Tuesday, April 4, 2017
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Juokowsky Forum
Jayro Bustamante/ Guatemala, France/ 2015/ 62 min.
Maria, a 17-year-old Mayan girl, lives and works with her parents on a coffee plantation in the foothills of an active volcano in Guatemala. An arranged marriage awaits her: her parents have promised her to Ignacio, the plantation overseer. But Maria doesn’t sit back and accept her destiny. Pepe, a young coffee cutter who plans to migrate to the USA becomes her possible way out. Maria seduces Pepe in order to run away with him, but after promises and clandestine meetings, Pepe takes off, leaving her pregnant, alone and in disgrace. There’s no time to lose for Maria’s mother, who thinks abortion is the only solution. Yet despite her mother’s ancestral knowledge, the baby remains, “destined to live.” But destiny has more in store for Maria: a snakebite forces them to leave immediately in search of a hospital. The modern world Maria has so dreamt about will save her life, but at what price?
Sponsored by Hispanic Studies, Comparative Literature, CLACS, History, Modern Culture and Media, and the Pembroke Center. The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda.