Meet the Tireless Elderly Women from Tepoztlán Fighting to Save the Environment

This post is a re-edited version of the original text ^[1]published by Witness and is reproduced on Global Voices with the permission of the author, Laura Salas.

The so-called “Batalla de las Cacerolas ^[2]” (Battle of the Saucepans) is a documentary which tells of the women of Tepoztlán, a village located in the central-southern region of Mexico, who have campaigned throughout history against the megaprojects that continually prey on their communities. The audivisual work starts with a demonstration led by various women from the region — now elderly — whose main weapon was the sound of protest of their saucepans.

The directors used the photographic archive the village has safeguarded for years, which highlighted the leading role of the women in the fight. The women were there, present in each and every photo: preparing food, organising marches, protesting.

In the documentary the protagonists tell of how, since the 1960s, other leaders and community advocates were threatened, or even killed, by corporations looking to encroach on the region, guided by a sense of progress ^[3] that was not shared by the locals. Karitina Ortiz Ortiz, one of the protagonists of the documentary, explains:

Yo empecé a darme cuenta de todo porque ya desde 1960 escuché sobre la muerte de un profesor que lo habían asesinado por defender las tierras de Monte Castillo. Seguramente por el lugar tan bonito que es que quisieron instalar acá un teleférico, luego un periférico, luego un tren escénico y luego al final ya, un club de golf.

I began to realise what was going on because in 1960 I heard about the death of a teacher who had been killed for defending the land around Monte Castillo. Perhaps it was the beauty of the scenery here that made them want to install a cable car, then a bypass, a scenic train, and finally a golf club.

Gerard Becerra, who was a presidential candidate in Cuernavaca, the capital city of the state of Morelos where Tepoztlán is situated, explains some of the sticking points of the confrontation. In his post “Tepoztlán, la crisis que viene ^[4]” (Tepoztlán, the crisis on the horizon), Becerra analyses the background of the conflicts described in the documentary, which have taken place between government organisations, corporations and communities due to the implementation of projects without proper consultation:

[Durante la gestión de Antonio Rivapalacio] Ingenieros Civiles Asociados -ICA-, andaba con la intención de aprovechar la vía férrea que venía desde Cuautla, y entonces construir un ‘Tren Escénico’, con fines turísticos y algo más, sin embargo el mismo no llego a concretarse. En la parte alta de Tepoztlán, cerca de San Juan Tlacotenco, la poderosa constructora había instalado ya, sendos campamentos desde donde preveía construir algunos túneles que hacían falta para ello. ¿El error? no consultar a la población.

[Under the leadership of Antonio Rivapalacio] the construction firm Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA) intended to take advantage of the railroad from Cuautla, to construct a ‘Scenic Train’ for touristic and other purposes. However, this did not materialise. In the most elevated part of Tepoztlán, near to San Juan Tlacotenco, the influential construction firm had already set up camps from which they anticipated constructing various tunnels which were required for the train. What was their error? Not consulting the locals.

Concerning the conflict over the golf course, Becerra explains:

Y ni que decir del Club de Golf de Tepoztlán, ahí la intolerancia, la soberbia de los gobernantes y la insaciable posición de los empresarios, dio al traste con un proyecto que podría haber sido bueno para la comunidad si no se hubiera proyectado en la forma en que se hizo. Una vez más el poder ejecutivo dio muestras de represión y el pueblo de Tepoztlán se unió como nunca en su historia moderna. Transitar por Tepoz en la época del conflicto del campo de golf, era como transitar en un pueblo de los Balcanes en la guerra civil. Barricadas por todos lados y la tensión de la gente en contra de sus gobernantes se respiraba a flor de piel.

Needless to say that, regarding the Tepoztlán Golf Club, the intolerance and arrogance of the leaders and the insatiable position of the businessmen halted a project that could have been good for the community, had it not been planned in such a way. Once more, the Executive Power displayed elements of repression and the community of Tepoztlán united like never before in its modern history. Travelling through Tepoztlán during the time of the golf course conflict was like travelling through a village in the Balkans during the civil war. Barricades everywhere and tensions were running high between the people and their leaders.

The documentary and other testimonies of the protests can be seen on YouTube:

Un día dijeron “va a haber una marcha [solamente con mujeres, que] cada quien que traiga su sartén”. No siente uno miedo, siente uno satisfacción, gusto de poder estar ahí.

