Today we started the day off filming on top of the hotel roof that we stayed at in Guatemala City. Rogelio left us for a few hours to go to the bank and run some errands and Josh and I filmed until our hearts were content. After exhausting material to film at the hotel, and being under strict orders not to venture off on our own (What possible trouble could two Americanos with a ton of camera gear get into?), we busied ourselves watching the most extreme Japanese cartoon show I’ve ever seen. Most Japanese Anime rely heavily on close ups of intense emotions such as jubilation and anger. This was a show about soccer. Battling soccer. And it relied heavily on the latter. Dubbed in Spanish, we about had an aneurism.
After filming in the hotel and teaching Rogelio how the Lavalier microphones (wireless mics) work, we hopped into a cab to head to the bus station. Yesterday we had made a deal with a local cabbie, Borris, to drive us around Guatemala City for a reasonable price. After speaking with him, and practicing my spanish, I was glad to see he was to be our driver again today. Borris had a tourist visa to the US for a while, and bliss for him would be to work and live in San Fernando, CA. He loves Guatemala he tells me, but California is the icing on the cake.
After bidding farewell to our new friend, Rogelio took us to the local bus terminal. Its the local bus, very safe he assures us. After filming for a few minutes in the bus station, we get promptly shut down. The guard was nice enough about the ordeal, but photography was strictly prohibited. Luckily, we got everything we needed. At the bus station Josh and I experienced what is rapidly becoming a modus operandus for us: people staring. A unique look at what it must feel like to be a celebrity and not be able to be another face in the crowd; our blue eyes, pale skin, and light hair made us stand out like sore thumbs. It seems we are a rarity in this part of the world, and the fact that we are lugging around cameras and gear seems to add to our mystery. I asked Rolli why they were staring at me, and he told me its because I look like an actor. Surprising, and intriguingly reassuring, I bashfully welcomed the compliment.
After getting to the commercial bus terminal, we lugged all of our gear onto a medium sized bus headed for Sumayak, Rogelio’s village. Three hours and change and some frazzled nerve endings later we arrived, A word about Guatemalan bus drivers. They are equal part amazing, awe inspiring, and terrifying. If I told you I knew the exact number of times we were driving on the wrong side of the street, overloaded the bus, or passed within inches of another on-coming bus, I’d be lying. New York cabbies be warned: you have competition.
A warm and hearty welcome is waiting for us in Rogelio’s village. His mother is the first person to greet us. She takes my bag regardless of my protests and sits us down in her home. Within minutes I’ve met a half dozen people all in Rogelio’s family and there is a beer in my hand. Rogelio has two twin boys, Balin and Javier, who likes to go by Javi. What followed was easily one of the most incredible and rewarding experiences of my young life. Pulling the GoPro camera with its LCD back from my pocket, I got to give the kids a camera demo and show them how to make movies. Maybe not Hollywood films mind you (as if I’m a staple there anyway), but some of the very basics they never would have had access to otherwise. A solid hour of entertainment ensued as the kids ran around filming each other.
Afterwards Rolli took us with his wife on a tour of Sumayak which included but was not limited to the main church, friends, family, the main market place and a taxi ride in a a Tuk Tuk, a local motorcycle taxi with three wheels. After our tour his wife and parents hosted us for dinner with homemade chicken soup and hand made hot flour tortillas. The soup was incredible, the company was better. Though I struggled through my broken spanglish, they were warm and accepting. Afterwards we spent another thirty minutes saying goodbyes and taking photos before heading back to Roli’s home to download footage and work. I got to show he and his family some entertaining features on my macbook and our gear (most had never seen anything like it), the highlights including playing with the wireless lav’s in the house (room to room) and taking silly photos of everyone on Photo Booth with various effects.
As we were preparing and discussing tomorrow’s itinerary, Rogelio sat us down to tell us his story. A perilous journey from Guatemala to eventually Los Angeles, it was both heartwarming and moving. At one point the house shook slightly, and though my over-excitable imagination tried to chalk it up to the content, we decided it was a small earth quake and moved on.
It’s Eleven PM: Roosters are crowing, Crickets are chirping and a more than likely slightly intoxicated man is singing lonely spanish love songs somewhere off in the distance. Guatemala is another world. A serenely beautiful one.
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