Over her 40-year teaching career, Juana Alzaga has maintained a tireless commitment to her students. She’s led many school orchestras, but this one is different. The majority of her students’ families are undocumented immigrants from Central and South America who’ve made new homes along Buford Highway. For most, this is their only opportunity for music education.
La Orquesta follows Juana, an indomitable teacher and activist, and her orchestra over the course of one school year. Through cinéma vérité, intimate interviews and personal archival footage, the film tells the story of a community coming together to offer its children opportunities that should be accessible to all, even as they navigate health and financial challenges and
increasing hostility toward immigrants. La Orquesta offers a different kind of immigrant story, one that centers art, beauty and the transformative power of music.
