an idea, it, and you, are unstoppable. 
  Some main differences between the United States and the Spanish speaking world are that in South America, dance is an extremely important form of celebration.  This is demonstrated by Ernesto going to several other countries and most, if not all of them, use dance in their festivities.  Dance is used in some mini-cultures in the US but not very many. 

El Mariachi Questions

  The common Mexican stereotypes in the film were fairly easy to identify. The violence over drugs and drug-wars are a common piece of the American view of Mexican culture. Also, the belief that Mexicans drink a lot is not discredited by the film.
  That statement, "All he wants is to be a mariachi," is a very important statement in the film. Being a mariachi means that your entire life is devoted to your guitar and your music. To be a true mariachi, you must travel and have many experiences. You must then turn these experiences into songs and make the music to channel those moments. To El Mariachi, his path is already chosen. His grandfather and his father were both mariachis so that is what he must do. That is his destiny and his purpose. Also, in the film, it is a "gringo" not a Mexican who shoots El Mariachi's hand and ruins his ability to play the guitar. This emphasizes that to a Mexican, a mariachi is a respected, honored individual. But that is an appriciation lost on foreigners.
  The role of music is huge in the film because it represents such an important aspect of Mexican, and Latin-American culture, in general.
 

El Mariachi (Sound, Sonido)

The music is used to create moods but sometimes it is a different one than what the scene itself creates. The sound-effects are used somewhat rediculously. The quality is a little poor and continuously, the sound-effects are over the top.