I had the fortune of meeting Luis Perez-Ixoneztli in California in 2009, where he was conducting Pre-Columbian instrument-making workshops in low-income, mostly Hispanic schools. I began documenting these unusual lessons and soon found I couldn’t resist his enthusiasm for this ancient culture and its music, which he had dedicated his life to researching.

I learned that Luis pioneered the use of these particular ancient instruments in contemporary music, most notably with his 1981 album “En El Ombligo de la Luna.” So many years later, these instrument workshops were just a taste of what he hoped to one day achieve across Mexico. Thus began our creative collaboration.

It wasn’t until 2015 when Luis and I finally began to realize our plans of filming indigenous music, ritual, and dance across Mexico with a leaning towards the most at-risk cultures. This wasn’t easy. It took time and trust to properly unlock the doors to certain insular communities, but our path eventually led to the village of Nahá where we met Lacandon spiritual elder Antonio Chan K’in.

Antonio is alone in his beliefs. As Christianity has spread like wildfire across his region incinerating millennia old customs, Antonio is the lone resistance to complete collapse of the Lacandon pantheon of gods. His son Bor offers some ritual support, but with one foot in the modern world of cars, television, money and church. Still, Bor has yet to make up his mind whether he can carry the heavy cultural load as his father hopes he one day might.

This particular story is just one of which Luis and I have filmed over the years. Our travels and encounters with various strong, devoted people, like Antonio, have reshaped the way I see the world. I believe this film, this story, has the potential to do that for many audiences.

And, of course, Luis conducted several special Mayan instrument workshops for the community of Nahá. Just because an idea was misplaced, doesn’t mean it can’t be found again.

Thank you for watching,
Cole