0:00:05 > 0:00:06In the 1930s,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08cinema burst into colour.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12New technologies enabled film-makers to produce images that captured
0:00:12 > 0:00:16the hues of nature in all their splendour and richness.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20But processes like Kodachrome were expensive.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24For the most part, only professionals from the movie industry could use it.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Yet some people did have the means to indulge their enthusiasm for film,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31and they produced remarkable recordings of the world in colour.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33The footage is fascinating.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38Fascinating to see what was happening in the thirties,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41what materials and colours they were using.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42It's a wealth of information.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Many of these early colour films captured the experiences
0:00:49 > 0:00:53of the jet set on their travels around the globe,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55but others were put to more educational purposes.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58In the thirties, the American industrialist Harry Wright
0:00:58 > 0:01:02used the new technology to make an extraordinary series
0:01:02 > 0:01:05of ethnographic films, documenting the lives of
0:01:05 > 0:01:08indigenous peoples all over the world.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12I work in the history of ethnographic film
0:01:12 > 0:01:15and I've never seen anything quite like this.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Before the Second World War, Wright preserved in colour
0:01:21 > 0:01:24cultures at crucial junctures in their history,
0:01:24 > 0:01:25as traditional ways of life
0:01:25 > 0:01:29came under the threat of an increasingly globalised world.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Once the roads come, once the schools come,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36this is a vanishing world.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56In 1942, Harry Wright demonstrated
0:01:56 > 0:02:00his passion for film-making by experimenting with special effects.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02By then, he was wealthy enough
0:02:02 > 0:02:06to make sound recordings that could be married to his new colour films.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10But he hadn't always had the funds to conjure up whatever he wanted.
0:02:10 > 0:02:15Born in Bedford, Virginia, in 1876, Harry Wright was the eldest son
0:02:15 > 0:02:18of a wealthy family of tobacco growers.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22But while still in his teens, the family fortune was lost in
0:02:22 > 0:02:24a devastating bank collapse.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27After their dissolute father committed suicide,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31the Wrights' privileged upbringing came to an abrupt end.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35As the new head of the family, Harry was determined that
0:02:35 > 0:02:39the sins of the father would not be repeated by the first-born son.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43His father had been an alcoholic
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and he had promised he'd never drink.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47And everyone in his family promised that they would
0:02:47 > 0:02:50never drink and everyone in his family never drank in front of him.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58But at the turn of the century, Wright saw an opportunity
0:02:58 > 0:03:00to achieve financial salvation.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03South - down Mexico way.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Then all of a sudden here he was.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Mexico in 1900 was very wild and woolly,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11very different from what it is now,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14with vast areas that had been unexplored
0:03:14 > 0:03:18and I think his imagination went wild and he just loved
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Mexico dearly, he loved everything about it.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24It ignited him, I think, in a very deep way.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Mexico was largely rural and agricultural,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and its people were very poor.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Most of the land was owned by the aristocracy,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37whose estates controlled over half the country.
0:03:37 > 0:03:38But at this time,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42foreigners were encouraged to invest in Mexico's emerging industries.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48For entrepreneurs like Harry Wright, it was a chance to get rich quickly.
0:03:48 > 0:03:54He made a fortune buying and selling scrap metal for an American company
0:03:54 > 0:03:59and then afterwards he started his own business
0:03:59 > 0:04:01and he became a millionaire.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Success elevated Harry Wright into
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Mexico's most powerful circles,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and soon he gained access to the President, Porfirio Diaz,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19who had run the country for more than 30 years.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23But by then, power was slipping from the dictator's grasp.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26In 1910, the Mexican people began a revolution,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29in which a million people died.
0:04:29 > 0:04:36Diaz was forced into exile, aided and abetted by Harry Wright himself.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38On 26th May, 1911,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Mexico's revolutionaries were baying for Diaz's blood.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45But Diaz eluded them by taking flight, not in his own car,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49but in one borrowed from Harry Wright and his wife Edna.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53He had to go through the revolutionary period
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and then the post-revolutionary period
0:04:57 > 0:05:00that was also quite turbulent politically.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04And in order to survive as an industrialist he had to
0:05:04 > 0:05:07have very good connections.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15So Harry cultivated powerful new friends in the luxurious surroundings
0:05:15 > 0:05:19of Mexico City's most exclusive sporting venue.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24The country club was a very pretty place. It was very popular.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30All the rich people of various nationalities went there to play
0:05:30 > 0:05:34golf, to bowl, to swim and to dance.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Based in the Churubusco neighbourhood,
0:05:37 > 0:05:42the Mexico City Country Club had been badly damaged during the revolution.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46But Harry paid for its renovation, an act of generosity which ensured
0:05:46 > 0:05:51that he would go on to be the club's president for 25 years.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Harry Wright was also the founder
0:05:54 > 0:05:59and the president of the Mexican Golf Association.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03He brought the very, very best players of the world.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08It was a privilege for them to be invited by Harry Wright to Mexico.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13From the late twenties onwards, Wright oversaw the highlight
0:06:13 > 0:06:16of the country club's social calendar,
0:06:16 > 0:06:17the annual black and white ball,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19where young ladies from rival
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Mexican golf clubs bid to become the queen of Churubusco.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29The first memory I have of the black and white ball is
0:06:29 > 0:06:33when I was about, I don't know, four and a half, or five.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36I do remember looking
0:06:36 > 0:06:40at the princesses as they came up on the stage.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45This was THE social affair of the year and everybody
0:06:45 > 0:06:48wanted to get in and be part of it.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54There were 20, 25 princesses and they competed
0:06:54 > 0:06:57for a place and I imagine it's like
0:06:57 > 0:07:00the Miss Universe of today.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05For the daughters of Mexico City's elite and its expatriate families
0:07:05 > 0:07:08from Europe and America, being hand-picked
0:07:08 > 0:07:12as a princess by Harry Wright would become a moment to cherish.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I met Harry because I was a friend of his nephew.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I was in my last year of high school.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I was simply notified one day that I was a princess.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Really! I was supposed to represent
0:07:28 > 0:07:34the Nueva Rosita Golf Club. I didn't even know where Nueva Rosita was.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Definitely it was a privilege, it was a privilege
0:07:38 > 0:07:41to be the princess of the black and white ball.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44The climax of the contest arrived when Harry Wright
0:07:44 > 0:07:49decided which of the competing princesses would be crowned as queen.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50How do you like giving up the crown?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- I don't like it at all.- But aren't you glad to give it to Elena?- Yes.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55How do you like getting it, Elena?
