The Train of Ice and Fire

Colombia, November 1993: a reconstructed old passenger train, bespangled with yellow butterflies, is carrying one hundred musicians, acrobats, and artists on a daring adventure through the heart of a country soaked in violence. The intention is to put on free shows for locals at railway stations along the way: vibrant spectacles involving music, trapeze, tattoo-art, an ice museum and, star of the show, Roberto the fire-breathing dragon. Leading this crusade of hope is Manu Chao with his band Mano Negra. Ramón Chao is on board to chronicle the journey. As the train climbs 1,000 kilometers from Santa Marta on the Caribbean Coast to Bogotá in the Altiplano, Ramón keeps one eye on the fluctuating morale of the train's eccentric cargo, and the other on the ever-changing physical and social landscape.