Film Review
Linda and the Mockingbirds is a documentary film released in 2020 in which Linda Ronstadt meets a group of young Mexican American musicians and dancers from Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center in California who want to travel back and visit the homeland of their ancestors in Mexico. According to its founders, the name Los Cenzontles (which means The Mockingbirds in the indigenous Nahuati language) was chosen because despite its name, the mockingbird doesn’t “mock” other birds but listens to their sounds and incorporates them into its own voice. They strive to do the same by seeking out and assimilating the voices of their Mexican ancestors.
Linda is so moved by their desire to keep their culture and heritage alive, she agrees to help sponsor the trip and gets her long-time friend Jackson Browne to join them on this musical odyssey.
The movie is part travelogue, tracing their journey, with lots of interviews of the leaders and the kids themselves, and part concert, where we are treated to hearing and watching them perform.
Along the way we hear of the poverty, injustice, and fear that inspired many immigrants to flee and risk their lives trying for a chance at a better life in the United States. Many never made it… some were stopped at the border and sent back, still others lost their lives under the harsh conditions or due to mistreatment by gang-run human traffickers. Those who made it across the border still faced huge obstacles and many children were separated from their families and housed in cages. They worked hard to build a future for themselves and their families but never escaped the fear of deportation.
Although it’s sad that, due to illness Linda can no longer perform, it was great to see how dedicated she is to preserving her own Mexican roots. This was brought home by a number of legacy clips of her performing in her younger days, traditional Mexican music that will just knock your socks off – I kept turning up the volume! When she was listening to some of the incredibly talented young singers, it brought tears to my eyes to see her singing along to herself – at one point she talks about her sadness over no longer being able to sing.
And then, of course there’s Jackson Browne, who sang together with Los Cenzontles, several amazing and soulful tunes that focused on the fate of immigrants both today and throughout American history, including one tune he co-wrote with Eugene Rodriguez, Director of Los Cenzontles called The Dreamer and a great rendition of Woody Guthrie’s Deportees. He chatted about how cool it was for these kids to have a chance to discover their cultural history and strengthen connections.
When asked how they got Jackson Browne to join them, Linda smiled and said simply, “We asked him.” Likewise, Jackson said, “When Linda Ronstadt asks you to go to Mexico, I don’t need anything more than that, it’s go!” As we saw firsthand on his recent tour, Jackson can still bring it…Hearing him perform, discuss his down to earth progressive views, and inspire young people, I was reminded of another of my heroes, Pete Seeger.
The Director of Los Cenzontles and a talented Mexican American folk singer in his own right, Eugene Rodriguez plays a central role in the project and in the film. He plays guitar, sings, arranges their music and serves as band leader. He also discusses the motivation felt by the members of the center and how important it is for them to preserve their culture.
We watched it on Amazon Prime which now has f*€king commercials set to air at specific times and the movie was crudely put on pause, often in mid sentence. They couldn’t be bothered to find natural breaks in the film to cut away. Very bush league and incredibly annoying. How much more $$$ does Bezos need anyway?
In spite of this hassle, however, it’s definitely worth watching!
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