A thousand years ago
people living in the
Mexican state of Chihuahua
created one of the most
important trading
centers in North America.
We're certainly in
Mennonite country still...
Today, some unexpected
immigrants have made
Chihuahua famous
for cheese.
And yet hidden in the
hills are towns where
Holy Week celebrations have
their own indigenous flavor.
Funding for
The Desert Speaks
was provided by
Desert Program Partners,
representing concerned viewers
making a financial commitment
to the education about and
preservation of deserts.
And by the
Stonewall Foundation.
♪ music ♪
The Mexican state of
Chihuahua borders
the state of Sonora
on the east.
It is home to the largest
desert in North America.
One of the most
interesting places to
visit in the Chihuahuan
Desert lies at the edge of
the greatSierra
Madre Occidental,
the mountain range responsible
for making Chihuahua dry.
There, during Holy Week,
the surviving indigenous
people celebrate their
own version of Easter.
On the way to visit
theTarahumarawho call
themselvesRarámuri,we
must first cross hundreds
of miles of
desert country.
It has been occupied for
thousands of years
in places likePaquime.
My friend Jesus Garcia
travels here often.
Paquimeis a
interesting complex,
very likely a
trading center.
Probably, according
to some of the
archaeologists, it
probably started around
just about 1,000 A.D. to,
probably to the final stages
around 13, mid 1300s.
A lot of these signs
here as you can see they
already have three
different languages.
They have Spanish,
English andRaramuri.
Well,Raramurithey should.
Imagine what the languages
would have been here say
on the 1st of
January 1300.
There would have been dozens of
different Mexican Indian
people speaking
their language.
And imagine all the
different things that
we're bringing from all
these different areas,
Kinko de Pueblo,in the north.
Yeah, up in
theRio Grande,
theToltecsto the south.
And then a third component
coming from the coast.
I'm sure a lot of em for
necklaces and decorations
and jewelry but maybe
even as a currency.
Some area obviously has
been reconstructed here
but when you see
the inside part,
it all looks like
rammed earth.
Just throw this
stuff in, wet it,
tamp it down and
that's rammed earth.
Plasterers come afterwards
and make it pretty.
It was not really realized
until the 20th century how
complex and sophisticated
a place this was.
But now we know this was
themost sophisticated
archaeological site in
allof northwest Mexico.
Well, here it is, the
house of theMacaws.
Oh, this is where they
raised the parrots.
La casa en las quacamayos.
You can actually see here
the individual cages.
Well, they were of
extraordinary importance.
Can you believe they
had Scarlet Macaws in an
aviary here and
they raised them.
They even, even
incubated eggs.
Based on the
archaeological evidence
and walking through the
wonderful museum here in
Paquime, which is probably
one of the best museums in
northern Mexico, you can
see evidence of cultures
from the south coming here
and as well as culture
from the north
with theAnasazi.
There's pottery, there
is a tremendous amount of
effigies, shells from
the Gulf of California
probably being traded
with the Indians in here.
In addition to the parrots
I guess thePaquimepeople
made the very best
ceramics anywhere but it's
astonishing to imagine the
number of pots that were
manufactured here and
around here over the centuries.
If you imagine, if you go
back a thousand years ago,
this might have been a
wonderful place to be.
Lots of water
from the river,
maybe also harvesting
water from the mountains,
you know, quite a
nice place to live.
Well, it was an ideal
place for agriculture.
Right in here, this is
where it kind of continues
from the birds area and
right through these walls
to the rest of the complex
and it's fascinating
because you can see how
it was covered here,
obviously it
was not visible.
Well, this is, this
is a drainage system.
It's an interesting
complex coming from
different areas joining
together and the grade
just continues going down
through the rest of the
buildings all the
way out probably.
That's amazing.
You know, these guys had to
be terrific engineers
and architects.
This had to be put
in before they built
the apartments on top.
They had to plan the
whole thing from scratch.
And look, it gets deeper.
You're right, the gradient is
real carefully calculated.
It just continues and then
goes right through these
walls and it was probably
covered so this was
a functional area.
So this was like, is as
sophisticated as Rome dern near.
Unfortunately most
Mexicans don't really know
about this place,
particularly northern
Mexico is a wonderful
window to the past,
to the prehistoric peoples
of northern Mexico.
Why would people build such a
small door into their room?
Quite possibly because if
you were concerned about
defense, you build the
door small the enemy can't
come rushing in
and grab you.
Apparently every 500
meters through this valley
there is another
one, a small town,
pueblo as we
would call it.
The place is just full
of unexcavated sites.
They all seem to have
sort of come to an end at
roughly the same and you
wonder, you know, gosh,
what forces would be
so powerful as to make
everybody leave a
place like this.
But theTarahumaras
are still living in the
Sierrasthe way they
were a long time ago.
Long time ago.
A couple of hundred miles
farther south we run across
one of the most incongruous
sites in all of Mexico.
If the people ofPaquime
are some of the oldest
arrivals in Chihuahua,
aroundCiudad Quatemocyou
can miss some of
the newest arrivals.
Out here in the flats in
sort of central Chihuahua
you start seeing these
Mennonite colonies and
there's dozens of them.
