[1] The drama features Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando, in their first film roles, as two indigenous youths who flee Guatemala due to the ethnic and political persecution of the Guatemalan Civil War.

[5] They head north and travel through Mexico to the United States, arriving in Los Angeles, California, after an arduous journey.

Arturo explains his worldview to his son Enrique and how the indio fares in Guatemalan life, noting that, "to the rich, the peasant is just a pair of strong arms".

Because of his attempts to form a labor union among the workers, Arturo and the other organizers are attacked and murdered by government troops when a co-worker is bribed to betray them—Arturo's severed head is seen hanging from a tree.

Enrique fights back and kills the attacker, then escapes with his sister Rosa and hides in a safe house until morning.

During the second part of the film, the two teenagers flee Guatemala, travel through Mexico, and meet a Mexican coyote who guides them across the border.

After their first failed attempt to cross the "frontera", in which a man posing as a coyote deceives and attempts to rob them, they have a horrific experience when they finally cross the U.S.-Mexico border through a sewer pipe laden with rats; critic Roger Ebert noted: The scene is horrifying, not least because it's pretty clear these are real rats.

Enrique becomes a busboy and, as his English classes begin to improve his command of the language, is promoted to a position as a waiter's assistant.

When Enrique finally decides to take the position, Rosa becomes gravely ill with typhus contracted from the rat bites she received during their border crossing.

Maybe when we die, we'll find a home.After Rosa dies, Enrique is shown once again waiting with the other day-labor hopefuls in a parking lot, offering his services to a man looking for "strong arms"; reviewer Renee Scolaro Rathke observes: "It is a bitter realization that Arturo's words about the poor being nothing but arms for the rich holds true even in El Norte.

As a youth, he crossed the border several times a week, often wondering who lived in all those cardboard shacks on the Mexican side.

[12]The movie has become a staple of high school Spanish language and Human Geography classes throughout the United States and multiculturalism studies in college.

[12] Parts of El Norte provide an example of how Latin American magical realism, primarily found in novels, has been depicted in a theatrical film.

[10][13][14] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post wrote: "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.

We are only on Earth in passing.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: That bastard Indian killed Puma!And, when Rosa and Enrique reach their destination in Mexico, a passenger screams at the timid Maya youngsters: We have arrived to Tijuana, you damn Indians.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: Fifteen years ago, the indigenous people in Guatemala were living a cruel extermination that forced them to flee toward Mexico and the United States.

"[18] Nava tells the story that, at one point, Mexican police kidnapped their accountant and held him for ransom, and at the same time, his parents had to pose as tourists in order to smuggle exposed film out of the country in their suitcases.

[26] Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of the website Spirituality and Practice were touched by Nava and Thomas' story and the attention they give to the character's native roots, and wrote: "Nava's attention to details, particularly the aesthetic and religious beauty of Indian culture, and his sympathy for the protagonists' inner lives lift this story above its melodramatic moments and make the tale a memorable one.

This has something to do with the straight, unactorly quality of the performances, especially by Zaide Silvia Gutierrez as Rosa and David Villalpando as Enrique, two splendid Mexican actors.