I’m No Longer Here (Ya no Estoy aquí) Ending Explained: I am no longer here is is a 2019 Mexican Spanish-language award-winning musical drama film written and directed by Fernando Frías de la Parra. The movie presents the story of a 17-year-old teenage boy Ulises who loves to dance and hopes to become an aspiring dancer. The movie is available on Netflix.
Spending his days hanging around with a ragtag gang of friends, he dreams of a time when his brand of Cumbia dancing will carry him to fame and prominence beyond his Mexican mountain town. But after finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, the local drug cartel in Mexico mistakenly targets him and kidnaps him and he’s forced to flee his home. Let’s go into a detailed explanation of the movie.
Why does Ulises move to New York?
Few minutes into the movie and we learn that Ulises is the leader of their dance group ‘Los Terkos ‘. He is following a different path than his peers of the same age who has joined the drug cartel and the world of crime. The members of ‘Los Terkos’ spend their days attending carnivals and flaunting their dandy dance moves and style. However, since Ulises’ elder brother was once involved with the local cartels, he maintains a cordial relationship with them.
As we go further in the movie we see that a member of the dance group gets a two-way radio phone. Believing that it could be an asset for his brother’s ex-cartel gang, Ulises decides to give it to them. That’s when an opposing gang gets there and surprises them with a drive-by shootout. Everyone, except for Ulises, gets shot and this leads to the misunderstanding that Ulises is involved with the rival gang. When Ulises gets death threats, his mother sends him to New York.
What Happens In New York
After fleeing from his home, having no choice but to be safe, Ulises starts a new life and gets a job at a construction site. He works with some other Latino people who often make fun of his hairstyle. The fact that he speaks little to no English makes matters even worse. One night, he gains the attention of some young women through his dance moves which makes his Co-workers Jealous of him.
Ulises, who was finally getting some attention for his cultural identity, loses his temper, smashes a rack to the ground, and leaves their home. He later gets jumped by them and is also left unemployed. Left alone, Ulises refuses to give up on his identity and keeps listening to music on his Mp3 player. He tries with the use of his dance skills to earn money by showcasing his talent on the streets of New York.
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At one point in time, he actually gains people’s attention but the joy is short-lived because cops come and ask him for the permit to perform on streets. Because of his inability to communicate the matters get worse. The cops try to help him but Ulises not able to understand assumes that he is being asked to leave.
Entry Of Lin
Then Ulises meets a girl named Lin who thinks and relates to Ulises. At first, it seems that she and Ulises are the same and are facing the same problems. Lin tries to get to know more about Ulises despite their Language barrier and soon they become good friends. But then she starts ignoring Ulises as she has got new friends.
It is shown that Lin was earlier feeling lonely as she was having trouble making new friends so she used to hand out with Ulises, but now she has friends and does not have time for Ulises. Her characterizations simply show how both sides of the coin are not very different. Like her, if Ulises adapted to change, his life would still be no better.
I’m No Longer Here (Ya no Estoy aquí) Ending
In the end, we see that Ulises has finally cut his hair. The same hairs that were a part of his culture, which used to remind him of his culture, people, family. We see that he has reached his village but it is not as he left it and remembers. He is shocked to see that his village now looks so similar to the streets of New York, the same streets where he struggled.
His friends are no involved with gangs and have completely given up on their “cool” ‘Los Terkos’ demeanors. The identity that he was holding onto all this while is now lost in the strands of time .
In the closing moments, we see that Ulises observes his town and remembers that he was the one who glued everyone together and prevented them to join crime but now everything has changed. Even in the closing moments, instead of accepting his reality, Ulises chooses to be a “terko” and gets lost in his music. That’s when the battery of his music player dies and snaps him back to his reality. The ending shows how even someone as stubborn as Ulises eventually has to give in to the changes that time brings with itself.
This was ours’s version of I’m No Longer Here Ending, what us yours? For more posts like this and explanations on movies and series stay tuned with you, You can also join us on Social Media.