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- How do I like who?- Getting the crown.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I like it very much.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04I was aware that my father was larger than life.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08You know, that he was a force to be contended with.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13I do know that he liked to have things very much his own way
0:08:13 > 0:08:18and that he occasionally gave shares to the country club to friends,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21so that they would be encouraged to vote with him.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26This is my favourite niece just before she's being sacrificed
0:08:26 > 0:08:28for this little old piece of glass.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Well, I used to watch
0:08:31 > 0:08:37people come in the room, and I think people were in awe of him.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39He was a celebrity.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Tell you my joke
0:08:41 > 0:08:43about the Bigger family.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47There's Papa Bigger, Mama Bigger, and Baby Bigger.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50Which is the biggest of the Biggers?
0:08:50 > 0:08:55- I know!- Don't anybody know, so I'll have to tell you it's the baby,
0:08:55 > 0:08:57cos it's a little Bigger.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Harry loved film. Harry adored film.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05He loved the whole process of how film was made and narrated.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09This man had a passion for the moving image.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16In the 1920s, Harry and his wife had travelled the world with his camera,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19mainly shooting black and white films along the way.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23He added to his growing collection by acquiring films from an organisation
0:09:23 > 0:09:25called the Amateur Cinema League.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32The Amateur Cinema League started in the States
0:09:32 > 0:09:38and they really helped popularise the use of film-making equipment.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44But Harry Wright created the Cinema Club De Mexico
0:09:44 > 0:09:48as a sort of Mexican branch of the Amateur Cinema League.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53So he provided a place where they could meet
0:09:53 > 0:09:57and exchange ideas and information.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Members of the Amateur Cinema League produced films for cinemas,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03such as the famous Graumann's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07where they were shown as supporting entertainment for the main feature.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10For audiences used to black and white movies,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13such colour films were a revelation.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22You know, in those days when you went to the movies
0:10:22 > 0:10:24you had the feature film and then you had shorts.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27And these shorts were very frequently documentaries.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30So there was quite a large market for films of this type.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34These sort of three or ten minute segments.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Because if you look at the twenties and thirties,
0:10:37 > 0:10:43you have this belief in the camera can be used to educate people.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45The League Of Nations proclaims
0:10:45 > 0:10:49film is the most powerful media available.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It's this idea that you can use the camera to educate.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57The films made by these amateurs
0:10:57 > 0:10:59documented their journeys around the world.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02As an ardent travelling film-maker himself,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Harry Wright was fascinated by these travelogues
0:11:05 > 0:11:08and collected as many as he could get.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Films shot in Africa in particular caught his imagination.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20In the twenties and the thirties,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23tourism was really taking off in Africa
0:11:23 > 0:11:25because the cruise ships visited
0:11:25 > 0:11:29ports and they had some shore excursions,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34these sites became popular tourist attractions.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38For example, Morocco, Marrakech, the market place, the carnival-esque
0:11:38 > 0:11:42kind of scenes you would see with the snake charmers
0:11:42 > 0:11:47and acrobats, those were market scenes created for tourists.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Zanzibar was an important port for cruise ships
0:11:51 > 0:11:55and also had a kind of
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Orientalist quality and people could experience a different
0:11:58 > 0:12:00kind of Africa in Zanzibar.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05Victoria Falls for example,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09by the thirties it had already been constructed as a tourist site.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12There was a picnic table there,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15there was a view for photographers.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21These became constructed as tourist spots in the twenties and thirties
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and you see these spots again and again in travel films.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Some film-makers ventured deep into the African interior
0:12:30 > 0:12:35in a bid to film cultures that many believed were doomed to disappear.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43People believe that Western civilisation is going to
0:12:43 > 0:12:46reign supreme and all these tribal customs and cultures
0:12:46 > 0:12:49are going to become extinct.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And so there's this belief that
0:12:51 > 0:12:54if you can film this, this is going to become valuable.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56The more valuable your film footage is
0:12:56 > 0:12:58the higher your social prestige is.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01It replaces big game hunting with a gun.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03You start using the camera instead.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05And it's a natural sort of...
0:13:05 > 0:13:11movement from shooting game to shooting people.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Many of these filmmakers were associated with men's clubs
0:13:15 > 0:13:20like, the Explorers' Group, the Explorers' Club, the Harvard Club,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22the Cosmos Club.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25They were the intrepid adventurers of their time,
0:13:25 > 0:13:26the explorers' explorer.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32One of the most intriguing of these filmmakers,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Paul Hoefler, had already shot in Africa using black and white film.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40But in the mid-1930s, he used the latest technology to produce
0:13:40 > 0:13:43African Tribes, one of the earliest ethnographic films
0:13:43 > 0:13:45to be shot on the continent in colour.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50The African Tribes series is very interesting.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55I haven't seen a sort of edited produced colour,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58pseudo-ethnographic film that early.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Seeing Hoefler in colour was quite spectacular.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05What I found interesting when he starts doing colour
0:14:05 > 0:14:07is he goes to his old haunts
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and he's essentially repeating stereotypes
0:14:10 > 0:14:13and he's recycling a lot of his previous ideas.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20These people are the Mbuti Efe people of the Ituri Forest in what is today
0:14:20 > 0:14:23the Democratic Republic of Congo.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26But at the time, Hoefler conformed to Western stereotypes
0:14:26 > 0:14:30by referring to them as pygmies.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- VOICEOVER:- We sent them a message to the pygmy chief Asanga,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37ruler of the Ifi, to tell them that their old friend Hoefler
0:14:37 > 0:14:39- had returned to the forest.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Having read his personal diaries,
0:14:41 > 0:14:45he's very clearly into saying, "Well, what does the market want?"
0:14:45 > 0:14:47He's market driven. He's not into telling it like he sees it.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52He's saying, "What are people going to pay to see?"
0:14:52 > 0:14:55The pygmies spend most of their lives dancing
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and work themselves into a high pitch of excitement by weird chants
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and the booming of wooden drums.
0:15:01 > 0:15:08But colour film could also challenge Western preconceptions of Africa.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Colour film in some ways allowed for the reinvention of Africa.
