Mariachi Documentary Explores Underground Lives of Aliens

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A bittersweet portrait of two humble and earnest mariachi singers who roam the bars, restaurants, and streets of San Francisco playing for tips, Romántico shines a spotlight on not just mariachi music but illegal immigration, US/Mexican economics, and the underground American alien communities that live under our noses every day. Presented in association with the Williamstown Jazz Festival, this riveting documentary comes to MASS MoCA’s Club B-10 on Thursday, April 20, at 8 P.M. Director Mark Becker will be on hand for a discussion after the screening. After a career spent editing other people's movies, Becker set out to make a short documentary in order to get his feet wet making his own films. But as he shot Romantico, he knew he had something special. "The plan was to make a 10-minute film about these musicians playing for tips in the neighborhood, but when one of them had to go back home to be with his family in Mexico, I had an epiphany - it would be an immigrant tale in reverse," said Becker. "It turned into his experiences of being dislocated from his family in the first place, then being forced to go back and find out what he left behind." The film garnered Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Documentary and the Truer Than Fiction award in 2005 and was well-received at the Sundance Film Festival that same year. Mark Becker is best known for his work as editor of the famed Lost Boys of Sudan documentary which, without benefit of voice-over, told the story of two orphaned Sudanese boys who came to the U.S. only to confront extreme examples of culture shock in what might as well have been a foreign planet. Doors open for Romántico at 7 P.M., with food and drink from Lickety Split available before and during the screening. Club B-10 features comfortable couches and café tables as well as a full bar. Tickets for Romántico are $6. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available in advance through the MASS MoCA Box Office located off Marshall Street in North Adams from 11 A.M. until 5 P.M. (closed Tuesdays). Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111. MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located on Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.
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SteepleCats Shut Out on Road

iBerkshires.com Sports
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Four Vermont pitchers combined to strike out 11 and allow four hits Tuesday as the Mountaineers beat the North Adams SteepleCats, 11-0, in New England Collegiate Baseball League action.
 
Evan Meier, Bobby Stang, Tonny Woodie and Chris Diaz each had a hit for the SteepleCats, who used five pitchers in the loss.
 
North Adams (0-2) comes home Tuesday to host the Mystic Schooners at 6:30 p.m. at Joe Wolfe Field.
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