Fake Music Documentary from Mexico City: Is It Real, or Is it Botellita de Jeréz?

Naco Es Chido goes heavy metal by placing a real-life band at the center of a fictional mockumentary; it's something like Anvil! The Story of Anvil by way of Exit Through the Gift Shop. Directed by Sergio Arau, the man behind the sharp 2004 satire A Day Without a Mexican, the film opens with the discovery of lost recordings by 1980s rock en Español band Botellita de Jeréz. Using archival footage and mock interviews with Mexican celebrities including author Laura Esquivel, Naco Es Chido spins the tall tale of the band's rise, career-ending fist fight, and requisite cash-in reunion. In the real world, Botellita de Jeréz is the 1980s rock band in which Arau got his start under the stage name Uyuyuy.

Members of Botellita de Jeréz formed the band in Mexico City in 1982. They were the masters of guacarock, a tongue-in-cheek name for the blend of traditional Mexican folk, rock 'n' roll, and smart-assery they arguably invented. Following a string of albums into the early '90s, the group disbanded in a far less spectacular fashion than the film suggests.

The band has since reformed with the original lineup, and Naco Es Chido indicates that its members are still up to their old irreverent tricks. The film is a frenzied blurring of fact and fiction, fueled by rock en Español, a mischievous spirit, and the restless thrum of Mexico City.

Naco Es Chido starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Aug. 31) at Artists' Television Access; admission is $7.