0:15:12 > 0:15:19It definitely dismisses any myths you might have about darkest Africa.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Because now we are really seeing brightest Africa,
0:15:22 > 0:15:24we are really seeing cultural diversity,
0:15:24 > 0:15:28we are really seeing natural beauty.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Amateur filmmakers, like Hoefler,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45considered their work to be both valid and valuable
0:15:45 > 0:15:46studies of these cultures.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48But mainstream anthropologists
0:15:48 > 0:15:51were slow to recognise the significance of this material.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Anthropologists had no time for ethnographic film.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00They sort of look down on it and they said this isn't worth anything.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03The dominant symbol for anthropology
0:16:03 > 0:16:05in the twenties and thirties wasn't the camera
0:16:05 > 0:16:09but rather the notebook this idea that you had to spend time
0:16:09 > 0:16:15in the field as opposed to the rich tourists who would do a quick pan,
0:16:15 > 0:16:17film a lot and move on.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19The idea is that if you take films
0:16:19 > 0:16:22it takes so much time to set up that you don't get
0:16:22 > 0:16:24a real picture of life.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28The camera is the mask the tourist wears.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30It becomes the impediment to establishing contact.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34And so there was this tradition that you shouldn't use film because
0:16:34 > 0:16:38it created a barrier between your actual observations.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42But I suspect that a lot of this simply had to do with status
0:16:42 > 0:16:46and that anthropologists couldn't really afford to buy colour film.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48The commentaries added to Hoefler's films
0:16:48 > 0:16:52express his fascination with the cultures he encounters.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58But often his interpretations and conclusions were wide of the mark.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Here we find that the Bamburi women still practise a custom
0:17:01 > 0:17:04which originated during the time when slave traders
0:17:04 > 0:17:06were the scourge of Africa.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08What caused these duck-billed
0:17:08 > 0:17:11creatures to adopt this weird lip adornment?
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Certainly not to enhance their looks.
0:17:13 > 0:17:19At a meeting of the chiefs, it was decided to disfigure the women
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and thus destroy their value to the slave traders.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27The scene that you see in African Tribes with the Bamburi,
0:17:27 > 0:17:32these are Sera's peoples from Chad, central Africa
0:17:32 > 0:17:36and the use of the labret
0:17:36 > 0:17:42as opposed to plate-lipped, which is how they refer to it in the film,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45usually signals a woman's eligibility for marriage.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49For example, or her socio-economic status,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53the larger the plate, the higher the woman's status.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57So the myth that the tribe is trying to make themselves ugly
0:17:57 > 0:18:00so they won't become slaves,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03is something that has been recycled
0:18:03 > 0:18:05since the 18th, 19th century.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Though wealthy Americans like Hoefler could afford to travel in Africa,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15for most people, such adventures remained a pipe-dream.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the US had led the world into
0:18:19 > 0:18:22the biggest economic slump of modern times.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26For much of the 1930s, across great swathes of the northern hemisphere,
0:18:26 > 0:18:31around 30% of adult men were unemployed.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33America sought a way out by developing what it called
0:18:33 > 0:18:35its "Good Neighbour Policy".
0:18:35 > 0:18:40The idea was that Washington would invest in neighbouring countries,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44on condition that their spending would boost US industry.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56The Good Neighbour Policy is the term used to describe the
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Roosevelt Administration's foreign policy towards Latin America.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03When Roosevelt came to power in 1933,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06he said the United States would be a good neighbour,
0:19:06 > 0:19:07it was a very vague term.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10In the first year of his administration it meant very little,
0:19:10 > 0:19:16but as 1933 became 1934, Roosevelt began to look to the Americas
0:19:16 > 0:19:19to solve some of the economic problems of the Depression.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23The idea was that the United States did not
0:19:23 > 0:19:27have competing economic interests with the countries of the Americas.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30It needed raw materials, it needed markets for its manufactured goods.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Lowering tariffs would serve US interests.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38The United States would import raw materials it needed and would export
0:19:38 > 0:19:41manufactured goods. And for the first time, Washington loaned monies
0:19:41 > 0:19:43to other countries directly
0:19:43 > 0:19:47with the stipulation that the money would be spent in the United States.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Wright's adopted home country of Mexico was among the nations
0:19:55 > 0:19:58that benefited most from these loans.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03By the 1930s, its President, Lazaro Cardenas - who was an acquaintance of
0:20:03 > 0:20:09Harry Wright - was leading the drive to reorganise the national economy.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Among the most startling images in the Wright collection
0:20:12 > 0:20:16is an image, some footage of Lazaro Cardenas entering Chiapas
0:20:16 > 0:20:19that must have been towards the end of his administration.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23The reason it's fascinating is that there's a lot of audio visual images
0:20:23 > 0:20:26of Cardenas in the 1930s made by the Mexican state,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29but not in colour, so it's a whole different experience.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34Mexico's president had promised to give the country's Indians
0:20:34 > 0:20:37more autonomy by putting more land under their control.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41But other policies undermined Indian traditional culture by imposing
0:20:41 > 0:20:46Western values and institutions on the Indian way of life.
0:20:46 > 0:20:52There's one film called One Day at the Boarding School of Zinacantan.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56That was a project created in the thirties so that
0:20:56 > 0:20:58these Indian communities could send
0:20:58 > 0:21:04their children to these boarding schools in their region where they
0:21:04 > 0:21:07would they would dress in the Western style,
0:21:07 > 0:21:13and the film shows it very, very well, because they're given shoes.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18It was this idea that they had to be, sort of, integrated into
0:21:18 > 0:21:24modern Mexico - progress, education, Spanish, because they didn't
0:21:24 > 0:21:25know any Spanish, so they had to
0:21:25 > 0:21:29teach them the Spanish language so that they could communicate
0:21:29 > 0:21:34with the rest of the country, and they were shown different trades.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42By the mid 1930s, footage like this had become an important part
0:21:42 > 0:21:45of Harry Wright's burgeoning film archive.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Proudly, Wright showed his films to friends, family and the elite of
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Mexico City at his own private cinema - a screening room he called
0:21:53 > 0:21:57"The Kraal Theatre", after a small cluster of dwellings
0:21:57 > 0:21:58in Southern Africa.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03The theatre can accommodate about 250 people, and at the present time
0:22:03 > 0:22:09our library consists of around 2,400 foot reels of films,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13giving you 500 continuous hours of pictures without repetition.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15He had some feature films,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19and he had cartoons and documentaries.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24It was probably the largest collection in Mexico of 16mm film.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Everybody who came to Mexico from the US that was important,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31eventually had to meet Harry Wright.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34And Harry Wright always invited them to the Kraal.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39If you've visited us before, we feel highly complimented
0:22:39 > 0:22:42that you're interested enough to return.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Every Sunday afternoon he would invite people from the club,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48or friends, or relatives to the screenings,
0:22:48 > 0:22:52and they were long programmes
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and he would keep showing things.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58We hope that our humble entertainment has not bored you.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02We would be delighted to continue this performance indefinitely.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06We sat there... It went on and on and on and on
0:23:06 > 0:23:12He showed a lot of films... And, I think I might have fallen asleep.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Somebody would mention something and he'd say, "I have a film on that".
0:23:15 > 0:23:21Slowly people would find excuses to leave the room and actually perhaps
0:23:21 > 0:23:23crawl out of the room and my mother would say,
0:23:23 > 0:23:27"You know you have to stop. You can't keep showing this to people
0:23:27 > 0:23:29"They want to go to sleep.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31"They have to go to work tomorrow.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34"They have other things to do besides watching your films."
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Among the most spectacular of all the films that Harry showed
0:23:43 > 0:23:46in the Kraal theatre were what he called
0:23:46 > 0:23:49his Ethnographic Series of Unknown Mexican Indians,
0:23:49 > 0:23:54shot by the intrepid photographer and explorer Ed Myers.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Myers had been director of sports at Harry Wright's Country Club,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00but he had ventured into some of the country's most dangerous
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and politically-volatile areas.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08In 1938, Ed travelled for three months through the Huichol region
0:24:08 > 0:24:13in central Mexico, taking photographs and collecting objects along the way.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16After he left, seven Huichol people
0:24:16 > 0:24:19who were associated with Ed Myers were murdered.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Despite this, Myers was undeterred.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25He somehow convinced Harry
0:24:25 > 0:24:29that they should film these Indian tribes
0:24:29 > 0:24:32that were located in very remote areas
0:24:32 > 0:24:35that very few people knew about
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and I think Harry thought it was really great.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43I don't think he was really aware of the surviving Indian communities
0:24:43 > 0:24:48that were really very poor and marginalised in Mexico at the time.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Well, I think it was kind of like a continuation of his desire to travel
0:24:52 > 0:24:57and to go to exotic places, but he was too old to do that.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01Ed Myers, I think was, sort of like his surrogate, you know.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04He used Ed Myers to have a sort of adventure.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10And he financed several expeditions that Ed made
0:25:10 > 0:25:16to the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas and the north of Puebla.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26In 1939, Ed Myers began filming for the first of what would become
0:25:26 > 0:25:29a series of 15 short films.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33For the edification and amusement of visitors to his Kraal Theatre,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Harry Wright added graphics, music and commentary.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41At last, Wright was producing his own ethnographic documentaries on Mexico,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43the country he had fallen in love with.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47His series on the indigenous peoples of Mexico would become
0:25:47 > 0:25:50the crowning achievement of his film-making career.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56The various colours on this map of Mexico indicate the location
0:25:56 > 0:25:59of the 150-odd Indian tribes.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Some of these, such as the Seris, have not yet reached the Stone Age.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07They called their series Unknown Indian Tribes
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and they're bringing to the outside world
0:26:11 > 0:26:15images that have never been seen before.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20Today, there remain but 51 of the original 150 Indian races.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Those that live in the mountains and the more inaccessible regions
0:26:24 > 0:26:28retain their early culture and have changed little since Cortes.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33The Unknown Tribes of Mexico series
0:26:33 > 0:26:37combines elements of the exploration,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39travelogue,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42ethnographic and Hollywood feature film.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Even if they do say that reptiles have very
0:26:44 > 0:26:48little feeling, it certainly gives one the creeps
0:26:48 > 0:26:50to watch the death struggles of this one.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54He's tried to bring out certain qualities or certain aspects
0:26:54 > 0:26:58of each of the groups that makes them different,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01so it doesn't look like all of the Indians are the same,
0:27:01 > 0:27:02which they're not.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07And he focuses on different things - a marriage ritual here, a fiesta,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11dances, daily life...
0:27:11 > 0:27:16So it gives you a broad image of what was going on in the areas.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20In a beautiful valley in the mountainous areas of Chiapas,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22lies the beautiful village of Huistan.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Just by luck, we heard of a rain fiesta that was
0:27:27 > 0:27:29to be given at this picturesque spot.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32It was the end of the dry season and corn-planting time
0:27:32 > 0:27:35but the ground was so hard, the natives couldn't break the surface.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38The fiesta was to be given to hurry up the rains
0:27:38 > 0:27:42which would soften the ground and thus make planting possible.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46The first Huistechos we encountered were on their way to the fiesta.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49No crusader or knight of the middle ages ever looked more Spectacular
0:27:49 > 0:27:53than these humble Huistechos in their holiday attire.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57We see these amazing red flags that are carried in one village.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Then we see these amazing hats and the colourful embroidery.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04And all of this is crucial to the documentation of costume.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09For this project, which is really about garnering information
0:28:09 > 0:28:13and then marketing it - colour is crucial. Colour is what seduces us.
0:28:14 > 0:28:19In the 1930s, much of rural Mexico was inaccessible by rail or road.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24To reach many indigenous communities, Myers faced an arduous journey.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Explorer Ed Myers crossed a 10,000 foot range of mountains
0:28:28 > 0:28:32and travelled 11 days by horseback from the nearest railroads
0:28:32 > 0:28:35to reach these carefree happy natives.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Myers produced profoundly intimate images of everyday life and culture,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42managing to overcome traditional resistance
0:28:42 > 0:28:44to intrusions by outsiders.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48The good looking one on the left
0:28:48 > 0:28:52couldn't refrain from giggling in front of the camera.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59- TRANSLATION:- There were no areas of completely free access
0:28:59 > 0:29:05in Chiapas, which both then and even now is difficult to penetrate.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08The villages in the highlands like San Juan Chamula
0:29:08 > 0:29:12or Zinacantan, where he goes, it is most likely that when
0:29:12 > 0:29:17Ed was there, it would have been even more difficult to gain access.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22However, we see that he has no problem, that the villagers are
0:29:22 > 0:29:26peaceful and let him film their ceremonies and film close-ups
0:29:26 > 0:29:28of the faces of the women and children.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33This would have been unthinkable for the time but Myers was able to do
0:29:33 > 0:29:38it, probably because he arrived with a permit from the Mexican state.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Myers' footage offers a rare and precious glimpse of life
0:29:46 > 0:29:49in many remote Mexican communities.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52But the commentaries added later often interpret
0:29:52 > 0:29:57the traditions of indigenous people in misleading or superficial ways.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Harry Wright was fascinated by customs and cultures,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03but his reading of them was occasionally eccentric
0:30:03 > 0:30:05and sometimes naive.
