Gripped by painful memories of the civil war in Chiapas, Mexico, twenty-four women members of a Tzotzil family cooperative gather for a festival to display their work in order to market it. Income from the work of these women is essential to the maintenance of their families. Musicians led by a rezador (prayer maker), accompany them to a "safe place" in town. The prayer, the music and the weavings intertwine in homage to Mayan traditions and to those who have suffered and died resisting oppression.

A year ago, 45 members of a progressive Catholic group known as Las Abejas ("The Bees") were brutally murdered in Acteal by a government paramilitary organization. The husband of one of the weavers, a leader of the Abejas, explains the purpose of his nonviolent organization and of its solidarity with the social programs of the Zapatistas. The leader of the weavers group, who also works with women in a Zapitista support base, describes women’s suffering under military occupation. And finally, we hear a firsthand account of the massacre by one who survived.

Here is a film that gives a close and moving portrait of the people most affected by the "low intensity war" which to this day has not been responsibly addressed by the federal government. The oppression continues, tacitly supported by global intentions to exploit the natural resources in the area. Meanwhile, the Mayan inhabitants of the land fight poverty and disease, without a promised voice in local government. These deeply pious weavers and their kinfolk survive with charm and dignity

"presents the real world of the Mayan Indians in a way that deeply affected my students and awoke in them the first glimmerings of political awareness and solidarity with the struggle of a far-off people."
Donna Lazarus, high school teacher, Brooklyn, NY
"Recommended for use in both secondary and higher education…"
Dr. Brad Eden, MC Journal of Academic Media Librariansip

Native American Film & Video Festival, 2000
American Anthropological Association, 2000
San Antonio CineFest, 2000
USA Film Festival, 2002
San Diego Human Rights Film Festival, 2002
Dallas Film Festival, 2002
Barcelona Film Festival, 2002
Breckenridge Film Festival, 2001
Vancouver International Film Festival, 2001