BURN LAND
The Butte Fire was a rapidly moving wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 9th in Amador County, California. It burned 70,868 acres (287 km2).
On Friday September 11th, as the fire exploded again to 64,000 acres (259 km2), Cal Fire issued a mandatory evacuation for all of San Andreas, but in the afternoon that order was lifted. Later that day, as the fire continued to grow, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Amador and Calaveras counties.
I met 3 families that lost their homes. Burn Land is a portrait of what they lost. They took me to their homes and showed me the destruction. They showed me where their rooms were, what their cars were, where their kitchen was, and where the kids used to play.
On June 22, 2017, Sacramento Judge Allen Sumner ruled that because "the Butte Fire was caused by a public improvement as deliberately designed and constructed by Pacific Gas and Electric Company," the company was liable for all property damages caused by the fire. On December 7, 2019, PG&E proposed to settle all the claims for a total of $13.5 billion, which would cover liability for its responsibility originating from the Camp Fire, Tubbs Fire, Butte Fire and Ghost Ship warehouse fire. The Ghost Ship fire occurred on December 2nd 2016 in Oakland, and we lost 36 friends in one night.
EL SALADO
El Salado is an ongoing documentary project that explores the biggest flea market in Mexico City. It began over 40 years ago and every Wednesday it is built through the streets of the Solidaridad and Nezahualcóyotl neighborhoods on the east side of Mexico City. This market is a continuation of the ancient Aztec markets, known as “tianguis,” or “mobile market” in Spanish. This project explores the social problems and realities of the lowest social classes in the city.
In this endless market, one finds piles of “paca” (second-hand) clothes, antiques, books, watches, perfumes, tennis, brand new clothes, auto parts and cell phones, and junk and trash. Each time I go here and walk around these objects I’m filled with nostalgia, but I’m also motivated to address the problem of the modern world, its consumerism, and the irrational excesses of capitalism.
The mistakes and errors that occurred on these rolls of film during the development process are the beginning of an experimentation process: the medium itself represents the decline and strangeness of the objects found in this place. The degradation of the film itself represents the overproduction of capitalist rhythms that manifest themselves in the material construction of this tianguis where trash is sold. The medium is a representation of the decadence and strangeness of the objects found in this place, as well as the errors of overproduction in the capitalist system.
FATIMA, LADY OF COLOR
This festival looks more like a Pride march than a religious gathering, but every May 13, the natives of Cusco dress in these colorful clothes for the religious celebration called Our Lady of Fatima.
The Virgin of Fatima, formally known as Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, is an invocation by which the Virgin Mary is venerated in Catholicism.
JUDEA MALINCHE
"I can't imagine what the streets were like where I grew up, between 1940-1950, when the Malinche neighborhood began to be established. My grandfather Rogelio grew up there, during that time, north of the old Federal District. Thanks to him I know it was a land without law, a lost city where the black water of the Grand Canal dragged dead dogs, the current of the Rio Consulado was natural, the streets became a swamp when the rain fell, there were thugs and those who came to live stole the light from the colony 20 de November, already civilized at the time. Over the years the stigma of danger was erased and it began to distinguish itself for its popular celebration of Easter."
LUCY AND EDWARD
Edward James was a British poet known for his presence in the surrealist art movement. Las Pozas ("the Pools"), near the village of Xilitla, San Luis Potosí, more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level in a subtropical rainforest in the mountains of Mexico, is a garden created by James. It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering Surrealist sculptures in concrete. Massive sculptures up to four stories tall punctuate the site. The many trails throughout the garden site are composed of steps, ramps, bridges and narrow, winding walkways that traverse the valley walls. Construction of Las Pozas cost more than $5 million dollars. To pay for it, James sold his collection of Surrealist art at auction.