0:30:05 > 0:30:12The voice-overs really are the key, because they really kind of
0:30:12 > 0:30:14try to encapsulate
0:30:14 > 0:30:18what you think you're seeing or what they want you to see.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21The pretty girls are not allowed to dance.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Only the widows are granted this privilege by the village elders.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29By morning, many of the widows will have captured new husbands.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35Had the good-looking young maidens been permitted to dance,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38the widows wouldn't have had a chance.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42He's always interjecting and trying to relate what he's seeing,
0:30:42 > 0:30:48"translating" it into terms that an outsider might understand.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52Whereas, an ethnographer or somebody more academic
0:30:52 > 0:30:55would not try to do that.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56It is a large,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00warm, Oriental sort of moon that blankets the low foothills
0:31:00 > 0:31:03in the south-west corner of the state of Oaxaca, wherein
0:31:03 > 0:31:08live the 8,000 remaining members of that bizarre people, the Amusgos.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12Their customs are of a texture and type with embroidered designs
0:31:12 > 0:31:15strongly suggesting that mother country
0:31:15 > 0:31:17was once the land of the Pharaohs.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21A typical Amusgo maiden.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Here is an opportunity to study the features.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27It exoticizes these people more.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Their origins are a mystery.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31No-one knows where they came from, this sort of thing.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35It builds up the excitement. You've got to sell these films.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38You want the audience to like these films.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42To boost their appeal, Wright's films included lurid descriptions
0:31:42 > 0:31:45of some cultural events, notably its coverage of
0:31:45 > 0:31:50a traditional sporting contest among the Tzeltal people of Chiapas.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54The Tzeltals have a cruel, bloodthirsty game.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55A live rooster is procured.
0:31:55 > 0:32:01The object of the game is to decapitate the rooster with
0:32:01 > 0:32:06an adept yank and twist of the hand while riding at full speed.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Returning with a dripping head, the winner of the first contest
0:32:10 > 0:32:13proudly holds up his gory prize.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17It's always going for the most strange and the most bizarre
0:32:17 > 0:32:23and the most exotic cultural practices that they can find.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Sterility in a woman is considered a crime and a husband is supposed
0:32:26 > 0:32:31to beat a childless wife until she becomes fertile.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Wright's films also record more mundane aspects of indigenous life
0:32:34 > 0:32:40documenting for posterity, methods used in the production of textiles,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43techniques that had been employed for generations.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45If by some magical process
0:32:45 > 0:32:49a person could be carried back 500 or 1,000 years before
0:32:49 > 0:32:51the arrival of the first white man,
0:32:51 > 0:32:56he would see just such scenes as this.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59In the thirties, ethnographers often collected the arts and crafts
0:32:59 > 0:33:02produced by indigenous peoples.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Ed Myers supplied objects to some of the world's most important
0:33:05 > 0:33:09ethnographic collections, including those at the Smithsonian Museum,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13the American Museum Natural History and, allegedly, the British Museum.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Myers supplied utensils, jewellery
0:33:15 > 0:33:20and clothing, which Ed found especially difficult to acquire.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23In this one film, Rain Fiestas Of The Tzeltals,
0:33:23 > 0:33:26a lot of interesting issues about costume come up.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31The narrator talks of difficulties in collecting these objects.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33'As they are highly prized,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36'it was only after days of bargaining and much persuasion
0:33:36 > 0:33:39'that we were able to purchase the pair pictured here.'
0:33:39 > 0:33:42These costumes are hard to make.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46They take a lot of time and they're very important personally.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49It's bizarre. You wouldn't walk up to somebody in Manhattan
0:33:49 > 0:33:52and offer to buy the dress off their back, right.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55But, somehow, you can go to these other primitive people there
0:33:55 > 0:33:56in some strange village
0:33:56 > 0:34:00and do the same thing and buy the clothes off their back.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02The objects that Myers
0:34:02 > 0:34:05amassed survive in collections around the world.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08But his coloured films are a truly unique record
0:34:08 > 0:34:12of the customs and rituals of the indigenous peoples of Mexico.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16Among the most spectacular were fiesta dances, in which the people
0:34:16 > 0:34:22paid homage to nature in the hope of being rewarded with a good harvest.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27Both the Amusgo Indians and the Mixtecs have this dance
0:34:27 > 0:34:32where men interact with animals, with the wild animals
0:34:32 > 0:34:37and domesticated animals, and they ask them permission
0:34:37 > 0:34:40to plant the land and to respect the corn.
0:34:40 > 0:34:46The jaguar climbs up the tree and then he walks around on four legs
0:34:46 > 0:34:49and he plays with the children.
0:34:49 > 0:34:55And so the jaguar becomes a very important element
0:34:55 > 0:34:59because he's a friend and a foe at the same time.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04Myers believed he was filming a traditional Aztec dance,
0:35:04 > 0:35:06but a close examination of the footage
0:35:06 > 0:35:10suggests that the ritual isn't quite as authentic as it appears.
0:35:10 > 0:35:11It's the Aztec war dance
0:35:11 > 0:35:15and these guys come down the path and do their war dance.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Well, the costumes have nothing to do with anything an Aztec ever wore.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25They're wearing turkey feathers and plumage from God knows where.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28And their head-dresses, if you look closely,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30have red, white and green in them,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32which is the colours of the Mexican flag
0:35:32 > 0:35:35which is a total invention probably of the 19th century.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39We have no scripts of Aztec dances.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41We don't have any footwork diagrams
0:35:41 > 0:35:43so that we know exactly how they dance.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46We hardly have any visual images of dances.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49So nobody knows what these dances were like.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54But there was such a desire to find something truer, unspoiled,
0:35:54 > 0:36:01going back to this ancient past that they tended to often not see
0:36:01 > 0:36:03when there was actually change.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08While capturing performances, Myers sometimes directed
0:36:08 > 0:36:11protagonists in an attempt to make scenes more appealing.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14This is evident in the film he shot of the spectacular
0:36:14 > 0:36:20ancient ruins of Mitla in Oaxaca, an unlikely venue for a Zapotec dance.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22IN TRANSLATION:
0:36:22 > 0:36:26He's a fantastic film director because he stages a fabulous scene
0:36:26 > 0:36:28for a dance to take place.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34The plume dance, which he films in Mitla,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37it is unthinkable that a dance like this Zapotec dance
0:36:37 > 0:36:40would be performed in this archaeological site.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45It was he who made this happen.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53'Of the hundreds of dances of Mexico,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55'one of the most unusual
0:36:55 > 0:37:00'is that given annually at Chiapas de Corzo in the state of Chiapas.'
0:37:00 > 0:37:03DANCERS CHANT
0:37:09 > 0:37:12The difficulty of recording sound on location
0:37:12 > 0:37:15forced Wright to add his own music to many sequences.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17Guided by the instruments used,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20Harry invented soundtracks inspired by the indigenous music
0:37:20 > 0:37:24of North America, the Middle East and even medieval England.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28'They're very fond of music and a few have crudely made
0:37:28 > 0:37:32'stringed instruments. As a whole, their lives are happy and peaceful.'
