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<v Speaker 1>There's a very clear connection to me between what happened

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<v Speaker 1>in the conquest and what is happening today. For many

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<v Speaker 1>communities in Mexico. The conquest hasn't ended.

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<v Speaker 2>From Fudromidia and PRX. It's Latino Usa I Maria no

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<v Speaker 2>josa today. A new film takes on the violent legacy

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<v Speaker 2>of the Spanish conquest in Mexico. A little over five

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<v Speaker 2>hundred years ago, in Nancortes and a few hundred other

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<v Speaker 2>Spanish conquistadores arrived on the shores of the Americas in

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<v Speaker 2>what is now called Mexico. From the coast, they marched

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<v Speaker 2>inland to Denotch Diplan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

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<v Speaker 2>They intended to overthrow the Aztecs and claim that territory

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<v Speaker 2>for the Spanish crown, and they did. On August thirteenth,

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<v Speaker 2>fifteen twenty one, the Spanish conquistello Is declared the fall

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<v Speaker 2>of the Aztec Empire, changing life in the Americas forever.

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<v Speaker 2>In his new film four hundred and ninety nine, director

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<v Speaker 2>Rodrigo Reyes revisits that moment, but not as a history lesson. Instead,

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<v Speaker 2>four hundred and ninety nine connects past and present by

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<v Speaker 2>bringing a ghostly Conquistello to the twenty first century to

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<v Speaker 2>retrace the route he walked five centuries ago. On his journey,

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<v Speaker 2>the conquistellod is forced to listen to testimonies of present

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<v Speaker 2>day violence. After it was completed, four hundred and ninety

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<v Speaker 2>nine was shown in film festivals around the world, and

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<v Speaker 2>it even won an award for its cinematography. But Rodrigo,

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<v Speaker 2>the director, felt that something was missing from the project,

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<v Speaker 2>so in the summer of twenty twenty one, Rodrigo turned

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<v Speaker 2>to the root of Cortes. He screened the film in

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<v Speaker 2>eleven cities for the people who had shared their stories

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<v Speaker 2>with him. The tour ended in the place and on

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<v Speaker 2>the exact date the Aztec Empire had fallen, five hundred

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<v Speaker 2>years before Mexico City. In this segment of How I

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<v Speaker 2>Made It, Rodrigo talks about the reasons why he made

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<v Speaker 2>his film and why it's important to question history's official narratives.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's director Rodrigo Reyez.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Rodrigo Reyes. I am a film director

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<v Speaker 1>and I made a film called four hundred and ninety nine,

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<v Speaker 1>which is about the anniversary of the fall of the

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<v Speaker 1>Aztec Empire at the hands of Cortes.

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<v Speaker 3>And his allies abarisis tu namagniana blriente in las prajas

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<v Speaker 3>de verra cruz issun estrana coincidencia geaste casikinian to sign

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<v Speaker 3>this puez te conquista, imperios teka alado litu capitan ernano courtes.

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<v Speaker 1>The film is called four hundred and ninety nine because

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<v Speaker 1>really what we're trying to do is to subvert this anniversary.

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<v Speaker 1>We're trying to intervene in this idea of five hundred years.

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<v Speaker 1>Four hundred and ninety nine is kind of like a creepy,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, disturbing something that makes you uncomfortable to look at.

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<v Speaker 4>Ksanekubrier inkosiglos get tra juansrotimpu buscularist bista inritus balaras.

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to make a film that wasn't authoritative, that

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't a teaching tool, or wasn't something that you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you could watch in your history class so you could

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<v Speaker 1>learn some facts. I really wanted to use this anniversary

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<v Speaker 1>as an opportunity to look at the present and how

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<v Speaker 1>history impacts the present, how history remains here even if

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<v Speaker 1>the shapes and forms of violence have changed. There's a

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<v Speaker 1>very clear connection to me between what happened in the

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<v Speaker 1>conquest and what is happening today. For many communities in Mexico,

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<v Speaker 1>the conquest hasn't ended. In the prologue of the film,

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<v Speaker 1>the Conquistello emerges from the waters and discovers that he's

