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El Americano Dream

From: SpiritHouse Inc/Youth Noise Network
Length: 00:06:28

Latinos in the States and the many struggles they face and overcome. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

Many Latinos come to the United States to pursue their idea of the American Dream, but sadly their dreams are shattered as reality sets in and America "the great" is far from what their perceptions were.

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Review of El Americano Dream

As compelling as it is to hear youths express their hearts and minds, this impassioned piece could use steady guidance. The producer aims to show how difficult life is here for immigrants and how different it is than they imagined. The narrative is disjointed and hard to follow, especially at the end. The account begins with a description of migrant workers, but no migrant worker voices are featured. Only the voices of migrant organizers are heard, so the description lacks authenticity. Then the producer interviews two of his cousins, who talk about their disappointments with the American dream, but their comments have little connection to the beginning of the story. The interviews are conducted in Spanish and though interwoven with the producer?s narrative, they get lost without translation. The piece requires good script editing and even-handed production values.

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Review of El Americano Dream

"El Americano Dream," immediately catching the listener's attention with its bilingual, almost mocking title, attempts to convey the story of migrant farm workers in America. Having read in my Spanish class this year the novella Cajas de Cart?n, which tells the story of a Latin-American migrant worker family, I could immediately place this piece in context. Narrated by a bilingual youth who conducted some of his interviews in English and some in Spanish, the piece includes elements of tragedy, commentary, and critique as well as narration. The cuts in Spanish, however, could be translated in order to clarify them for listeners who only speak English. In addition, smoother narration would add to the flow and power of the piece. Finally, although the music adds to the beginning of the piece, it should be faded later on.

Broadcast History

Aired December 2004 on WXDU, Durham, NC.