David       fell into the usual traps while working in far off Cancún,

                 but returned to his family, raised his corn to feed them

                 and became a catechist working with children.

 

Zenaida   was pressured to marry young and leave her

                 educational dreams. Now she is a leader in her

                 weaving cooperative.

 

Damián   grew up between two worlds but has chosen his Tsotsil

                identity and become the first rock musician in that

                language

 

Kixtup     His parents fled the massacres in Guatemala and in

                Mexico they were told to abandon their Chuj Maya

                traditions. He works to recover them through his studies

                and contacts with the older generation.

 

Norma     Her parents brought her up speaking only Spanish.

                Inspired by the 1994 uprising and by her work with

                children selling crafts in San Cristobal streets she has

                learned Tsotsil and now speaks with her grandmother.

 

Rufino     One of the "Other Dreamers" he had to return to Mexico

                to  go to college after growing up in the U.S. and found

                life in his Tsotsil community hard to adjust to.

 

Claudia   At a very early age she made a mistake in choosing a

                husband. Now she is firm in her commitment to bring

                up her child in a society that doesn't always understand

                women in her position, and she is active in resistance.

 

Antun      Having grown up in a Tseltal Maya community,

                through his art he tries to re-imagine the

                unfragmented Maya world view.

 

The fight against building a "Rural City" in Chenalhó

 

Acting as a frame around their telling of their stories and an example of the "smoke" of world commodification that attempts to erase their cultural identities is the story of the struggle against building a "Rural City" in the municipality of Chenalhó, where some of them live. These segments include interviews with some of the key actors in that successful struggle.

 

view an extended mini documentary about this struggle with material not included in the documentary.