EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Decades before El Paso made waves on the international indie rock map, a tiny, gritty DIY scene was carving out its own space in the Sun City\u2019s desert landscape. Now, local filmmaker Christopher Rakas is bringing that forgotten history to the big screen with his debut documentary, Punk Rockula: The Curse of UGLOR.<\/p>\n
The 30-minute film makes its world premiere this Sunday at the historic Plaza Theatre as a featured entry in the Plaza Classic Film Festival\u2019s annual “Local Flavor” Showcase.<\/p>\n
“They were so unique back then,” Rakas said about Uglor. “Especially in El Paso, you know, we’re not in New York, and we’re not in San Francisco, we’re not in LA. So, we’re in the middle of nowhere sort of, and to see guys like that and hear that kind of music… It was inspiring.”<\/p>\n
For Rakas, chronicling the band Uglor was a personal mission born out of his own childhood memories. His older brother was briefly a member of the seminal 1980s outfit, giving Rakas a front-row seat to an underground movement that existed largely without traditional venues.<\/p>\n
“Back in the ’80s, there wasn’t a huge support of seeing that. There were no punk rock bars,” Rakas recalled. “It was mostly rock and roll, Tejano, Mariachi music, and so El Paso didn’t really support that scene.”<\/p>\n
Despite the lack of infrastructure, Uglor and their contemporaries carved out places to play anywhere they could \u2014 from open desert ditches powered by rented generators to DIY house shows. Though their run was brief and marked by internal tragedy, the band’s reverberations echoed across the Borderland for decades, inspiring a younger generation of musicians, including future members of the Grammy-winning band At the Drive-In.<\/p>\n
“I was at a party about two weeks ago, and some old skater guy was like, ‘Are you talking about Uglor?'” Rakas said. “There are a lot of people, even 35 years later, who are still talking about them.”<\/p>\n
Taking more than three years to complete, the documentary dives deep into both the creative spark of the scene and the tragic circumstances that ultimately pulled the group apart.<\/p>\n
While revisiting those painful moments proved difficult during production, Rakas says the journey bonded the surviving community even closer together, especially as several scene figures passed away during the making of the film.<\/p>\n
“I met all these people that I would never have otherwise met if I hadn’t done this, and I’m still friends with these people now,” said Rakas. “We experienced tragedy together because several people passed during the filming of this, so it created a bond with us that is still strong to this day.”<\/p>\n
Adding a local connection behind the lens, KFOX14 anchor Robert Holguin contributed cinematography to the project.<\/p>\n
How to Watch:<\/p>\n
Punk Rockula: The Curse of UGLOR screens as part of the Plaza Classic Film Festival’s Local Flavor Showcase, which highlights short works from local and regional filmmakers.When: Sunday at 3:30 p.m.Where: The Plaza Theatre (Kendle Kidd Performance Hall)Event: Plaza Classic Film Festival \u2013 Final Day – $6<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: Plaza Classic Film Festival returns July 16, bringing classics back to El Paso\u2019s Plaza<\/a><\/p>\n