Barbara Roche

BORDERS CAST BREAKDOWN

 

 

LOGLINE:   A married Mexican woman and a fleeing rebel leader find unexpected love during a journey from hell to illegally enter the U.S.

 

THE AVILA FAMILY AND FRIENDS

 

ELENA AVILA (late 20s): The young Mexican mother, the abandoned wife of Fernando.  She will take the risk of a dangerous trip to cross the border and reunite with Fernando, for the sake of their daughter’s future. 

 

ALICIA AVILA (7): Plucky, sweet-natured little girl, who adores her mother and believes she loves the father she cannot remember. 

 

FERNANDO (NANDO) AVILA (mid-30s):  Handsome, carefree, an irresistible babe magnet, known as El Conquistador.  He lives the American Dream in Chicago, where he has a good job and a woman he loves.  When he learns of his forgotten family’s impending arrival, he schemes to stop them at the border.

 

RICARDO AVILA (late 50s): Fernando’s widowed, hard-working and highly principled father, who adheres to traditional Mexican family values.  He saves his money to return one day to Mexico.

 

LUIS AVILA (early 30s): Fernando’s loyal cousin and best friend, who believes Fernando can do no wrong until his ominous side is revealed.

 

MIGUEL (mid-30s): Fernando’s best friend, single, newly-arrived from Mexico.  He provides the means that would allow Nando to keep his American Dream life.

 

ISABELLA (late 20s): Chicana; single, the pretty, fashionable, independent beauty shop owner and queen of the Cinco de Mayo parade.  She and Fernando have fallen in love and are planning a future together.

 

CONCHITA (late 20s):  Chicana; Fernando’s sexy, long-term mistress, who would do anything for him -- until she discovers the shocking truth about his real feelings.

 

MARIA (early 20s):  Waitress at the Club Rio; one of Fernando’s many admirers.

 

 

THE ILLEGALS ON THE CROSSING

 

EMILIO DELGADO (late 30s): authoritative, mysterious. Unbeknownst to Elena, he is “El Liberador,” a Zapatista army commander of the Chiapas Indian rebellion, fleeing from the Mexican military police.  He coldly uses Elena and Alicia as a cover, but his feelings soften as his secret unravels.

 

GARCIA (40s): The coyote (smuggler) who drives the illegal load to the border, inured to man’s greed and follies.

 

IGNACIO (early 30s): Ordinary, seedy, a drinker; swaggering in the belief he will get rich from the drugs he is smuggling into the States.  His sexual harassment of Elena adds to the danger of the trip.

 

TOMAS (late 20s): Ignacio’s trusting younger brother, who cannot control him and reluctantly goes along with Ignacio’s schemes in order to make the crossing.

 

JORGE and FRANCISCO (30s): They will work as illegal labor, picking fruit in Texas. They treat Elena and Alicia disdainfully, claiming a woman and child are bad luck on a trip as dangerous as this one.  

 

 

THE MILITARY POLICE  

 

CAPT. GILBERTO MENDOZA (late 30s): Arrogant, hard-nosed, ambitious Mexican Army military police officer.  He is single-mindedly focused on capturing the elusive “El Liberador” since he is confident it will lead to a promotion.

 

SGT. CAMACHO (mid-30s): A self-important MP in the hunt for “El Liberador.”

 

 

TEX-MEX BORDER PATROL

 

CHIEF TOMMY KINGMAN (late 40s): American; seasoned sector chief of the Laredo Border Patrol.  Dedicated and principled, he is realistic about the impossibility of stopping the illegal flow of aliens and drugs into the states.

 

CARLOS (30s): Chicano; flashy, unctuous and unscrupulous clerk in the Laredo Border Patrol office.  He is Fernando’s greedy accomplice in the scheme to prevent Elena and Alicia from crossing.  

 

SGT. ROSARIO (late 40s): The sole law officer of the tiny town of Friendship, Texas,  on the Rio Grande, where the most illegal action is a stolen goat.   He is inadvertently drawn into the net to catch the illegals who might be crossing in his sector.