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Sometimes the results were not entirely convincing.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Despite this, Harry Wright's Unknown Indian series is a rare
0:37:51 > 0:37:54and valuable record of an ancient yet vulnerable culture.
0:37:54 > 0:38:00Before long, filming such scenes would become all but impossible.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04He was there at a time when it was like discovering a new world.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08'The houses are well built and entirely made of local materials.'
0:38:08 > 0:38:11They did succeed in capturing certain things
0:38:11 > 0:38:14that are really quite extraordinary to view today.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17'If you're too lazy to build your own, you can have one made to order
0:38:17 > 0:38:19'for 75 cents.'
0:38:19 > 0:38:21In the years after these films were made,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24such intimate portrayals of daily life
0:38:24 > 0:38:27would become increasingly difficult to capture.
0:38:27 > 0:38:31In Ed Myers' films, there are already indications that people
0:38:31 > 0:38:36were becoming reluctant to reveal all in front of the camera.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39'As a whole, the women were very difficult to photograph.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42'Many thought that, through the camera finder, one's vision
0:38:42 > 0:38:44'could pierce the flesh
0:38:44 > 0:38:47'and take account of what might be happening inside.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49'Others believed that they were objects
0:38:49 > 0:38:53'of our cannibalistic tendencies and hurried from view.'
0:38:53 > 0:38:58Even though, over time, the reason they said that they didn't
0:38:58 > 0:39:01want to be filmed or photographed was that they said
0:39:01 > 0:39:04that the cameras would steal their soul.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08They were upset that people were making money off the images
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and they felt that they were being used.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15The films also reveal a distinct unwillingness by the people
0:39:15 > 0:39:16from the Indian tribes
0:39:16 > 0:39:20to explain the significance of their customs and rituals.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24'The origin of the dance is so deeply buried in antiquity
0:39:24 > 0:39:27'that no-one knows much about its symbolic significance.'
0:39:27 > 0:39:31I wonder if, in some cases, people weren't holding back information
0:39:31 > 0:39:35from this, theoretically, omniscient outsider.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39'Later we found that the horse race was not a race
0:39:39 > 0:39:42'as there is no finish and no-one wins. They continue round and round
0:39:42 > 0:39:45'all day long. Nobody knows what for or why.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50'But all agree that it is the high spot of the whole fiesta.'
0:39:50 > 0:39:53Originally, Wright had wanted his films
0:39:53 > 0:39:56to be distributed to academic institutions that would put
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Ed's scenes from Mexico's Shangri-La to educational purpose.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02But they had become Harry's labour of love
0:40:02 > 0:40:06and he was determined to make them accessible to everyone.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09'If we told you the Indian names of these three sisters,
0:40:09 > 0:40:12'not Pedro's daughters, it would merely be confusing.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16'So we'll rechristen them Faith, Hope and Charity.
0:40:16 > 0:40:17'And this is Faith.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21'Language doesn't seem to be much of a handicap in giving this young lady
0:40:21 > 0:40:23'her first lesson in photography.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30'The camera subject for the first snapshot seems to be a bit shy.'
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Like many ethnographic studies
0:40:32 > 0:40:36in the period, the film, Mexico Has Its Own Bali Land,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39demonstrates a prurient interest in the bodies of women.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43At a time when nudity in mainstream Western cinema was censored,
0:40:43 > 0:40:49the topless women in Wright's films greatly increased their appeal.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51'These girls are entirely unconscious of their semi-nudity
0:40:51 > 0:40:55'but like many of us become embarrassed in front of a camera.'
0:40:55 > 0:40:57It's the National Geographic effect, you know.
0:40:57 > 0:41:02This is maybe the first time you've seen a woman's breasts, you know,
0:41:02 > 0:41:04if you're a boy or something.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08If they were classified as quote unquote ethnographic,
0:41:08 > 0:41:10these were commercially viable
0:41:10 > 0:41:13because they passed the censor boards.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15'The current price in Bali land
0:41:15 > 0:41:18'is about 40 mangoes for two cents.'
0:41:20 > 0:41:23I think they're kind of voyeuristic
0:41:23 > 0:41:25but at the same time they're an attempt to capture
0:41:25 > 0:41:31ethnographic information that is perceived to be on the way out.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37Within 25 years, the Mixtec women of Mexico's Bali land
0:41:37 > 0:41:40would be forced to cover up by the government.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Nakedness in public was outlawed.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46A distinctive part of Mixtec culture had been suppressed.
0:41:46 > 0:41:50This is gonna happen in the fifties and sixties as Mexico
0:41:50 > 0:41:54becomes much more integrated into the world economy.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57As migration, as these people begin to migrate to the cities,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00some of them are going to go to the United States and come back.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02A Mayan woman who's migrated to Mexico City
0:42:02 > 0:42:05and then gone on to Los Angeles and come back,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07she's not going to be interested any more
0:42:07 > 0:42:10in wearing this traditional huipile that took
0:42:10 > 0:42:12a year to make and embroider.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18'High in the Puebla mountains, several days on horseback
0:42:18 > 0:42:22'from the nearest automobile road, we still find villages inhabited
0:42:22 > 0:42:30'solely by Otomi Indians, speaking no Spanish and retaining
0:42:30 > 0:42:32'many ancient tribal customs and industries.'
0:42:32 > 0:42:37Since Ed Myers visited the town of San Pablito in 1939,
0:42:37 > 0:42:41a road has been built which allows visitors easy access to the village,
0:42:41 > 0:42:44but also gives the local Otomi people the chance to leave.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48This development has had a profound effect on the Otomis' lives.
0:42:50 > 0:42:51IN TRANSLATION:
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Migration has been one of the fundamental causes
0:42:55 > 0:42:58of the changes in indigenous societies.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Therefore there are many places
0:43:02 > 0:43:05that are completely different today as a result of migration,
0:43:05 > 0:43:08simply because the men no longer live there.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10It is just the older women and children.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16The Otomis, the Mazahuans and the Zapotecs migrate to Mexico City
0:43:16 > 0:43:19to work in construction.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Or they go to the United States
0:43:23 > 0:43:25where they work in hotels or restaurants.
0:43:27 > 0:43:31So shall we say they stop doing traditional activities altogether
0:43:31 > 0:43:33or completely adapt their way of earning
0:43:33 > 0:43:36to the current ways of the country?