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<v Speaker 1>in the twenty first century. He washes up in Vera Cruz,

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<v Speaker 1>and he is forced to walk back to de Nostititlan,

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<v Speaker 1>which is now Mexico City, along the same path that

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<v Speaker 1>he followed in his invasion. I've often been asked why

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<v Speaker 1>I chose to have a Conquistallo and why didn't I

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<v Speaker 1>just do something very straightforward that just focused on the

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<v Speaker 1>stories of the victims of violence. But I think my

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<v Speaker 1>job as an artist really is to find the ways

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<v Speaker 1>to break through two deeper truths. I wanted a symbol.

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted somebody that people would look at and say,

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<v Speaker 1>that is power, that is authority, and the Conquistelo embodies that.

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<v Speaker 1>He's also a very uncomfortable part of Mexican history. We

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<v Speaker 1>like to pretend that we're the inheritors of only the

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<v Speaker 1>good guys of history, or only the glorious Aztecs who

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<v Speaker 1>were tragically defeated. But I think what's more important is

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<v Speaker 1>to bring this connection of how we have repeated some

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<v Speaker 1>of the strategies of conquest and how we have internalized

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<v Speaker 1>this conquistello. The conquistello is played by an actor, but

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<v Speaker 1>really he embodies something that exists in Mexico today. The

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<v Speaker 1>conquistello has always been there. He's living there in the shadows.

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<v Speaker 1>When a young girl is murdered, or when a journalist

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<v Speaker 1>is silenced, it's the same kind of mechanic of control.

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<v Speaker 1>The conquistello arrives on the beach and he thinks he's

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<v Speaker 1>back in the sixteenth century. He starts to walk up

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<v Speaker 1>a doom, a gigantic mass of sand next to the beach,

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<v Speaker 1>and then all of a sudden he finds a plastic

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<v Speaker 1>cup and it just flips his mind. And then beyond

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<v Speaker 1>on the next hill he sees a four wheeler, so

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<v Speaker 1>he starts to really like lose the sense of where

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<v Speaker 1>he is. Soon enough, he arrives at an elementary school

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<v Speaker 1>full of little kids on the beach in Veracruz, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're honoring the Mexican flag like they do every Monday

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<v Speaker 1>in every school in Mexico. They're marching with the flag

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<v Speaker 1>and with military music, and he interrupts the ceremony to

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<v Speaker 1>claim the territory for the Kingdom of Spain.

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<v Speaker 4>Number carno primedotros sushieros or not dividios.

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<v Speaker 5>You're oh no yet there no all.

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<v Speaker 1>Laira gives a speech where he's talking about all the

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<v Speaker 1>different legal reasons why the Spanish should have rights to

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<v Speaker 1>this territory and how basically the locals have to be

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<v Speaker 1>either with them or against them, and if they're against them,

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<v Speaker 1>then the Spanish can wage all manner of brutal war

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<v Speaker 1>against them. And as he's giving off this spiel, the

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<v Speaker 1>kids are just looking at him in shock, until suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>he just loses his voice and he's silenced. Why, we

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<v Speaker 1>don't know. It's the magic of cinema, right, It's the

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<v Speaker 1>magic of his journey. He has been silenced, and now

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<v Speaker 1>he must listen. Across the world today, we can think

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<v Speaker 1>of any kind of struggle, from the Black Lives Matter

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<v Speaker 1>struggle to the struggle of indigenous rights here in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>to the struggle like even talking about US history in

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<v Speaker 1>a more honest way. There is a lack of listening

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<v Speaker 1>in our world, and I think it's so damaging and

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<v Speaker 1>so problematic when positions of power, refuse to listen to

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<v Speaker 1>people who are victims of power. We should be listening

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<v Speaker 1>to them, even if it's uncomfortable. Slowly through his memories,

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<v Speaker 1>he starts to be confronted also with actions from the

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<v Speaker 1>past that that question his values, and they questioned facts

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<v Speaker 1>of what he did, that epartism. He was nonaiets in

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<v Speaker 1>Embargo me So and Trambo. I'm also not trying to

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<v Speaker 1>say that somehow the Conquista is redeemed in this story.

