EL PASO — After a week of our news room being mostly devoted to cover the issues raised by the War on Drugs Conference, finding the video “La Internacional” by Fuga —produced by Valentín Sandoval and Kiko Rodríguez— was a refreshing surprise. And the best thing about the video is not that it lures us away from such important topics with its Latin rhythms, but that it instead shows the human side of border life.
Kiko Rodriguez, leader of Fuga (Lourdes Cueva Chacón/Borderzine.com)
“The idea (of the video) is basically a narration of the song, a mythical street that could exist anywhere in the world where workers and immigrant communities gather. The video is basically different stories of exploitation, as well as triumph and resistance,” said Kiko Rodríguez, leader of Fuga.
Fuga was founded in 2001 in El Paso, and since its creation has been working on providing a “new sound within Latino music that represents the border and culture that we grew up in,” said Rodriguez.
The video “La Internacional” was shot over a period of three days during the last Christmas holidays by the initiative of filmmaker Valentin Sandoval in a “frontera verite” style, a term coined by himself as he declares in his Vimeo site.
Rodriguez said he is satisfied with the product, especially because it was a volunteer effort that concerted the talent of several artists.
“These stories need to get out. I think artists working together and sharing their resources is some times the only way to do it,” said Rodriguez, who is now working on a concept for a second video.
Meanwhile, enjoy “La Internacional.”
