In the first episode of our new series, Scenes, a profile of wild and wonderful cultural experiences around the world—filmmaker John Merizalde offers an immersive portrait of the punk community in Mexico City. The film features music from local acts Rabia and Pueblos Muertos, as well as a cameo from all-female group Malaria. Here, Los Angeles-based Merizalde talks about his documentary and the subculture that inspired it:   

“When I was a teenager, my dad showed me a movie about drug-dealing punks in Medellín called Rodrigo D: No Future. It left a huge impact. One of the things that always stuck with me was that this British subculture, punk, had been exported and integrated into Latin American countries.   

“Punk is everywhere in Mexico City”

“We focused on Mexico City because it has arguably the biggest modern punk scene in all of the Americas. There's an open punk flea market downtown every Saturday and an astounding amount of punk shows, bands and venues. Punk is everywhere there.  

“It's way more than just aesthetics”

“It's not just about the music or fashion. I think part of the reason you see punk more prominently here is because Mexicans, in general, are more socially conscious of corruption and work together in more collectivist ways to combat it. To the punks in Mexico, the scene is way more than just aesthetics. It's a support system for the working class.”