Maria Alvarez (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is a smart, independent 17-year-old girl from Colombia who agrees to smuggle a half-kilo of heroin into the United States for a shot at a normal existence in "El Norte" -- where she imagines the city streets are paved with gold. Sandino Moreno's sensitive portrayal of an atypical drug-running "mule" earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead.