(We've been out in the sticks for week, but now back near some internet, so the story from last week continues...)
Then we arrived. Signs. Locked gates. Eyes peering out over bandana covered faces. A deep breath. Holy SHIT... here we go! I anxiously watched from the car as Raul and Diana got out and initiated conversation. It was a little tense, but they seemed friendly... as much as I could tell, anyway, from the sound of the conversation and the look in their eyes. No guns (relief!) They took Raul's printed documentary proposal and our passports, told us to wait and walked off. So we waited. Cameras stayed in the trunk. We hoped to make introductions, gain some trust and get permission before even thinking about taking any pictures. At this point, we were just happy to meet them and have a reasonable chat. People eyed us suspiciously from corners of buildings. We eventually were invited into the general store and made our first step into the compound. Then we waited some more, wandered around the shop and checked out the goods, including one of their specialties: hand-made combat boots. Talked to the shop keeper (no mask) a bit. Nice guy. We waited there for 20 minutes or so, hoping for further discussion and approval, which would likely come in the form of a meeting with the Junta, the central government of the Zapatista municipality. We were starting to feel a little more at ease when the masked men came back and had us come outside. There they gave us their answer: "No." That was easy enough to understand, no matter what the language. But then the discussion continued, somewhat more intensely, but animated, and even with some laughter. I couldn't understand exactly, but the situation was definitely evolving and apparently we weren't taking no for an answer.
Turns out our story wasn't good enough to gain entry, but then, with a little hint from one of the masked men, Raul made a quick change to our motive and along with a convincing plea from Diana, and a meeting with the Junta was on! But first, more waiting. We sat outside the Casa de la Junta and pondered our next encounter. When we were invited in maybe half an hour later, we found ourselves in a small, dimly lit room facing half a dozen people wearing either black ski masks or red bandanas. The situation had a very foreboding look, but it was quiet and calm. The Junta, as far as we could tell from their balaclava covered heads, appeared to be a diverse group in gender and age, some looking like they were in their teens and the oldest maybe 40 or 50. A woman in the center behind a desk began in a quiet but firm voice and asked us our names and other info. Then we had to explain ourselves and our mission. Raul talked for a bit, then another in the Junta asked some questions and we went back and forth for a while. Finally, a man who seemed to be the oldest started to speak and launched into a long story about the history of the Zapatistas, starting with the Spanish conquest of Mexico, I think. He eventually became somewhat animated, which provided some relief from the clandestine mood in the room. I was hoping by some miracle that his Spanish would make sense and I would suddenly understand everything, but it was not to be, and my imagination drifted more towards the visual of a big pot of boiling water waiting for us somewhere out back. 20 or 30 minutes later it was over and we headed out the door into bright daylight and I got a quick translation: Great news! We were invited to wander around and take pictures, but not any people and no interviews. This was as about as good as we could have hoped for. We got the camera gear and went off to photograph an amazing village of buildings covered in murals depicting the Zapatista characters and their struggle. You've already seen a few pictures in the blog. More to follow!
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