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<v Speaker 1>It isn't a white savior story, but it is a

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<v Speaker 1>story about trying to dismantle that mindset of colonialism and

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<v Speaker 1>trying to follow it character as their world is expanding

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<v Speaker 1>and falling apart. The Conquista is played by Document, an

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<v Speaker 1>actor from Madrid, Spain, who had never been to Mexico.

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<v Speaker 1>The moment I saw him in the airport, I remember

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<v Speaker 1>noticing his long fingernails, which folks will see in the

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<v Speaker 1>in the film. He has this very long, kind of

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<v Speaker 1>dracula esque fingernails, and I asked them, well, why do

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<v Speaker 1>you have these long fingernails, and he said to me, well,

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<v Speaker 1>in the sixteenth century, Europeans then cut their fingernails. And

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<v Speaker 1>I realized that he had fully committed to this project

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<v Speaker 1>and he was going to bring everything he had to

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<v Speaker 1>It is record Americo. He's the only actor in the film.

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<v Speaker 1>Everyone else, everybody else that you the on screen is

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<v Speaker 1>actually a real person. So as I was making the film,

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<v Speaker 1>I had a lot of doubts. I didn't know if

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<v Speaker 1>it was going to work because so many of these

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<v Speaker 1>time traveler films are comedies, but I was trying to

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<v Speaker 1>do something dead serious, and so I didn't know as

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<v Speaker 1>I was shooting the film if it was going to work.

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<v Speaker 1>Every moment, every stage of the process, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>question mark. When I talked to the people, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>and invited them to the film, there was always a

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<v Speaker 1>question mark. But that question mark also led to a listening, right,

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<v Speaker 1>a listening as part of the filmmaking process. How do

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<v Speaker 1>you want this conquisell or to enter your space? What

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<v Speaker 1>do you want to share with him? And that led

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<v Speaker 1>to really interesting scenes. The conquis Cello's journey is divided

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<v Speaker 1>into chapters, just like a traditional kind of pilgrimage. He's

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<v Speaker 1>on this path and he's listening to stories of the

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<v Speaker 1>families of murdered journalists, or to a mother who is

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<v Speaker 1>looking for her son who has disappeared. He visits a

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<v Speaker 1>Native American community, He visits migrants who are traveling from

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<v Speaker 1>Central America up to the US Mexico border. He meets

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<v Speaker 1>a hit man, He meets the mother of a young

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<v Speaker 1>girl who was murdered in a brutal feminist side. Chapter three,

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<v Speaker 1>when we go up to an indigenous community in sort

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<v Speaker 1>of that at Sompa, which is like now what the

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<v Speaker 1>speaking community. The lead character there is a poet. His

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<v Speaker 1>name is Sixto, and Sixto refused to give an interview

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<v Speaker 1>for the film. He said, I don't want to give

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<v Speaker 1>an interview. I want to speak in poetry because our

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<v Speaker 1>struggle is to keep our language. So I want to

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<v Speaker 1>demonstrate the beauty of our language. I want people to

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<v Speaker 1>hear it and to think poetically. Masqui ma work. The

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<v Speaker 1>music was composed by Parlo Monra, who's an old friend

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<v Speaker 1>of mine, and he did this amazing job in crafting

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<v Speaker 1>music that sounded like a soundscape, like a landscape of sound.

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<v Speaker 1>It was something that seemed to come out of the

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<v Speaker 1>landscape and the spaces and the moments in the film.

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<v Speaker 1>Bablo also brought on a team of sound designers and

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<v Speaker 1>they really worked to balance out the music with the silence.

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<v Speaker 1>I think silence is very, very important in the film

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<v Speaker 1>because it draws us into the reality of things. We

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<v Speaker 1>also built the story so that the encounters of the

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<v Speaker 1>conquistello would get more and more intense as we move forward.

