The Story Behind Searching for Sugar Man

From Mexico to Detroit

When Sixto Rodriguez was just 16 years old, he started playing his family’s guitar. He started writing songs and performing them at local bars around Detroit. When people heard him sing, they often compared him to icons like Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan. Sixto is a Detroit native, but his parents migrated from Mexico to America in the 1920s.

A young Sixto Rodriguez was holding a guitar on stage.

Source: Pinterest

He was part of the numerous immigrants that moved to Detroit because of the industrial job market in the City. The government launched “Operation Wetback,” but there was an increase in racist anti-immigrant hysteria. It was recommended for many Mexicans to stay in Detroit because, in other parts of the United States, racism was worse.