Juarez-based news outlet YoCiudadano published a recent feature profiling La Nota Roja and its English-language counterpart, The Red Note, shortly after the final episode of the ten-part podcast series aired. The article examined the project’s origins, its global reach, and the creative team’s approach to telling a story rooted in decades of gender violence along the US-Mexico border.

The piece noted that the podcast, written and directed by filmmaker Craig Whitney and hosted by journalist and activist Lydia Cacho, tells the history of the femicides in Ciudad Juarez and the ongoing impunity surrounding thousands of cases of murdered and disappeared women and girls. Across ten episodes of approximately 45 minutes each, the series weaves together the voices of victims’ mothers, activists, investigators, journalists, and former public officials to chronicle how the border city came to be known as a place synonymous with violence against women.

The YoCiudadano article highlighted that the project originally began life as a feature film. According to Whitney, the American production company Imperative Entertainment proposed adapting the concept into a podcast format first. With the podcast now complete and available on platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, the team has turned its attention back to the original plan. Whitney expressed his enthusiasm about moving forward with the feature firm, describing the story as deeply important.

The article also explored the podcast’s international reception. Whitney noted that La Nota Roja had drawn listeners across Latin America, Europe, and Africa, reflecting the unfortunate universality of gender-based violence. He emphasized that while the story is rooted specifically in the culture of Juarez and northern Mexico, many aspects of it resonate with audiences worldwide.

Whitney spoke candidly about his position as a non-Mexican director telling a Mexican story. He credited Juarez-born journalist Alicia Fernández with conducting the interviews that form the emotional backbone of the series, explaining that her local roots allowed her to build a connection with victims’ families that an outsider could not have achieved. He also applauded the role Lydia Cacho played during the editorial process, bringing her firsthand experience in Juarez to ensure the narrative treated its subjects with the respect they deserved.