AllMovie

Given the growing presence of Latin culture in the United States, it's not surprising that Mexican mariachi music has been experiencing a dramatic increase in popularity, and that more and more American-born musicians have been forming mariachi ensembles. But Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles are a band who are making a bold new statement within this traditional musical form; formed in California in 1994, they're America's first all-female mariachi group, featuring a dozen gifted women who are closing the gender gap in this traditionally male art form while also preserving the beauty and emotional power of classic mariachi sounds. Companeras is a documentary which chronicles the history of this ground-breaking group, and focuses on two women in particular -- a ardent fan of Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles whose great dream is to join the band, and the group's founding violinist, who in addition to being female is also not of Latin ancestry, which sometimes leading to a sense of cultural imbalance within the group. Companeras was screened in competition at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival.