DOCUMENTARY: LAST WORD
(More info about this film in the Spanish version)

Contact: azarias@milanabonita.com

VERACRUZ

SOTEAPAN

Soteapan is a small town in the state of Veracruz where the popolucas live among other people from different parts of Mexico. The eldests popolucas keep the language which they became from their parents. The young ones do not show the same respect and they do not try to learn the language. They prefer Spanish because they think that just Spanish is necesary if they want to leave their town to go an look for a job in other bigger towns. That's not the only reason. Many young people think that speaking Popoluca is a sign of belonging to an indegeous community which is associated to past, old fashion and poverty and they want to be treated as real Mexicans.

JOHNY

I speak in Popoluca, from Soteapan, from this region because my parents thought me, and their parents thought them and so on, and our ancestors left us this language.

BALDOMERO

Since I was born I spoke like this, now almost in Castilla, but not really, I can't understand everything, Spanish, no!

CASILDA

I always speak Popoluca, everyday. There wasn't a day that I haven't spoken it.

ANETE

I'm proud of speaking Popoluca because we are few who speak it and we have this luck.

JOHNY

One must feel his origin in his heart. To speak Popoluca is nothing to be ashamed of, that is not it. It is not something that makes you feel worst, and you should speak it, and if you can share it with other people, even better.

CASILDA

It's not difficult to speak Popoluca. It is simple to speak it as to learn it, as well as understand it. As an example, if I want to say that you are sitting on the ground is as simple as saying you are sitting on the ground. But in Spanish it is much more complex.

BALDOMERO

We speak Popoluca between each other and we understand ourselves, but is sad that I speak in Popoluca with you and you don't understand anything.

GABINO

A long time ago people from Oteapan came here to sell things and we hid from them because we couldn't answer them, we didn't understand, we were afraid as well. Since we couldn't say yes or no, we hid from them. We couldn't answer them. We couldn't answer them.

JUANA

I'm never going to loose it until the day I die, because I, I mean, I like better speaking better in Popoluca then in Castilla. I speak with my people in Popoluca, I only speak in Castilla with outsiders and with my grandchildren that don't speak Popoluca. That is why I speak in Castilla, but with my people, my brothers and sisters, I speak in Popoluca.

TOMASA

I like to learn Popoluca so I can practice with my mother and with my sister, with the people from here that speak in Popoluca, that is why I like to learn it.

VIANEY

Here in Soteapan, many young people feel ashamed to speak this language. They feel pity. If you ask them if they speak Popoluca they will say that they don't because they feel sorry. They are ashamed of this language.

CIRILO

Some people stopped speaking Popoluca, because they thought that this way people would take them more seriously. So they would say that they were different. Some people don't answer anymore when you speak to them in Popoluca. It is the same for women or men. Some young people leave and go out of here wondering around. They come back and then don't want to speak Popoluca anymore, also because of other people that will say that they are foreign.

CONRADO

I don't believe that if you leave for a couple of days and then comes back here and lie to their own people and says that doesn't know how to speak Popoluca anymore, that is not true. That is a lie for my own brothers from my town. And you can't lie, right?

ANETE

The young people when they leave here and go elsewhere, they pretend they have forgotten the language, but they don't. They don't use it because they are ashamed. When they come back to Soteapan, they say that they don't speak Popoluca.

JUANA

Like my grandson, he doesn't speak Popoluca anymore. He's already lost it because he doesn't speak it.

ANETE

Like many young people from here that are ashamed, or even ashamed that their parents speak the language.

BALDOMERO

We have to insist with those young ones who are ashamed to speak Popoluca. We have to insist so they speak their own language.

DESIDERIO

Some kids know how to speak the language and some others speak Spanish, they won't understand each other when they talk.

GABINO

If we get lost, or we are terminated, then there won't be Popoluca or real man like us.

If in 10 years I'm not alive anymore, the Popoluca will be over, my children won't learn Popoluca anymore, and it will be all over.

SONORA

EL JÚPARE

A small group of Mayo speakers live in El Júpare, a small village in the state of Sonora. As in many other places, the Mayo languages is kept by the elders. There are a few kids who know the language. Many know a few words, but just some, they don't use the language in their ordinary live. Due to this situation, some of the Mayo people of the village decided to creat the Centro de Cultura Blas Maso. In the center they try to teach the language and the culture of their ancestors to their children. This iniciative has worked quite good, but their short resources make it had for it to improve and bring the language to the common use again. Spanish has such a power that makes it extremly hard for other languages to live as neighbours.

