pursue film studios or television networks because, more than likely, studio executives would demand changes be made in either script, casting, or both. Gregory Nava and Thomas believe that much of what makes El Norte special would have been jeopardized if a major studio had been involved in the filmmaking process. Financing for the film was provided by PBS's American Playhouse (50%) and the rest in pre-sales. One such pre-sale was made to the United Kingdom's Channel 4 (a public-service television broadcaster). Themes Magical realism Parts of El Norte provide an example of how Latin American magical realism, primarily found in novels, has been depicted in a theatrical film. The Washington Post writer Ann Hornaday said: El Norte was seminal, both for its graceful blend of classical narrative and magic realism, and the power with which it brought an otherwise invisible world to life." Indigenous view and bigotry El Norte portrays an Amerindian point-of-view and this is exemplified by the religion they follow. An example is when Rosa Xuncax sings the eulogy at the funeral of her father and its Native American Maya religious theme. A traditional Maya belief is that life has a cyclical nature. Rosa sings in her Maya tongue: Throughout El Norte young Rosa and Enrique and their family are subjected to many epithets, hatred, and bigotry due to their indigenous heritage. When the father Arturo inadvertently kills a soldier, for example, a ladino screams: And, when Rosa and Enrique reach their destination in Mexico, a passenger screams at the timid Maya youngsters: Guatemalan exodus David Villalpando, the actor who played Enrique Xuncax, gave an interview to Lear Media about what the film meant to him and why he believes the film is important. Villalpando said: Production When Nava and his production crew were, more or less, kicked out of Mexico during the film shoot, he had to re-create a Mexican village in California. Nava said: "We were filming in Mexico during the end of the López Portillo presidency, one of the last of the old-fashioned caciques to rule Mexico. One day, men with machine guns took over the set. I had guns pointed at my head. We were forced to shut down production, bribe our way out of the country, fight to get our costumes back, and start shooting again in California. Ironically, in the United States our extras were real Mayan refugees. They were the