Institute History
Description
There can be no end to a mother's grief over the mysterious disappearance and death of her child, but this haunting documentary takes you as close as possible to penetrating it. Bajo Juarez, the city devouring its daughters follows unsolved and highly publicized crimes against women along the Mexico-U.S. border in the towns of Juarez, Chihuahua, and Laredo.
Directors Alejandra Sánchez and José Antonio Cordero bravely forge a new understanding of the enormous dangers still facing women in the malquiadoras factories, where hundreds of murders go unpunished. Using a narrative approach unique to a woman's point of view, Bajo Juarez integrates testimony from family members, journalists, factory workers, and police officials. The film's innovative techniques command attention to the horrors perpetrated against grieving parents still desperate for answers.
The documentary points toward a disturbing corruption that reaches to the highest levels of the Mexican government. How these crimes can remain so brazen and be ignored is almost beyond comprehension. The portrait Bajo Juarez paints is not just one of a national crisis in Mexico—it's an urgent reminder of the inexcusable lack of support the U.S. shows in bringing justice to these women.