ISABEL

I feel very happy, I'm not ashamed to speak my language, wherever I am I speak my own language, among foreigners ( yoris ). With my children wherever we are, I speak to them in Mayo, if I'm out of town, wherever. And I tell them: Let's go! It's late. But always in my language.

GUADALUPE

I started speaking Mayo when I was a child, I grew up speaking Mayo, and I do not speak Spanish. I didn't go to school.

ISABEL

Before, they didn't force us to go to school. My mother would tell us: Hide, hide. And we hid.

That's why I didn't learn anything. Now I can't read nothing more than the clock numbers.

I know nothing but my language.

ALFREDO

We didn't speak the language in school. We only spoke Spanish. After school we practised Mayo, but in school we didn't. The teachers got angry with us because they told us our language was not useful, that's why they got angry with us, that way we wouldn't speak it. I felt bad when they told me not to speak Mayo; I didn't feel good, because they didn't want me to speak my own language.

HERLINDO

My parents didn't want me to speak Mayo; they spoke to me only in Spanish and not one word in Mayo. Maybe, they were ashamed or didn't want us to learn the language. They never spoke to us in the language and that's why I couldn't learn it as a kid.

ARMANDA

When we speak our language, people criticise us and say that we are foreigners (yoremes), that we are indians, but I tell them not. I'm proud when people call me Mayo, but not Indian that is another word, which is not from here. When they call me Mayo, I'm happy, because I'm still proud of me, of my language.

MARIO

For us is important to keep our culture, to have it in our blood, but we need to be used to it since we born. Because we have Mayo blood, but if we are not used to it , afterwards, many don't care about it.

DON HILARIO

When you have a language you can then meet other people. Like now, they were telling me to speak in my language. And that is good because this film afterwards will be taken other places where we will be known as Indians.

ARMANDA

It is important to know our language among the others that exist in this area or in Mexico. It's important because that way people will know we are Mayos. (yoremes) and that we still exist.

ALFREDO

Since we knew that Mayo was fading we started teaching the children. Because we didn't want the language to disappear.

Now I work in the Mayo culture centre " Blas Maso" of this community.

In the Culture Centre we teach the kids songs, words, prays and all that refers to the written language, that is what we teach in these workshops.

NATIVIDAD

Today, in the Mayo Culture Center, I arrived, got a chair, sat on my place, went out to play a little bit, Rosina told us to get in, and before you arrived we sang four songs (name of the songs).

SONG ( Natividad / Kids / Alfredo )

God help them, how are they?
How are our people?
We cheer them with our songs
So that you aren't sad
We thank you
With our songs in the Mayo language
We do not want you to be sad
And hear us with joy

ALFREDO

There are 25 children and they got to know about it from the posters we hang on stores and they got to know it themselves, that is how the workshops are going on in the Mayo Culture Center.

ARMANDA

My job regarding the language is to do scripts in the Mayo language and also do translations and that way transmit it to the young ones, kids that don't know it, to have interest. I give classes in Mayo transmitting my language so it doesn't disappear.

MARIO

The parents don't teach their kids Mayo anymore, since the Spanish came. The Mayo language was not in use because they brought another language, Spanish. Since the Spanish came, Spanish was spoken and the ones who spoke Mayo were the elders. That is why the young ones don't speak the language.

GUADALUPE

Our language is fading away because young people and kids don't want to speak it anymore, but it's their parent's fault for not speaking to them in Mayo. In my case I spoke to the kids in Mayo, but when they started going to school they learned Spanish. They only want to learn Spanish and the language they don't want to speak it anymore. I have grandchildren that only speak Spanish.

HERLINDO

The young ones think their foreigners (yoris). That is why they are ashamed to speak in the Mayo language. In other places people speak their language, but here, us the Mayos don't want to speak our language anymore.

CHIAPAS

LACANJÁ

Lacanjá is a small community in the middle of the Lancandon jungle in the southern state of Chiapas. The situation in the community does not defer much for the situation in othe small communities around Mexico. The language which was spoken and trasmited from one generation to the next is now disappearing. The reasons for this loss of cultural heritage are not much different than the ones from the other indigeous people in Mexico, but here there's also another point. Turism and all the things that tourism brings are having a lethal impact to the language. Toursim brings money and prosperity, but costs much more than it brings, it costs the language. Lancandons know that tourists have money and they deal with them and sell them their traditiona products, but to sell one must know the language of the customers. That language is Spanish, so Spanish is the language of gold and wealth and Lacandons want to speak the language of wealth and future, not the old Lacandón.