And you already start
seeing orchards around as well.
But they're, they're
mostly known for
the production of cheese.
They're the biggest source
of commercial cheese
production in
all of Mexico.
The first thing you want
to start looking for is
campos, look for the word
camposand anywhere you
see thecampo, sometimes
they have a number,
and we're basically
in Mennonite country.
The, the Mennonites I
think have only actually
been in here for a
little more 50 years.
Originally from Germany
but they came to Mexico
via Canada and
they still speak a,
a low German and they
don't intermingle much
at all with Mexicans.
Here's one that
saysCampos Dos A,
Camp 2A and the one we're
looking for is Camp 2B.
Hey, now isn't that
distinguished name for a town.
We're very close.
But speaking of
modern times, well,
now they're using cellular
phones just like anybody
else and business
transactions take place
on a regular basis.
So in terms of commerce
they're very modern.
Absolutely.
But in terms of
integrating in the bigger
society, they
just don't do it.
One of the first things
that you can notice is the
houses are very neat,
very clean in the front,
the gardens in the front
are very organized.
So we're certainly in
Mennonite country still.
They said this is where
the dairy operation is,
the cow milking.
You might think
that we're in Bavaria but
we're actually in the
state of Chihuahua in
Mexico and the women
here are the milkers.
They have the luxury of
being able to rest between
the 12 hour milkings.
Every 12 hours every
day of the week,
every day of the year they must
bring the cows and milk them.
These Holsteins
as we call them,
here they call thempinto
enegrogive an average of
20 liters of milk a day, a
little bit more than 5 gallons.
The entire herd gives over
3 tons of milk and almost
all of it will go
to making cheese.
This is Franz but
he's calledPanchobecause
he lives in Mexico and
this isPedrobut his real name
is Peter but he's in Mexico
and so he has to bePedro.
And their last name is not
pronounceable in Spanish,
Wiebeenns.
So the grandfather
of these young men,
they're brothers, founded
the first cheese plant,
cheese factory
they call it,
or they call
itquesadilla,
in this colony which
has the illustrious,
distinguished name of 2B.
I guess it's fairly
easy to remember,
whether you're from
camp 7, 9, 11 or 3.
Nomas se prenden aqui,
aqui en la caseria...
Their first language here is
German then they pick up
Spanish and of course
they then learn it in
the schools as well.
Nomas como tres familias.
Y no hay otros empleados?
No.
So they do all of the
work themselves here,
they don't bring any
outside help in so it
really is truly a
family operation.
So here's the retail
operation.
Buenos dias.
Buenos dias.
Ay, queso, queso menonita.
Pues este no esta tan duro
ni tan blandito o sea con
esta la pruebas.
Podemos probarlo?
Si, esta bien.
This cheese is called
Chester type cheese,
which I hadn't heard of,
but it apparently refers
more to the form
that it comes in...
That's good.
Las quesadillas salen
deliciosas con esto.
El queso?
Esta seguro como
en unos dias.
It seems awfully odd to
call cheese a factory but
there were ten of them in the
region all run by Mennonites.
Cada queseria
tiene su nombre.
Su nombre...
So every, every
cheese factory has its own
brand and this
is Gold Seal.
Well, there goes
a lot of cheese.
That's a lot of
cheese there.
That's several kilos.
Yeah, I mean, that,
that's, it's interesting.
I never saw how it
was molded before.
They, they put it in these
molds and then it goes
here I guess to be chopped
up and put into...
Chopped in little pieces because
you don't want to buy a
big huge piece like that.
You want to buy...
And what if I do?
Maybe I want to buy
the whole thing.
That's like a month's
supply of cheese.
Yeah, a small one
or a regular one,
which is about
a kilo probably.
You know what impresses me is
the sanitation here is,
is really...
It's very, very special.
Do you get the idea Jesus
that there's not a lot of
chit chat goes on
in these guys work.
I mean this is hard core.
Obviously here is the
famous cheesecloth.
Oh, yeah.
In operation.
And that's something that
obviously you expect to
see in a cheese factory.
Sure.
It allows the cheese to
breathe and it let's the,
let's the liquid
still come out,
although there's not much
left by the time they press it.
In most of Mexico it's
known asqueso Chihuahua,
the Chihuahua cheese, but
within the region all you
hear isqueso menonita.
Everybody knows it
asmenonita°I know.
But it's really
queso Chihuahua,
what you hear in Sonora
and other places in Mexico.
West of the Mennonites
and the flat country where
they live we enter the
Sierra Madre Occidental
and meet up with an
internationally famous
train whose main stop
is the town ofCreel.
♪ music ♪
Quinientos que, ochenta,
quinientos ochenta.
You expected to find guitar
sales in here inCreel?
No, not at all.
Here in theSierra Madre.
I was thinkingSierra Madre,
No, Violines,Tarahumaras
and stuff but notguitaros
fromParacho, Michoacán.
Let's go over
to the plaza.
Okay.
Gracias.
This is supposedly a
lumber town and now it's
turned into the city of
boutiques and...
Arts and crafts.
Yeah.
