Everybody's Dying Here

With 4,000 bands in Mexico City, it's not easy to distinguish yourself from the din. But Las Ultrasonicas have-they're the only all-girl punk band in the biggest city on earth. Ali Gardoki's fiery Everybody's Dying Here follows her furious five through the city's "garage" underground, replicating failed gigs, hostile crowds, and all the cliches of rockdom. This no-budget rockumentary has a crazed energy and sharp intimacy due to the fact that Gardoki is also one of the "girls" in the band, giving her the ultimate backstage pass. Not that we get a glimpse of some fabulous super group with all the decadent accessories of success-limos, lingerie, and lasciviousness. The underground scene of Everybody's Dying Here is about as dark as a basement and not much bigger. But "la escena" is also about intense music, and a resistance to the official "rock en Español" heard on the radio. Of course, "garage" has its own problem-the audience is filled with macho moshers who think five women on stage means strip show. No wonder Las Ultrasonicas want to write a song called "Fuck You For Being Here."

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