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This film is one of the best in modern Mexican cinema; the plot is good and the acting is decent; portrays the harsh reality that exists in Monterrey; highly recommended.

Excellent movie about a group of youngsters in a poor neighbourhood in Mexico lose themselves in Cumbia music. They design a counter culture and even with little or no money they express themselves in a street style that would be looked on in awe by peers in cities around the world.

The movie tells the story of friendship and youth and when a tragedy occurs how quickly things can change for the worse. This movie show the similarities in youth culture where they are subjected to ridicule, aggression, ostracised but even with all that their street cool is a massive attraction. If you look at history the eidelweiss pirates who were into jazz and fought the hitler youth in Germany or the working class English kids from north of England who danced to soul music they all have links irrespective of the country or time period.

Using authentic kids in the casting brought a real life element to this movie and it was believable and interesting to follow the twists and turns of one kid trying to get by and keeps getting knocked down, however music was always there as an escapism for him. Highly recommended.

I mean, it doesn't have much dialogue, character development and such, but it's so beautiful to watch. The cumbia colombiana is really a thing in northern México, and I had no idea until I lived in Monterrey. This is really a very simple movie concept, but somehow it's really enjoyable. It appeals to nostalgia, teen years, anarchy, vandalism, dancing and fun. I'm kinda proud of our cultural richness, it's amazing how different a country is when you move across neighborhoods or states, and here it's mostly emphasized between countries. We can see a glance of the migrant life, the troubles of losing your identity, feeling lonely and having a language barrier. Every human being, including counterculture marginalized groups of people (like the one we see in the film), deserve a decent lifestyle. The violence in our country is really omnipresent, it shows itself in dark alleys in broad daylight.

Coming from a very similar background I found this movie painful yet beautifullly accurate. It's a faithful representation of the reality that people from troubled neighborhoods like that one have had and still have to live thanks to the organized crime. It makes a wonderful job portraying how heartbreaking it can be to be away from home, feeling alone and powerless, as well as the deep nostalgia of the good old days that won't ever come back.

If you are going to give it a shot, please try to put yourself in the position of those people who don't know better and who also have not very many options of having a better life.

... even one called home; life in Monterrey becomes untenable for a young gang lead, stranded in deep water, unable to fight the tide, washed up in New York where the currents repel - all played out to an original soundtrack of Cumbia Rebajada and the passion for expression, identity and dance.