On Saturday, Sept. 12, the Roxie Theater in San Francisco will host a 20th‑anniversary screening of the documentary MAQUILÁPOLIS. The film, co‑directed by photographer‑artist Sergio De La Torre and filmmaker Vicky Funari, first premiered in 2006 after the creators traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to record women working in the region’s factories.
Local event celebrates a landmark film
The screening brings De La Torre, Funari and Lourdes Luján—one of the film’s original participants—back together to discuss what has changed and what remains the same for workers in the border‑region factories. Tickets are available online, and the showing begins at 3:45 p.m.
Background on the maquiladora system
Maquiladoras are foreign‑owned assembly plants that line the U.S.–Mexico border. Tijuana alone houses more than 570 such factories, many operating on land spanning thousands of acres. The industry grew rapidly after the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement removed tariff barriers, and it continues under the current Manufacturing, Maquila and Export Service Industry agreement.
Women featured in the documentary recount labor violations, wage theft and exposure to hazardous chemicals. Luján recalls that a jug of water for her family cost nine pesos—about an hour’s wage—and that toxic runoff from a U.S.‑owned battery‑recycling plant polluted the Almar River, a place she once played in as a child.
Progress and ongoing challenges
According to Luján, community organizing helped secure a government commitment to clean up the former Metales y Derivados site, which is now a soccer field. “The impact was positive for everyone involved in the community struggle,” she said.
Nevertheless, residents still report green, foamy water in the Almar River and recurring flooding as recently as 2025. While the Mexican government and factory owners blame precipitation, a study in the journal Social Sciences attributes much of the pollution to illegal dumping by the factories.
Filmmakers’ reflections
Funari expressed doubt that the world has improved in the past two decades, but emphasized the importance of agency: “People have agency and they use that agency. The film shows that it can work, no matter how big the antagonist is.” De La Torre agreed, noting the documentary’s power to tell the workers’ stories.
Luján, now employed at a laundromat in Southern California, says the labor abuses she documented persist. “You leave the job, and they can just hire someone else. The maquiladora never loses, while the worker always loses,” she observed.
Looking ahead
At the earlier 20th‑anniversary screening in Tijuana, audience members asked whether a new film would be made to capture current conditions. De La Torre and Funari said they are ready to pass the torch to a new generation of storytellers, noting, “We’re in our 60s now. You have to do it.”
The Roxie screening offers San Francisco audiences a chance to learn about the cross‑border labor and environmental issues that affect families on both sides of the border, and to consider how community advocacy can drive change.
Original reporting: Mission Local — read the source article.