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<v Speaker 1>So by the time he gets to the askirts of

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<v Speaker 1>Mexico City, he has witnessed a lot of horrific testimonies,

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<v Speaker 1>and yet there's still something deeper that takes him to

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<v Speaker 1>a breaking point when he encounters the story of Fatima,

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<v Speaker 1>a young twelve year old girl who was murdered brutally

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<v Speaker 1>by her neighbors. So by the time the conquistallo gets

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<v Speaker 1>to meet Fatima's mother, Lorena, and the mother's narrating this horrible,

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<v Speaker 1>brutal crime that happened to her little girl, the sound

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<v Speaker 1>just disappears and all we hear is like her naked voice,

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<v Speaker 1>just really.

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<v Speaker 3>Stark yas heva I am Prima.

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<v Speaker 1>Studio, and it makes the scene really intense. And people

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<v Speaker 1>have told me just how much it cuts into them

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<v Speaker 1>when they watched the testimony of Lorena. From the very beginning,

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<v Speaker 1>when we set out on this journey, I knew that

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<v Speaker 1>the film had to come back on the road to

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<v Speaker 1>the locations where we shot it. It had to be

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<v Speaker 1>presented there. It didn't matter where. It didn't have to

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<v Speaker 1>be a theater. It could be a bookstore, a cultural home,

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<v Speaker 1>could be in a migrant shelter, it could be on

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<v Speaker 1>a soccer field. But the film had to be present

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<v Speaker 1>physically along the route and around the time of this

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<v Speaker 1>very important anniversary of five hundred years, because otherwise, what

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<v Speaker 1>you're doing as a filmmaker is that you're just coming

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<v Speaker 1>and taking what you need and you're not giving anything

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<v Speaker 1>back to the real people involved. Is Amos and Pressndo

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<v Speaker 1>is Thamos and Hira Sorellas pro Corpes Remachimendo. Presently, this

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<v Speaker 1>tour granted an opportunity for for the folks in the

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<v Speaker 1>film to do interviews, to share the film with their families,

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<v Speaker 1>to have an experience to really see a work of

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<v Speaker 1>cinema on a big, you know, three meter by five

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<v Speaker 1>meter screen. It's amazing to see the real people relate

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<v Speaker 1>to the film, talk about the film and connect it

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<v Speaker 1>to their own lives, back to their own struggles that

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<v Speaker 1>are still ongoing. I remember, for instance, seeing Marta in

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<v Speaker 1>Kalapa talking about forced disappearances with a government official on

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<v Speaker 1>one side and a nonprofit leader on the other, some

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<v Speaker 1>of Madre and really expressing her dilemma in this really

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful way that touched everybody, and that kind of adds

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<v Speaker 1>to the process of trying to stop this violence. I

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<v Speaker 1>remember seeing Lorena Rutierrez at the Commission for Human Rights

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<v Speaker 1>in Mexico City and and you know, standing up there

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<v Speaker 1>with all these leaders that are trying to address this

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<v Speaker 1>the issue of feminist side Lusticia and her having this

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<v Speaker 1>amazing platform where she could really kind of talk at

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<v Speaker 1>length in a more artistic way about her experience as

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<v Speaker 1>a victim and as survivor of violence. Even though it's

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<v Speaker 1>a painful project, it had a lot of joy. The

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<v Speaker 1>route and the presentations were full of joy. We had

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<v Speaker 1>one evening where like the fandango school was dancing this

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<v Speaker 1>traditional music from Vera Cruz under the rain after our screening,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like celebrating the and they encounter. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think for me, the film didn't finish until it was

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<v Speaker 1>present in Mexico. For me, the film was incomplete even

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<v Speaker 1>though it had gone to all these festivals until it

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<v Speaker 1>went back to the Route of Cortez and it was

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<v Speaker 1>shown to the people who opened up their hearts. The

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<v Speaker 1>film was not finished. Oftentimes we don't realize how important

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<v Speaker 1>history is. Every leader of every country in the world

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<v Speaker 1>is always trying to interpret and tell us what history

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<v Speaker 1>should be, and Mexico is no different. Mexico, in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>has a very long history of building nationalistic sentiment, and

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<v Speaker 1>the core part of this nationalism is this idea that

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<v Speaker 1>somehow we as Mexicans were conquered by the Spanish, when

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<v Speaker 1>in reality that conquest was very complicated and there were many,

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<v Speaker 1>many different communities that existed at that time that agreed

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<v Speaker 1>and supported and participated in the overthrow of the Aztec Empire.

