In 2008 I penned a song titled Alejandro which then appeared on my 2009 recording Happy Homestead. During that period I happened to be working in the same office area at the University of Arizona with Luis Carlos Davis, who was working on his first documentary film titled 389 Miles: Living the Border. Somehow my song came up and Luis decided he’d like to include it in the film. Of course, yes was my answer.
The Huffington Post wrote of his film, "Luis Carlos Davis is a voice you've never heard, with stories that seem incomprehensible. He has now become the first-ever filmmaker to gain the confidence of a coyote – those faceless smugglers who charge exorbitant fees to cross people over the border into the United States, and his film is, unbeknownst to most Americans, at the heart of this immigration controversy."
Here’s the full movie:
As a bonus, Luis produced and filmed the video of the band performing Alejandro out in the desert just west of Gate’s Pass. Forever grateful to the musicians who went along for the ride; Mitzi Cowell, Chris Giambelluca, Michael P. Nordberg, and Catherine Zavala singing the lead.
I’m giving you the background on Alejandro because Catherine, along with limell’ lawson, Liz Fletcher, and Tom Dukes, have been working up a version of it for the Evening of Tallsome Tales coming up Thursday, April 28 at Monterey Court here in Tucson. Reservations are recommended!
Alejandro
Alejandro don't you walk into the desert tonight
Begged his wife the night he wanted to go
The road is strewn with signs of those who tried before you
Maybe this time make it out of Mexico
Well he heard life is better just north of the fence
Must be better than the dust of his hometown
Trade his country and his past to work so hard in the fields
With wages low just because his skin is brown
A dozen men strong all gathered round to go north
They paid a man who dropped them in the Organ Pipe
Said just north of here's the work that pays the wages you seek
With that hope they put their faith in one man's hype
The never ending sun heats up Sonoran desert dry
Hope against all odds this hell will be a memory soon gone by
Thought the answers to their prayers aligned with clear blue U.S. skies
The coyote headed south, his pockets lined with lies
Alejandro don't you walk into the desert tonight
Begged his wife the night he wanted to go
The road is strewn with signs of those who tried before you
Maybe this time make it out of Mexico
And now…
Good deal!
Love it!