New Linda Ronstadt doc "Linda and the Mockingbirds" Coming October 20

LINDA RONSTADT DOCUMENTARY LINDA AND THE MOCKINGBIRDS TO BE RELEASED DIGITALLY OCTOBER 20 FROM SHOUT! STUDIOS A TALE OF IMMIGRATION, FAMILY, AND MUSIC, AN INSPIRING NEW DOCUMENTARY CAPTURES LINDA RONSTADT’S 2019 TRIP TO MEXICO WITH LOS CENZONTLES, A YOUNG MEXICAN-AMERICAN SONG AND DANCE TROUPE

Los Angeles, CA – Linda and the Mockingbirds, a beautiful new documentary capturing Linda Ronstadt’s 2019 journey to Mexico with a group of young students, will be released digitally on October 20th by Shout! Studios and PCH Films. From award-winning director and producer James Keach (Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me), who also produced the 2019 Linda Ronstadt documentary The Sound of My Voice, Linda and the Mockingbirds is the result of Ronstadt’s introducing Keach to Los Cenzontles Cultural Arts Academy, for whom she has been a patron for 26 years. The film is available for pre-order now.   Los Cenzontles (The Mockingbirds) is a grassroots organization in the Bay Area of California committed to amplifying the roots of Mexican culture. Founded by Eugene Rodriguez, Los Cenzontles provides the local community with a family-friendly setting for traditional arts education and cultural events. With a record of 30 years of excellence, they have drawn supporters like Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Los Lobos.   Linda and the Mockingbirds chronicles a road trip with Ronstadt, musician Jackson Browne, and a tour bus full of young singers, dancers and instrumentalists to the small town of Banámichi in the Mexican state of Sonora, where Ronstadt’s grandfather grew up. There they meet up with their Mexican counterparts, the folkloric dance troupe Grupo de Danza Xunutzi, and put on soulful performances showcasing Mexican culture.

“Maybe it’s genetic memory, but I feel very at home when I go to Mexico,” says Ronstadt in the film. “When I’m in Mexico, I have a better understanding of who I am, and who my family is, you know? I feel great pride in it, and I always have. I hope it makes the kids feel like that, that they have more of an understanding of where they came from, the culture they came from, who they are, why they’re important, why they should never be rendered invisible or without their dignity.”    Ronstadt’s passion for her Mexican heritage is evident, and there is sheer joy and appreciation in her face as she watches the concert, praising the young talent. The performances are riveting, with children and young adults singing and dancing in traditional costumes, musicians performing on guitars, violin, and traditional instruments, the explosive rhythm of the zapateado dancers’ shoes striking the ground. A young performer dedicates a sorrowful song about lonely orphan in a palm grove to Ronstadt, which she explains to Browne is a song she learned from her grandfather when she was a child.   The film also takes on the subject of immigration. Through the personal stories of the Los Cenzontles instructors and students, the heartbreak of family separations, racism, and border politics are illustrated in emotional interviews.   Sitting next to a border wall covered in barbed wire, Los Cenzontles member Lucina Rodriguez tells the story of how she immigrated to the US illegally as a 10 year old child with her mother and brothers in order to be reunited with her father, later becoming a US citizen. Her family’s treacherous crossing inspired Browne and Eugene Rodriguez to write "The Dreamer," a song that asks: "A dónde van los sueños?" — "Where do the dreams go?"   Reflecting on the bus trip back to the Arizona border, Ronstadt reflects on the families that have been recently separated there. Thinking of her 2 year old grandniece who was on the bus with her, she muses, “What if we got to the border, and they took Annabelle away and put her in a cage? If they took her away from her mother who loves her, and her father who loves her and wants to protect her, and just lost her in the system? We’d just be beside ourselves.”   Linda and the Mockingbirds artfully blends the narratives of celebrating the music and culture of Mexico and the powerful subject of immigration.    “The reason we play music is to celebrate our sorrows and our joys,” says Ronstadt. “To try and help make sense of something that oppresses you, or celebrate something that lifts you up.”   A treasured musical icon, Ronstadt is the recipient of multiple GRAMMY® Awards, American Music Awards, and Academy of Country Music awards, as well an ALMA Award and an Emmy. In her prolific recording career she released three hit Spanish-language albums, including Canciones De Mi Padre ("Songs of My Father”), introducing the music of her childhood to new generations and fans worldwide.   “For nearly 30 years, Linda Ronstadt has opened doors for our music and youth arts program,” says Rodriguez. “To us she is a mentor, teacher, inspiration — and family. In Linda and the Mockingbirds, James Keach tells our story with depth and dignity. We hope it builds bridges across cultural divides. We hope it makes people sing, smile, reflect, and want to dance.”