MINI-DOCS
Produced for widely circulated publications such as El País, El Espectador, and eldiario.es, this series of mini-documentaries (between 7 and 10 minutes long) delves into four very different realities of the Brazilian, Peruvian, and Colombian Amazon.
Maestra Justina
From Village Healer to Global Shaman
Shipibo ayahuasca practitioner Justina Cerrano, a native of a remote village in the Peruvian Amazon, combines her humble work as a healer for relatives and neighbors with the position of "chief shaman" in Arkana, a luxurious lodge near Iquitos that receives hundreds of foreigners every year. Her ancestral knowledge has earned her a good economic position. This documentary is part of the Modernas Amazonas project, funded by the Pulitzer Center.
Worms, Ants, Cassava and Tucupí
In 2017, the indigenous savant Eufracia Kuyuedo and her daughter, Anitalia Pijachi, won the National Award for Traditional Cuisines of Colombia. Since then, they have been championing in the Colombian Amazon a vindication of ancestral gastronomy, an example of sustainable food and a feast for the senses. At their chagra they receive visitors from all over the world to share with them traditional food. This documentary is part of the Modernas Amazonas project, funded by the Pulitzer Center.
Weaving, Planting, Raising
The women of the Yavarí Valley, in the Brazilian Amazon, dream that their children will study, earn a university degree, and become successful professionals. But the dream can turn into a nightmare when, in search of education for their children in the city, they abandon the good life of the jungle only to suffer hunger and overcrowding in the miserable shacks of the cities. This documentary is part of the Modernas Amazonas project, funded by the Pulitzer Center.
Return of the Turtles
In 2008, in the community of Santa Sofía near Leticia, Rogelio Carihuasari, a traditional healer of the Cocama People, had an idea: to turn turtle conservation into a profession. One day, biologist Fernando Arbeláez showed up—and destiny clicked. Since then, dozens of communities and hundreds of monitors have come together to protect the river beaches, on both the Colombian and Peruvian sides of the Amazon River.
