The Year of the Radio

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Mexico in the '90s. Seven-year-old Alex and his little siblings are left in the care of their senile Aunt Lola while their mother works as a host on a radio station.

Alex misses his mother and, with his siblings, listens to his mother’s show every night, building strange imaginary worlds through the stories they hear, the news, the radio soap operas, and the religious influence of his great-aunt.

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Main credits

Kishi Leopo, Samuel (film director)
Kishi Leopo, Samuel (actor)

Other credits

Animation and editing, Edgar Amor Ramírez; music, Kenji Kishi Leopo.

Keywords

memories,Joe Brainard,radio,sibling relationships,family drama,mexico cinema,mexican cinema,cinema in spanish,short films,short film,short,non-feature,run time,short run time,running time,short running time,live-action short,documentary short,animated short,live-action short film,documentary short film,animated short film,child,children,childhood,kid,girl,girlhood,boy,boyhood,teen,teenager,puberty,adolescence,adolescent,coming-of-age,minor,kiddo,kids,juvenile,stripling,moppet,tyke,tween,tot,toddler,sonny,girlie,underaged,dependent,youngster,infancy,babyhood,girlhood,boyhood,friendships,juvenescence,juvenility,springtime,early life,religion,spirituality,organized religion,soul,spiritual beliefs,religious beliefs,belief systems,branches of religion,religious sects,sects,gods and goddesses,monotheism,theism,pantheism,polytheism,spiritual awakening,health,healthy,physical health,mental health,emotional health,health equity,public health,health care,health policy,fitness,veracity,welfare,soundness,aging,age,old age,senior,youth,middle age,aging gracefully,advanced age,collective health,maturity,family,kin,fellowship,household,immediate family,extended family,multigenerational family,multigenerational household,kinfolk,family tree,genealogy,nuclear family,modern family,family tree; "The Year of the Radio"; Pragda Films

WEBVTT

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-14-10 Channel...
-It\'s 9 past 4...

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-\"I was made for loving you\"
played by Kiss

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-Mexican radio
It\'s 5:11

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The Year of the Radio.

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When I was 7 years old,
my great aunt Lola moved in with us.

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She would look after us,
my mom said.

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She smelled like pistachios
and thrift store clothes.

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Her son brought her in,

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a man with sunglasses who smoked like a chimney.

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He died of cancer a couple of years later.

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My mom used to work all day
at a radio station during that time.

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She hosted a show at night.

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My favorite segment of the show
was \"Say what you see\".

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People called and described
what they saw at night.

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A truck driver told how his trailer
snorted the lines on the road.

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Some nurses saw ghosts
in the city\'s old hospital.

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A taxi driver described a mariachi brawl.

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A man met an alien
and joined him for dinner.

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Some girls saw a giant rat in the street
while working the corner.

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An old lady watched a black moth
as it landed on a traffic light...

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...at the very moment
a horrible accident happened.

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\"It is the black moth of Death\",
she said in a deep voice.

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Aunt Lola had sinusitis.

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One morning I saw a couple of snot drops
falling from her nose...

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to my breakfast.

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I gave my food to my dog since.

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The day she caught me, she asked:

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\"Why did you do that?\"

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I didn\'t answer.

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The radio gave us the news too.

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-As you know, there was a series of explosions...

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-The area was evacuated.

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-200 casualties and 1500 injured
have been reported.

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-The referee leaves him alone and...
Alberto García Azpe failed.

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-The \"Chupacabras\" strikes again.

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-A new economic era begins in Mexico
as the NAFTA comes into force this Saturday.

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-We are the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

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It was a tumultuous time.

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We were always in the streets.

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The adults were never home.

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And when they were home,
they\'d locked themselves in their bedrooms,

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to cry or fight.

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But not in my house.

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Aunt Lola was always listening
to radio dramas at home.

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-Why did The Eye of Glass become a criminal?

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One time, a bunch of 5th graders
threatened to beat me every day

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until the end of the year.

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That day, after taking care of
my wounds,

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aunt Lola told me that the solution
to all my problems was in the Bible.

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I should just open the book on a random page,
and read the first lines.

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So I did it.

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John 3:8
The wind blows wherever it pleases.

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You hear its sound,
but you cannot tell where it comes from

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or where it is going.

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So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

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The boys kept their promise.

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-The wrongdoer stabbed the victim
with an ice picker and fled the scene.

00:05:04.958 --> 00:05:10.083
-Prosecutor David Ramirez is in charge
of the investigation.

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I remember waiting for my mom
when she had to work late.

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I was afraid that she would never come back.

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It was only in those moments
when the radio went silent.

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Then everything would go back to normal.

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And the radio turned back on, reminding us
that life was still there.

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I remember calling my mom\'s radio show myself.

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I was fearful while dialing,

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figuring out what to say
as the line rang.

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I was going to describe
my sister drinking from her bottle,

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my brother doing homework,

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my dog licking his nuts,

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my aunt Lola praying the Rosary
while eating pistachios.

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And me,

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listening to her
amplitude-modulation voice

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echoing in every corner
of the house.

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I remember the phone ringing,

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the operator taking my call.

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I remember that a few seconds later,

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a black moth came through the window

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and landed on the corner of
aunt Lola\'s room.

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I remember the silence.

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-Well... It\'s over

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-We have the promised song next

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-Do you already have
your cassette player ready?

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-I hope so
if you have your cassette around

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-When I say the action word,
you release the recorder button.

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or press both buttons at the same time

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-I mean, the recording and the play buttons

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-Are you ready?
ok... action