0:43:42 > 0:43:43As well as experiencing
0:43:43 > 0:43:46a drastic loss of population, the Otomis have suffered
0:43:46 > 0:43:49the wholesale disappearance of traditional ways of life.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52The distinctive working methods of the Otomi
0:43:52 > 0:43:56that Ed Myers recorded in the 1930s have almost completely vanished.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00'The liquid obtained from the pounding of the mezcal
0:44:00 > 0:44:03'is dumped in to the stream and the whole surface
0:44:03 > 0:44:06'becomes a cauldron of foaming greenish suds.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15'The fishermen dash wildly downstream
0:44:15 > 0:44:20'to get ahead of the polluted water and form a human dam.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27'A look-out is posted slightly upstream to advise the fisherman
0:44:27 > 0:44:30'of the approach of the poisoned water
0:44:30 > 0:44:33'which has supposedly blinded the fish.'
0:44:33 > 0:44:36IN TRANSLATION:
0:44:36 > 0:44:38No-one fishes like that any more.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43In fact people rarely go to the river to fish
0:44:43 > 0:44:49because there aren't any fish, only very, very small ones.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57'As each fisherman catches his first fish, he must bite off its tail
0:44:57 > 0:45:00'so that he will no longer smell like a human being
0:45:00 > 0:45:02'but will smell like a fish.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05'This is an essential part of the ceremony.'
0:45:05 > 0:45:08A lot of these things have been lost
0:45:08 > 0:45:11and they've been lost as part of an attempt,
0:45:11 > 0:45:14by the Mexican Government, to modernise these villages.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17To bring drinking water, transportation -
0:45:17 > 0:45:18to bring them into the modern age.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Harry Wright intended to record the cultures of more than
0:45:25 > 0:45:2950 Mexican tribes but he was only able to screen 15 completed films
0:45:29 > 0:45:31to those visiting his Kraal Theatre.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35Many considered them to be the crowning glory of his collection,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38though not everyone appreciated Harry's images
0:45:38 > 0:45:41of Mexico's rural hinterlands.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Members of the National Geographic Society, a couple of people
0:45:45 > 0:45:48from the American Museum of Natural History,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51wrote very enthusiastic things about
0:45:51 > 0:45:54what they had seen, which contrasts
0:45:54 > 0:45:56with many of the comments
0:45:56 > 0:46:00that we get from the Mexicans, if we get any at all.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Because, you know, the sort of thing
0:46:04 > 0:46:07that maybe members of the Mexican elite
0:46:07 > 0:46:12and politicians and high government officials didn't really want to see.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16They were trying to promote this sort of Mexican identity
0:46:16 > 0:46:19that was more associated with
0:46:19 > 0:46:22a mixture of the Spanish and the Indian blood.
0:46:22 > 0:46:27I don't think they played to a Mexican nationalist sensibility.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29These people are too remote,
0:46:29 > 0:46:34too poor and, as the movies remind us again and again, too primitive.
0:46:34 > 0:46:39These films didn't conform to the image that the Mexican Government
0:46:39 > 0:46:41hoped to promote. Mexico's political elite
0:46:41 > 0:46:44wanted to represent their country
0:46:44 > 0:46:46as a progressive and sophisticated nation.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53At the same time, Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States,
0:46:53 > 0:46:56had its own reasons to advance a positive image of Mexico.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00With war in Europe looming and many fearful that the US itself
0:47:00 > 0:47:05might be drawn into the conflict, Washington was keen to maintain
0:47:05 > 0:47:09cordial relations with its allies in Central and South America.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13To support this aim, the US created a special agency called
0:47:13 > 0:47:17the Office for the Co-ordinator of Inter-American Affairs.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19It was given a film unit,
0:47:19 > 0:47:22which tried to improve perceptions of America's allies
0:47:22 > 0:47:25and help their economies by boosting tourism to the region.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30It was the job of this film unit to produce images showing Mexico
0:47:30 > 0:47:33as an unspoilt and idyllic land.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Just the kind of place that Americans would want to spend their money.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43They wanted to show a better view of Mexico
0:47:43 > 0:47:46to the United States population.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Present us as not, you know,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50primitive and barbarous and violent,
0:47:50 > 0:47:55which was sort of the image that the Revolution had left
0:47:55 > 0:47:57in the minds of many Americans.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18Wright certainly was the kind of person the OCIA would look to
0:48:18 > 0:48:21in Mexico, because he was a prominent industrialist,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24he was well integrated both with the foreign colony
0:48:24 > 0:48:27in Mexico City as well as with the Mexican elite.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Harry Wright's own film
0:48:30 > 0:48:32about the holiday resort of Acapulco
0:48:32 > 0:48:35was exactly the kind of film the Office needed.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39They screened it in schools, community centres and churches
0:48:39 > 0:48:41all over the United States.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Many films could be recycled.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47People could make films to present
0:48:47 > 0:48:50this more touristy view of Mexico.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55'You'll find Acapulco the ideal vacation spot.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58'Some people don't stir from their hammocks,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01'and claim they are having the best time of all.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05'Acapulco has been called the Mexican Riviera but it really has
0:49:05 > 0:49:11'greater charm and unspoiled beauty than the Mediterranean coast.'
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Harry Wright's footage of Acapulco
0:49:13 > 0:49:15shows that Acapulco has already become
0:49:15 > 0:49:19an important tourist destination for European and American elites.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23He shows the promise of the beaches of Acapulco for tourism,
0:49:23 > 0:49:26mentions some of the new hotels that have recently gone up.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32There's an idea there to exoticize Mexico,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35in a way that was legibly tied to
0:49:35 > 0:49:39exoticization of other places, but in Asia in the American mind.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42He links Acapulco to Tahiti, to Hawaii and to Bali,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45saying the winds from the South Pacific
0:49:45 > 0:49:47wash up on the shores of Acapulco.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55One of Wright's associates, Luis Osorno Barona,
0:49:55 > 0:49:58produced some of the most attractive films
0:49:58 > 0:50:01that were specifically made for the Office.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03He contributed to a series of travelogues
0:50:03 > 0:50:04featuring different parts of Mexico,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07which were dubbed with commentaries by well-known
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Hollywood actors of the time.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12'Many lookout points have been laid out
0:50:12 > 0:50:16'and beautified for the pleasure of visitors and townspeople,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19'who desire to contemplate in comfort the dramatic structure
0:50:19 > 0:50:21'of the jagged coastline and the seascape
0:50:21 > 0:50:23'that lies unfurled to the end of sight.'
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Those places,
0:50:25 > 0:50:30Guadalajara, Mexico City, Taxco, Acapulco that are being shown,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34are those that people are being drawn to in the late '30s and 1940s.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36We get a really amazing sense of how beautiful they were.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40There were very few people, very few cars
0:50:40 > 0:50:44and it was quiet, tranquil, beautiful.
