Half a century of films about indigenous peoples have been removed from forgotten corners, recorded on compact discs and launched in the Mexican market. State bookshops and offices of the government's National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples have been selling the dvd-format series titled "El cine indigenista" (roughly, films on indigenous people).
Among the selected films are En clave de sol (In the Key of G) that shows how the Mixe community preserves its traditions through music. Other films include Tejiendo mar y viento (Weaving the Wind and the Sea) (1987), which documents the first film workshop for indigenous women in Mexico, and Raramuri ra'itsaara (The Tarahumara Speak) about deforestation in an indigenous territory.
Commercial movies have generally portrayed Mexican indigenous people as savages, or as characters evoking pity, mockery or laughter. Homero Santacruz, an anthropologist who works to spread indigenous culture in art galleries praised the effort. He, however, felt that it has not been sufficiently publicized. "The state's dvd productions don't reach the public; they are limited to very small circles," he said.
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