Amigos on AllMovie

Filmed in Spanish, Amigos is a fairly realistic look at the plight of the Mariel Boat People, the so-called "undesirables" who were shipped off to America by Cuba's Fidel Castro in 1980. Ruben Rabasa plays a Cuban who comes to Miami after nearly 20 years in prison. He is given shelter by his old friend Reynaldo Medina, who'd escaped from Cuba during the Castro revolution. In seeking work, Rabasa suffers from the resentment of longtime Cuban residents of Miami, who disdainfully regard the incoming Boat People as the dregs of the earth. Desperate for a job, Rabasa is tricked into joining a smuggling ring, but is rescued by his friends before any real damage can be done. Amigos writer/director Ivan Acosta is best known for his off-Broadway play El Super.