Juchitan Queer Paradise
A film by Patricio Henriquez
This is fascinating portrait of Juchitan, a small Mexican city near the Guatemalan border. Here homosexuality is fully accepted; gays are simply a third gender. If a boy shows a predisposition to homosexuality his family will rejoice and be thankful for receiving what is considered a blessing. In Juchitan a man who wants to be a woman only has to dress like a woman to be considered and treated as a woman by the entire community. The film profiles three gay people: a teacher, a hairdresser and a shop owner.
In other ways this is a truly unique society. The population of Zapotec Indians resist the homogeneous trends of globalization. While Indian languages are endangered everywhere else in the world, in Juchitan, the Zapotec language is spoken proudly at home, at municipal meetings, in poetry, song and theatre. Celebration plays a crucial role in this society. Fiestas called velas (candles) are held frequently and can last up to a week! The film concludes with the colorful fiesta, the "Vela des folles" which the gay men featured in the film organize each year.
64 minutes. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75.
"As a Latin American specialist, I think it is an important film...contrasting the mainstream Latin American ethos of machismo and marianismo with the indigenous traditions of complementary gender roles." Jeanette E. Sherbondy, Acting Chair, Gender Studies, Director of the Anthropology Program, Washington College, Maryland .
"Recommended for Senior high through adult... an honest film documenting the life of a unique location" John Degon, Emmanuel d¹Alzon Library, Assumption College, Worcester for Educational Media Reviews Online
Award of Merit, Latin American Studies Association 2004
Latin American Studies Association, 2004
Outfest, Los Angeles 2004
San Francisco Gay Film Festival, 2003.