PABLO

I'm proud of being a Lacandón however I'd like to let my hair grow and use my tunic again. But because of my job I can't do that.

ZOILA

We are Lacandons and have to keep speaking Maya because foreigners who are not Lacandons speak Spanish. Our ancestors spoke Maya and that's why we have to keep speaking Maya.

MAGDALENA

I teach Maya to my grandchildren because we speak Maya and because we don't speak Spanish, because we are Lacandons and not Spanish. In fact, we used to speak Lacandon and Lacandon we have to speak.

KIN PANIAGUA

Lots of people come and ask me: "Are you Lacandón?" And I answer them: "Yes". Some people say: "No you are not a lancandon" And I say "Yes I am", but they keep saying that I'm not a lacandon otherwise I would speak Maya. Then I tell them some words in Lacandon and they say: " Yes you are a lacandon" Because they don't understand what I say.

ISABEL

The Maya language is very difficulties to speak because it doesn't come from the tongue it comes from the throat. Let sat a word ( words in Maya ). If we say that with the tongue, it sounds like ( words in Maya ), but if we say that with the throat then it sounds like ( words in Maya ).

ERNESTO

Being able to speak a language that just a few know, is a kind of weapon; I feel it for them as a way to avoid the others to understand them.

MAESTRO BETEL

Maya can be written with Spanish letters and you can write sentences or poems. Everything can be written, medicines, everything you want. With Maya you can write everything you want.

PABLO'S POEM

One day I wanted to have the traditions
of my ancestors
and I don't have them
Wanted to have the present
and it goes away further
more everyday

In the rain forest
and the valleys
the wind blows
among the stared nights
I try to recover
the lost culture of my ancestors
I look for it in the mountains
in the rivers
I look for it among people
My most precious culture
I try to recover what we lost in the jungle
Earth
Wind
Among the stones
and the trees
in the ruins
and the bird songs
and the paths
I try to recover
the lost culture
of my ancestors
I want to recover again
the glory of my elders
the chants ceremony of the rain
and the winds
and the chant of the bache
and the wasp's and
the snake's songs
To be able to talk again
with the birds
In order for them to help us
as they did in the past
And the birds to help us to direct
our way in the rainforest

PABLO

Nowadays kids go to school and they learn to speak Spanish, and when they go home they speak Spanish with their siblings and mother, and the language is getting lost day by day. Also, there are lots of tourists coming to visit Lancaja and children talk to them, so the language is getting lost.

ZOILA

Sure the language is going to be forgotten, because now everyone speaks Spanish. In former times we used to speak just Maya but now everyone speaks Spanish. All is going to be lost. All the traditions are going to be forgotten because now everyone speaks Spanish.

ERNESTO

About the language, I think that it is going to be aside, if the television and these things take away their way of living. The language will disappear. In fact this can be seen in their way of dressing, they have already lost it, but they will lose it even more.

BOR MARIO

I have a son and I have a wife. My wife is not Maya; she comes from outside the community. I have a son that is now 5. If I don't speak Maya to my son, he will speak Spanish. He won't learn Maya. My wife doesn't speak Maya so I don't speak Maya to her and my son hears Spanish the whole time.

ISABEL

The Lancandons are a unique race and it is important that they survive because they protect the rain forest. Thanks to them, not much of the rain forest has been cut down.

MAGDALENA

The rain forest is going to disappear because of the great amount of people coming in. They come and destroy the rain forest. Because of this the culture of our ancestors is going to die. They say that now there's a lot of people coming in the rain forest and destroying it, and that will destroy our ancient culture.

ERNESTO

Antennas can be seen. I didn't bring them. Neither anyone has exchanged things with them for small mirrors, but they themselves have decided to put antennas to amuse themselves. Then slowly it will disappear, that's what I think. I have not studied this case I came here to welcome tourists and do business here.

ZOILA

Now children don't ask. In former times my grandchildren used to ask for tales to their grandfather and grandfather told them.

ISABEL

Here there are no parties anymore. The traditions are over. As time goes by, it is quite sad to say, but the Lancandons might extinguish, they will disappear.

ERNESTO

There are different points of view about what's going to happen to the Lacandons. It depends on who says that, whether it is an economist, an anthropologist or a philosopher, each of them has his point of view. The anthropologist thinks that anything done means destruction, maybe he wants to see them with feathers as underwear, don't know. From my point of view, I think they will disappear, not because of me, because the world is becoming one country.

KIN BOR

The rain forest is going to disappear together with the Maya language. I don't know anything more. I think that if I die I won't see a thing.