A Deeper Look: Eight Insightful Documentaries on LATAM & the Caribbean

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Anyone doing business globally should learn as much as they can about the countries or regions they’re engaging with, and there are fewer (and faster) ways to gain deep insights into a particular geography than a good documentary.

In a follow-up to our book recommendations, we decided to list eight documentaries that will be of great interest to anyone doing business in the nearshore. From recent political history, true crime and economics, to music, nature and even cuisine, the films recommended here offer unique looks into the realities of specific Latin American and Caribbean countries, or of the whole region.

All of them open the viewers’ eyes to undercurrents that have come to mold the dynamics of the region, for good or bad.

1994 (Diego Osorno, 2019) Parting from the assassination of Mexican political candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, this six-episode docuseries takes viewers through some of the most relevant events of 1994, a defining year for Mexico’s recent history.

The background and fallout of the Colosio assassination, the Zapatista uprising, the Mexican peso crisis and NAFTA are some of the events touched upon in an attempt to portray the chaos, horror and mild hope that characterized Mexico during the mid 1990s. Thirty years later, much of what happened in ‘94 still reverberates in the country’s current political, economic, social and cultural landscapes, with several of the crises that emerged that year still unsolved.

1994 won’t explain current Mexico in its totality, but it provides a incisive look into many of the forces that molded the country’s identity in the early part of the millennium.

Living on One Dollar (Chris Temple, Zach Ingrasci, Sean Leonard & Ryan Christofferson, 2013) If you want to be conscious of the harsh realities of living in extreme poverty in Central America, this film might be a good place to start.

Living on One Dollar follows four young Americans as they try to endure life in rural Guatemala for two months with only a single dollar each day, just like many people in the country would. As they tell it, they deal with hunger, disease and the difficulties of having almost no options available to solve their crises. They manage, however, to find strength in their interactions with members of the community they inhabit during the film.

Though not as comprehensive as other films about the harsh economic realities of extreme poverty in Central America, Living on One Dollar grants access to a more personal, raw experience of poverty, as well as the ways in which members of a community help each other to endure it.

Everything About Asado (Mariano Cohn & Gastón Duprat, 2016) According to this documentary, asado –the distant, Argentinian cousin of barbecue– is of such importance in Argentina that it can be considered “a matter of State.”

Everything About Asado is more than a title. The documentary dives deep into asado culture in Argentina, attempting to build as comprehensive a depiction of this practice as can be done through film. The result is a humorous journey through one of Argentina’s gastronomic cornerstones, guided by the filmmakers but driven by the opinions, experiences and culinary secrets of those who have dedicated part of their lives to deliciously burning cow meat on the grill.

Much can be learned from a culture through its food, and you’ll learn quite a bit from Argentina by paying close attention to what its people have to say about cooking a succulent piece of steak. If anything, you’ll enjoy the almost pornographic shots of meat sizzling over flame.

Iconography: Mungal Patasar (Mikhail Gibbings, 2024) Mungal Patasar is a musical icon in Trinidad & Tobago. Born in the Caribbean twin-islands to Indian immigrants, Dr. Patasar gained notoriety and eventually national prominence in his home country as a master sitarist whose cultural heritage allowed him to meld a diverse array of musical styles and flavors: from jazz and calypso, to reggae and Caribbean fusion.

This short documentary –one of several belonging to a series– follows Mungal Patasar’s origins, the significance of his heritage to his musical journey and the legacy of his talents as a bridge between very distant regions of the world.

Dr. Patasar’s story provides a privileged glimpse into Trinidad & Tobago’s musical scene throughout the latter half of the XX century, as well as the twin-island’s cultural ties with India.

The Two Escobars (Jeff Zimbalist & Michael Zimbalist, 2010) A controversial story about “narco-futbol”. The Two Escobars explores the uneasy relationship between soccer and drug cartels in Colombia by following the paths of two of the most important players in both fields: Andrés Escobar, a superstar player in Medellin’s Atlético Nacional club, and Pablo Escobar, Colombia’s legendary drug kingpin.

As far as it’s known, Andrés was never involved directly in any of Pablo’s endeavors. However, the film tells of how his final days were directly impacted by the drug trade in Colombia.

The documentary also dives into Pablo Escobar’s polarizing public persona; his aura as both a figure of terror and a “Robin Hood” of sorts for a segment of the Colombian population.

The Two Escobars provides a view of how soccer and drug trafficking are entangled in Colombia and the ways in which that entanglement speaks of the country’s complicated social and political dynamics.

Pacificum (Mariana Tschudi, 2017) Pacificum captures the beauty and majesty of the Peruvian Pacific and tells a story –spanning centuries– of how the land and seas have developed into an ecosystem that houses a wealth of plant and animal species, as well as being the basis for the livelihoods of many traditional communities living near the coast.

The story is told through the eyes of four scientists who travel alongside the Peruvian shores, detailing the natural riches of the area and speaking of its relevance to the environmental future not only of Peru, but of the whole region.

Pacificum , as a nature documentary, can compete with the best in the genre. The film is at its height when displaying the natural beauty of the Peruvian Pacific through its gorgeous aerial and subaquatic shots.

The Edge of Democracy (Petra Costa, 2019) Brazil is Latin America’s biggest economy, a fact that has allowed it to ascend in the minds of global investors. Nevertheless, over the past decade, the country has also garnered a reputation as a politically problematic spot.

In The Edge of Democracy , director Petra Costa tells the story of a nation that sees, in a span of a couple years, its dreams of democracy crumble under the extreme pressures of political scandals, corruption and polarization. This documentary covers the consolidation of the Brazilian populist left in the presidencies of Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, their fall amidst the international scandal of Odebrecht and the rise of the far-right on the shoulders of Jair Bolsonaro.

The Edge of Democracy condenses the last 10 years of Brazilian politics into a story told by its main protagonist, including presidents Lula and Rousseff. It also depicts, though a political lens, the economic and social realities of Latin America’s most powerful economy.

Break it All: A History of Rock in Latin America (Picky Talarico, 2020) The spirit of rock also possessed Latin America, and it changed everything.

Told through the voices of many of its protagonists and closest witnesses, Break it All chronicles the development, explosion and legacy of rock in Latin America in six episodes. The docuseries covers the most relevant musical, cultural and economic developments for the genre decade by decade, from the late 50s into the early 2000s.

Though not as well known in English-speaking countries, many of the artists and songs presented in this documentary defined the musical taste, attitude and even political leanings of several generations in the region. From Soda Stereo, Aterciopelados and Caifanes, to Café Tacvba, Fobia and Molotov, Break it All opens the door to a whole new tome of musical education.

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