Eyes of Land and Sea

The life on Zapotal Santa Cruz, a little town in Veracruz, Mexico. Canícula follows the school of the Dance of the Flyers and the people who surrounds the zone where youngs learn an ancient Mesoamerican ceremony performed by totonacs during the summer.

In the Catholic religion Mayordomia, devotees wait their turn to ask Mary Magdalene to grant their wishes by speaking to her in private. They are convinced to be heard by someone who unfailingly send their requests to God.

Hortencia, a native woman from Tuxpan with a stormy past, journeys through sea and land to recover testimonies of the crew of a fishing boat that disappeared five years ago in Veracruz, Mexico. Gradually the journey becomes a reflection on the meaning of life and death, built around the mythologies and deepest yearnings of the people with whom she crosses.

The Wixarika culture (or Huichol) originates from the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Durango where more than 50,000 Huicholes currently live and practice their indigenous traditions. A group of huicholes wants a film made that portrays their religious and social customs, as they feel it is vital to preserve their culture for new generations. The huicholes are pilgrims, deer hunters, and they eat peyote. Every year, the Huicholes embark on pilgrimages from the mountain ranges in Jalisco to places like the Wirikuta Desert in San Luis Potosí and to the Aramara Sea along the coast of San Blas, Nayarit. The filmmakers were extended the rare opportunity to follow the Huicholes from San Jose and Tesorero on their travels and document their daily lives over a two-year period.