By Benita Zepeda–

In the 2009 film “Sin Nombre”, there are many themes that are apparent throughout the film. Some of those themes consist of gang culture, where a “brotherhood” is placed before the law.

Then there are themes of love.  Love that is lost, found, concealed and destroyed. There are moments where families are torn apart just because they want to leave a certain place.  But what ties all these things together?

The Latinas portrayed in this film are definitely real women in our culture and world.  Women that love men that have chosen a path into violence, and women that have fallen victim of a broken home because of a heartbreaking attempt to relocate to another country.

Latinas involved in issues that are represented in this movie are faced with extraordinary situations that many people aren’t aware happen.

In the film, there are two main characters, Willy, or El Casper, is part of a gang while Sayra is a young girl trying to head to the U.S. from Honduras after she recently reunited with her father.
Willy has a girlfriend whom he keeps secret from the rest of the gang because he fears for her safety. When she does briefly get involved in what Willy’s life is like, it ends up costing her life.

Women that are in situations like Willy’s girlfriend, put themselves in danger every single day.  This isn’t just for Latinas, but it’s women from all walks of life that can be affected by whom they chose to surround themselves with.

Many sons and daughters can get caught up in the gang life and in turn will affect many mothers and fathers.  There is a constant fear of whom their children are associating with and whether or not they are going to make it home at the end of the day.

Even though there is the law, gangs such as the ones represented in Sin Nombre, find ways around the law.  They are capable of killing, stealing and harming innocent people.  And what is it for?  Is it street cred?  Respect?  Is it because there is nothing else to do?

Women need to find a way to stay away from situations like that because once one is involved, it is very hard to get out.  That is why Willy hid the woman he loved from the rest of the gang—he knew that there would be trouble for her.  Just like he knew there would be trouble when Sayra left her father to travel with him.

With Sayra’s situation in the film, immigration was the toughest adversary to overcome.  Such extreme relocation has the potential to break up a home and the prospect of losing loved ones.

Even though I am Latina, I have never had to deal with one of my family members being deported or having to try and find a way to come into or stay in the country.

I imagine how hard that could be.  In Sayra’s case in the movie, she had no one after she made the decision to leave her father.  Once she was separated from Willy, it was up to her to find her own way to the U.S.  She was alone.

So many women go through that as well, and I think that is a testament to how strong women truly are.  In such a patriarchal society, we are faced with situations and deal with issues that would have many men terrified.

We are powerful human beings, and that is something that was captured in this movie.  Regardless of the major task at hand, the women in the film and real women all over the world can overcome challenges that seem next to impossible.

They have the ability to change their situations, and when they do they will get to a place, either physically or mentally, where they can commend themselves for overcoming their most extreme challenges.

Benita Zepeda is a journalism student at Columbia College Chicago.