Ambiente Cielo Rojo, A.C.´s docu-clips
Guardians of Maize: Culture
The García García family is dedicated to preserving the knowledge of the milpa. Doña Mari shows us how her whole family plays a role in the processes of self-sustainable cultivation and tells us how knowledge travels from generation to generation. It also introduces us to the conflict of the agrochemicals of conventional agriculture.
Guardians of Maize: The Milpa
Doña Mari shows us some ancestral tools used in the harvest stage of the milpa and emphasizes the importance of the variety of species in a single crop. It also reveals the consequences of having used agrochemicals on his land for some time and how the soil was degraded. Seeing these deficiencies, they return to hereditary knowledge to recover lost nutrients and ensure family well-being.
Guardians of Maize: The Tradition
Doña Mari shows us her ancestors’ traditions, the empathy that exists in the millenary beliefs between nature and the human being; everything through the celebration of the end of the harvest. Doña Mari reminds us that they are children of the maize of their region and that for this reason they must conserve it.
Guardians of Maize: Food
The celebration of the Day of the Dead is a reminder of the importance of food products derived from the milpa, with maize being a connection between the living and the dead. Doña Mari assures that her deceased parents and grandparents are proud to receive a table full of maize and bean products from the land they inherited, and she will continue following this custom with her children.
Guardians of Maize: Maize Fair
Zitácuaro’s 5th Criollo Maize Fair unites the neighboring communities who share the creole maize variety that exists, as well as its different gastronomical uses. Several women participating in the fair emphasize their concern about the loss of interest of the new generations to conserve our maize in the face of the threat of monocultures.
