LonCayeway@Yahoo.com writes "Subject: The Chiapas Media Project - Song of the Earth
The Chiapas Media Project (CMP) is searching for university, religious and community-based sponsors to host screenings on their 8th annual spring tour April-May 2004. The tour will feature new videos produced by indigenous video makers from the states of Chiapas and Guerrero, Mexico.
DESCRIPTIONS OF SELECTED VIDEOS TO BE SCREENED:
Song of the Earth: Traditional Music from the Highlands of Chiapas (Tzotzil with English subtitles, 16:42, 2002)
Tzotzil elders explain the significance of traditional music and the role of musicians in their communities. Various celebrations, songs
and dances are presented including the festival of San Andrés, the most important celebration of the year. Elders talk about the influence of western music and dress on youth and express their hopes that indigenous youth will maintain their traditions and culture. Song of the Earth demonstrates the strength of communities in
resistance as they struggle to preserve their cultural heritage amidst the low intensity war and the allure of pop culture.
Caracoles: New Paths of Resistance (Spanish with English subtitles, 42 minutes, 2003)
Produced in August 2003 in Oventik and Morelia by 18 Zapatista video makers, Caracoles is a celebration of the death of the Aguascalientes
and the birth of the Caracoles and the Good Government Assemblies. Various members of the Zapatista leadership discuss how these changes
will affect internal political and economic processes, gender relations, and their relationship to international civil society. The
video is an open call to join with the Zapatista communities in their struggle for recognition of their autonomy and in their fight against
neo-liberal economic policies and globalization.
We Speak Against Injustice (Tzeltal and Spanish with English subtitles, 34:00, 2003)
We Speak Against Injustice follows the March, 2002 Zapatista caravan as it visited 11 cities on the way to Mexico City. WSAI was joining other indigenous peoples in presenting the San Andres Accords to the Mexican Congress. However, Mexico's Congress has since changed the Accords against the will of indigenous people and included Indigenous Peoples in their Constitution. The video then documents the
following paramilitary violence in Chiapas which began in August 2002. This violence is in response the pressure put on Zapatistas by
Mexican governments who now want Zapatista communities to leave their lands so Mexico can sell their natural resources.
Reclaiming Justice: Guerrero's Indigenous Community Police (Spanish with English subtitles, 26:00, 2002)
Reclaiming Justice is the story of 42 Mixteco and Tlapaneco communities in the Costa-Montaña region of Guerrero. In 1995, when faced with injustice and corruption of local authorities, the
communities formed the Indigenous Community Police (ICP). Based on the traditional Indigenous justice system, ICP is a volunteer organization elected by regional assembly. With the ICP, crime
dropped substantially, organized crime has nearly disappeared, and police corruption is nonexistent. But instead of supporting the ICP,
state and local governments claim that they function outside the law. Reclaiming Justice gives voice to members of the ICP, demonstrates
their success in creating community security, and shows how the ICP restored dignity and pride to Indigenous communities despite opposition by corrupt authorities."