0:50:44 > 0:50:49You could find this idyllic Mexico.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52'Soft, warm waves of the Gulf break soothingly against the sandy beaches
0:50:52 > 0:50:57'near Mocambo. Their invitation does not go unheeded.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00'Visitors from all parts of the world know these charming spots
0:51:00 > 0:51:03'where the sun-drenched sand is dappled with palm shadows
0:51:03 > 0:51:05'to break the glare.'
0:51:09 > 0:51:12By 1944, when the war in the Pacific
0:51:12 > 0:51:14was starting to swing in favour of the United States,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17up to five million Americans a month
0:51:17 > 0:51:20were watching propaganda films funded by the Office.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Meanwhile, in Latin America,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26it was planning to improve the image of the United States,
0:51:26 > 0:51:30by influencing the content of Spanish-language cinema.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33The idea was have a film industry that is pro-US,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35make movies that are propaganda films that are seen
0:51:35 > 0:51:38as authentically Latin-American entertainment
0:51:38 > 0:51:40and the messages are more cleverly constructed.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44With Mexico now becoming a centre of film production,
0:51:44 > 0:51:48Harry Wright was presented with an opportunity to become
0:51:48 > 0:51:49part of an industry he loved.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56The Mexican film industry was the third most important
0:51:56 > 0:51:59after the mining and the oil in Mexico
0:51:59 > 0:52:04and with this flourishing of the film industry
0:52:04 > 0:52:07maybe he and his friends
0:52:07 > 0:52:11took into consideration that it could be a great business.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15Fortunately for Harry, there was a large expanse of unused land
0:52:15 > 0:52:19next to his Country Club in the Churubusco district of Mexico City.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23And he thought it would be a good idea to build
0:52:23 > 0:52:25these very large and modern studios
0:52:25 > 0:52:29in this very large plot of land
0:52:29 > 0:52:31and he thought the OCIA would give him money.
0:52:31 > 0:52:37But Wright was wrong. No money was forthcoming from the Office,
0:52:37 > 0:52:39yet eventually the studio was built,
0:52:39 > 0:52:43courtesy of an investment from the movie company RKO Pictures.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Built on Harry's land, the Churubusco Studios
0:52:46 > 0:52:49would go on to become one of the great creative forces
0:52:49 > 0:52:51in Latin-American cinema.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57They became
0:52:57 > 0:53:01later on the most important studios in Mexico
0:53:01 > 0:53:05and the largest in Latin America.
0:53:05 > 0:53:10In 1945, when the studio was just beginning to establish itself,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12Harry Wright's wife, Edna, passed away.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16But a year later Harry had found happiness once again,
0:53:16 > 0:53:21by marrying Helen Hudson, a former princess of the Black and White Ball.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Well, I think it was quite the scandal
0:53:24 > 0:53:26because my step father,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30Harry Wright, was quite a bit older than Mom.
0:53:30 > 0:53:32He was, um...
0:53:32 > 0:53:35about 39 years older.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43My mother looks like a combination of Loretta Young and Lauren Bacall
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and my father looks like the German waiter in Casablanca,
0:53:46 > 0:53:52you know the little glasses and the pot belly and so, you know,
0:53:52 > 0:53:54I actually said to Mom,
0:53:54 > 0:53:56"Mom, what were you thinking?"
0:53:56 > 0:54:00She said, "I loved him." And I really do think she loved him.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04I mean, obviously the fact that he was rich and powerful
0:54:04 > 0:54:05made it a little more interesting,
0:54:05 > 0:54:10a lot more interesting, but she really did love him.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Harry stopped making ethnographic films for the public,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15but couldn't resist making a documentary out of films he shot
0:54:15 > 0:54:17during his honeymoon in Hawaii.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22'On every trip to the islands, there are dozens of honeymoon couples.
0:54:22 > 0:54:24'If you're not already acquainted
0:54:24 > 0:54:26'this is Mrs Harry Wright of Mexico City.
0:54:26 > 0:54:31'Her husband is not by her side because he's making this movie.'
0:54:31 > 0:54:35My mom was reputedly the most beautiful woman in Mexico
0:54:35 > 0:54:40and she was young divorcee with a lovely young child.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44I was about four-and-half-years old when my mother met Harry.
0:54:44 > 0:54:49I was thrilled because he always came with chocolates and he gave me
0:54:49 > 0:54:53the most beautiful doll's house that I could almost get in to.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56And so with his tummy and everything, I thought
0:54:56 > 0:54:58mother had married Santa Claus.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Harry's domestic bliss was completed when his new wife Helen
0:55:04 > 0:55:07gave birth to a baby girl in 1947.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Harry Wright was a first-time father, at the age of 70.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21On August 25th 1954, Harry Wright died of a heart attack
0:55:21 > 0:55:24at his home in the grounds of the country club.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28He was 10 days short of this 78th birthday.
0:55:28 > 0:55:33During a long, eventful and enterprising life,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36Wright transformed the fortunes of his family,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39became a force in the cultural and political life of Mexico
0:55:39 > 0:55:42and made a significant contribution to international relations
0:55:42 > 0:55:44during the Second World War.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47But among the most important of Harry Wright's legacies
0:55:47 > 0:55:52is his archive of colour films, a rare collection of images
0:55:52 > 0:55:55showing intimate scenes in the everyday lives
0:55:55 > 0:55:57of ordinary people all over the world.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59Kept in storage for decades,
0:55:59 > 0:56:03many of his films have not been seen for more than 60 years.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14He was one of the only people at that time
0:56:14 > 0:56:17that did have the coloured film
0:56:17 > 0:56:19and what an incredible thing.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22So I take my hat off to him.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26The thirties was one of those windows,
0:56:26 > 0:56:28maybe a window of opportunity
0:56:28 > 0:56:32where there was a lot still to be captured on film
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and they must have recognised that this was a really fragile thing
0:56:35 > 0:56:40and I think what Harry Wright and Ed Myers did in many of these films
0:56:40 > 0:56:44was to capture things that were in fact lost in subsequent decades.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46'Imagine our astonishment to discover
0:56:46 > 0:56:50'that these powerfully-built men wore embroidered panties.'
0:56:50 > 0:56:52If you don't pay much attention
0:56:52 > 0:56:58to the very colonial viewpoint that he had in these films,
0:56:58 > 0:57:04if you just look at the fact that somebody was interested
0:57:04 > 0:57:09in filming these communities, when nobody else was.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13The ethnographic series, I think, is really remarkable.
0:57:27 > 0:57:29I think that's enough now.
0:57:31 > 0:57:32How many more feet you got?
0:57:36 > 0:57:39THEY SING: "South Of The Border Down Mexico Way"
0:57:39 > 0:57:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk