Compañeras

I saw this film at SXSW 2007 and absolutely loved it. The vocal performances rock and the behind-the-scenes stories of these women, fighting to play the music they love is totally inspiring. I've been raving about this film ever since I saw it. I was especially moved by the story of Cindy who started out as a classical violinist and stumbled across mariachi during her music studies. But the tenacity of all these hard-working women - mothers, students, workers and above all musicians - has stayed with me ever since. I hesitate to describe it as a music doc since it goes far beyond that genre to encompass issues of gender and culture in the US.