Jalmá

The main reason was to get to know four singers, two young and two older, to film their stories in order to understand their personal views in relation to song and their life histories. I tried to understand the symbolic elements that encompass the imagination of Yumana music ? the songs and dances that tell the daily stories of the native people of Baja California

The team was formed in the process. Thanks to the research advisors, Norma Carbajal, Nelly Calderón and Sergio Cruz, teachers and close friends, I contacted the singers for the first time. They were the ones who planted the seed. Adrián Macias, colleague, friend and brother, was my right-hand man in the project; the person I could count on during the process of shooting and postproduction.

The editing process. There is a lot of content, many stories behind each person, choosing the aspects and fragments that will be cut in the final version, without compromising the result, is the most difficult thing. In addition, there is always the question of treatment of the documentary, there is an inherent commitment to find the form that does not affect or transgress the essence of the theme.

I would like to generate ethnographic material ? apart from registering it, it serves as introspection into our cultures. I also hope to become familiar with and document other Latin American cultures. On the other hand, I would like to make a fiction film, told through characters from a reality not very far away.

We are very pleased (it's a real honor!) to be able to participate in the spreading of knowledge about the native cultures of Baja California with this work, together with the great filmmakers of current Mexican documentaries. From its beginning, FICM has been an important platform for promoting Mexican cinema.