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<v Speaker 1>This construction of we as Mexicans were wounded and destroyed

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<v Speaker 1>and attacked, but somehow we survive is very useful because

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<v Speaker 1>it creates this sense of pride and unity that helps

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<v Speaker 1>you modern governments kind of keep control of things. People

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<v Speaker 1>feel somehow that the film offends our sense of patriotism

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<v Speaker 1>and our sense of pride in Mexico. Some people feel

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<v Speaker 1>that way. Other people feel that the film really reveals

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<v Speaker 1>the urgent needs of our country in the present. Even

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<v Speaker 1>when people feel uncomfortable or they start to push back

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<v Speaker 1>I think that leads to a good thing, because we

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<v Speaker 1>need to have a dialogue. We need to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about these big issues in a complex and

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<v Speaker 1>difficult way. I think for viewers in the US in general,

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<v Speaker 1>we need to know more about the history of the world,

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<v Speaker 1>and we need to understand how these histories also impact us.

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<v Speaker 1>We are in a moment where every debate, every political debate,

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<v Speaker 1>has a history to it. We need to learn to

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<v Speaker 1>read through that. We need to understand that when somebody

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<v Speaker 1>refuses to acknowledge the history of slavery, for example, what

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<v Speaker 1>they're doing is that they're trying to rewrite and impose

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<v Speaker 1>history upon us. They're trying to build a silence. And

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<v Speaker 1>so I think in many ways four ninety nine really

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<v Speaker 1>reflects the moment that we're in in this country, where

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<v Speaker 1>we are trying to grapple a complicated history and where

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<v Speaker 1>you just can't pick good guys and bad guys. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a complexity to it.

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<v Speaker 2>That was director rodrigore Is talking about his film for

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<v Speaker 2>ninety nine. This episode was produced by Victoria Estrada and

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<v Speaker 2>edited by Ricardo Marella. It was mixed by J. J.

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<v Speaker 1>Carubin.

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<v Speaker 2>The Latino USA team includes Andrea Lopez Cruzado, Marta Martinez,

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<v Speaker 2>Mike Sargent, Julia Ta Martinelli, Patricia Sulvanan Cini Montalvo, Alejandra

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<v Speaker 2>salasad Renaldo Leanos Junior and Julia Rocha, with help from

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<v Speaker 2>Rod Beritz. Our supervising Senior Engineer is Stephanie Lebo. Our

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<v Speaker 2>Assistant Senior Engineer is Julia Caruso. Additional engineering by gabriel

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<v Speaker 2>A Bias. Our digital editor is res Luna. Our New

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<v Speaker 2>York Women's Foundation Ignite Fellow is mari Es Kinka. Our

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<v Speaker 2>Latino USA Fellows are Elisa Bayena and Monica Morales. Our

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<v Speaker 2>Public's Lab Fellow from the CuNi Graduate Center is Andrew Vignalis.

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<v Speaker 2>Our theme music was composed by Zane Rubinos. If you

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<v Speaker 2>like the music you heard on this episode, stop by

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<v Speaker 2>Latinousa dot org and check out our weekly Spotify playlist.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm your host and executive producer Maria jo Josa. Join

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<v Speaker 2>us again on our next episode, and in the meantime,

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<v Speaker 2>find us on all of your social media. Alos Wacco Ciao.

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<v Speaker 5>Funding for Latino USA is coverage of a culture of

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<v Speaker 5>Health is made possible in part by a grant from

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<v Speaker 5>the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Latino USA is made possible

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<v Speaker 5>in part by the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur

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<v Speaker 5>Foundation and the Ford Foundation, working with visionaries on the

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<v Speaker 5>front lines of social change worldwide.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really hard to say