One day they said, ‘There is going to be a march [with women only, to which] each person must bring their pan.’ You don’t feel scared, you feel satisfaction, pleased to be able to be there.

The story from the women’s point of view

Laura Salas from Witness interviewed Carolina Corral who, as co-director with Itandehuy Castaneda, produced the short film which recently won third place in the Ecofilm ^[5]film festival. In the interview, Corral talks about the documentary, the importance of these women telling their stories about the communities, and the different ways in which technology can empower and break down missunderstanding myths between older women and technology.

Laura Salas (LS): How did you come up with the idea of making this documentary?

Carolina Corral (CC): No hubiera contado la historia de las mujeres Tepoztecas si no hubiera sido por la iniciativa que tuvo Social Tic ^[6], Luchadoras ^[7], La Sandía Digital ^[8] y Subversiones ^[9] de convocar a varias mujeres del país a contar la historia de las mujeres de nuestras comunidades. Yo iba llegando a vivir a Tepoztlán y me estaba acercando al Frente en Defensa de Tepoztlán ^[10]. El video, pensé, sería una manera de conocer más al pueblo e interiorizarme en la lucha de Tepoz. Una lucha por demás histórica. Conocer esa historia a través del rol de las mujeres fue muy enriquecedor para mí y luego para el pueblo. Había muchas mujeres, demasiadas abuelas de quienes contar su historia, pero solo nos centramos en tres.

Carolina Corral (CC): The story of the women of Tepoztlán wouldn’t have been told had it not been for the initiative of Social Tic ^[6], Luchadoras ^[7] (Fighters), La Sandía Digital ^[11] (Digital Watermelon) and Subersiones ^[9] (Subversions) to convene various women from around the country to talk about the women in our communities. I was going to go and live in Tepoztlán and I was taking an interest in the group Frente en Defensa de Tepoztlán ^[10] (Front in Defense of Tepoztlán). I thought that the video would be a way of getting to know more of the community and become more familiar with the fight in Tepoztlán. A fight which is incidentally historical. Getting to know this story through the role of the women was very enriching for me and also for the community. There were many women, too many elderly women who could tell their story, but we concentrated on only three.

LS: Why is it important for these women to tell stories?

CC: Porque las narrativas desde abajo contadas por mujeres y sobre las historias de mujeres producen un relato diferente, nuevo, no siempre contado.

CC: Because grassroots stories told by women and stories about women’s lives produce alternative, new and sometimes untold accounts.

LS: Why is it important that the women embrace technology?

CC: Porque esas miradas se pueden visibilizar a través de los nuevos formatos para contar historias (foto, video, radio, internet, etc). Además porque hacen que las mujeres rompan el tabú de que las mujeres y la tecnología no se llevan bien.

CC: Because these perspectives can be given visibility through new story-telling channels (photo, video, radio, internet, etc.). Moreover, because it breaks away from the taboo that women and technology don’t get along.

LS: Why are workshops such as “Voces de Mujeres ^[12]” (“Women's Voices”, a training programme supported by Witness on communication tools for women’s campaigns) important?

CC: ‘Voces de Mujeres’ lo contenía todo: un encuentro de mujeres creando en sororidad y de manera horizontal. Estar allí, conocer a las compañeras y sus historias, nos hacía darnos cuenta de la importancia de nuestros propios relatos. ‘Voces’ fue un entrenamiento técnico, pero también el pretexto para empoderarnos como mujeres, creer en nuestras historias, y por ello empoderar a las mujeres de nuestras comunidades. De allí surgieron muchas historias contadas desde abajo sobre mujeres indígenas, lesbianas, madres luchadoras, prostitutas, luchadoras sociales.

CC: ‘Voces de Mujeres’ offered everything: a meeting for women who believe in sisterhood and everyone being in equal standing. Being there, getting to know the other participants and their stories, made us realise the importance of our own. ‘Voces de Mujeres’ was a form of technical training, but also the pretext to empower ourselves as women, to believe in our stories and so to empower women in our communities. From this, many grassroots stories emerged about indigenous women, lesbians, mothers who were campaigners, prostitutes, social campaigners.

LS: In summary, what impact has the documentary had on the fight for the protection of land in Tepoztlán?