A lot of hippies,
mochileros,
backpackers show up and
the people come from the
Sierrasselling baskets
and here's thechurros.
Oh, here's thechurroshe
was talking about, okay, yes.
And they are bigchurros.
Creelis this magnet for
tourists,Tarahumaras,
for people from Mexico,
Europe, everywhere.
Yeah, and here's
an example here.
One of the reasons, she's
weaving us a palm and
we're up at 7,000 feet and
there won't be any palm
growing here so it comes
from down in the canyons.
The smaller ones,
very pointy here,
is actually pine,
Apache pine needles.
Oh, I see.
So it's a combination
of pine and palm.
But the pine needles,
unlike just regular pine
needles, this
one looks black.
They are.
They put em in water
and they let it kind of
ferment for a little
while and they turn black.
Dos mesas.
So for two months they
soak the pine needles and
the inside turns out
completely black while the
outside has this mosaic,
alternating pattern that
almost makes you
dizzy to look at.
These are the
natural ones.
These have not
been soaked.
And when you pull them
out they are about a foot long.
Muchas gracias.
Gracias, señoras.
From way down there the
train will be coming in, huh?
Actually two trains
come in fromChihuahua,
first class and second
class and two more trains
coming fromLos Moches.
That's down on the coast.
First class and
second class.
Yes.
And they pass?
Of course they
don't have the coal cars
at the end anymore.
The cabooses are gone.
So people are coming here
from almost everywhere all
over Mexico, North America
and a lot even from Europe.
One of the most famous
train rides in the world
and in Easter time it's
even more famous so it's
pretty hectic and
fun right now.
So here the French and the
Tarahumarasmeet and the
Germans and the
mestizosformCreel,
theChihuahuans.
Right.
Everything comes
together here.
It's a wonderful meeting
place all together, yeah.
Well, I guess the train is
leaving and we're
gonna stay here.
So peace and tranquility
will descend once again
upon the railroad
station ofCreel.
Uh huh.
And now we can go back
to the plaza and...
Wait, wait, let's get
you a hat this time.
And get a hat.
You've run out of excuses.
Exactly.
You know, it is a
thrill, once you get on,
settled and the train
starts moving you have a
feeling that another episode in
your life has changed.
Changing.
One has ended, another
is gonna begin.
Moving to
another location,
going to the next town.
Yep.
There it goes.
[train whistle]
Well, you
wanted a hat fromCreel,
you got a hat fromCreel.
I guess I did.
It's pretty classy.
Very, very nice actually.
I, I really like it.
Hey, you're, you're
Mr. Macho now.
I mean, not that
you weren't before.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, here comes a diesel.
Yeah.
Fuel truck.
Well, you knowCreel's
great but where the real
action is for the
Tarahumarais inNorogachi.
That's where we're going.
And it's time for us to
get, we gotta go there.
Well, theDar
Ambreare undoubtedly the
largest indigenous
group in,
at least in
northwest Mexico.
Just sometimes it's hard
to get a place where you
can sit to get a good view
and this seems to be the
perfect place right here.
Southwestern third of
the state ofChihuahua.
And theSierra Madre,
forested canyons,
torturous peaks, the
most difficult terrain...
Terrain.
Almost in the
whole country.
Thanks to that we can
still see this type of
culture still
alive, a very,
very traditional
lifestyle.
So this young man
is 23 years old and he's
been doing this
for 15 years,
he sort of traditioned it.
Buenas tardes, hola.
Como la pasa?
Excellente, muy bonito.
You know, all the
native peoples have their
own interpretation
of Easter but man the
Tarahumara'sis, is unlike
any other I've seen.
We're used to seeing the
Yaquis and the Mayos but
nothing like this.
Yeah, thePharisaios,
the Pharisees here are painted.
They call emPintosand
that's the Spanish word.
Uh huh.
Notice that every single
group is coming in with
their own musicians
and thus arancherilla.
So each littlerancherilla
or hamlet sends its own
group and they are what,
20 of them around here.
Probably 20 and maybe 20
rancherillasmay show up.
And they're just arriving,
they go into the church
to be blessed.
Mm mm.
And then they have their
own way of making their
procession through
the streets.
What's interesting
is that theTarahumaras
insisted on maintaining
their own identity when
the first missionaries
got here in the early 17th
century and the
missionaries said,
"No way, you're not
gonna have this."
And they, the
Tarahumarasrebelled and
almost drove all the
Spaniards out of the
country and that's,
that's 400 years ago.
Exactly.
And look what
it's doing now.
So finally the priests
said, "Okay, all right,
let's cut a
deal," you know.
So, so you, you keep doing
your ancient stuff but the
important thing is
you represent Easter.
You could see actually
that they had a statue of
Christ being brought
around in this little
procession and behind it
there was a statue of a
veryTarahumara
looking woman to me.
Oh, really.
And the women
were holding that.
So here again another
twist to their tradition
mixed in a little bit with
the Catholic religion
but it's totally.
Yeah, it's there.
Unique.
All these
communities are hidden
just behind these
mountains but this seems
to be amestizoarea
because of the church
probably and it's been
probably a central
location and is the place to be.
Dos horas de aqui - Dos horas de
aqui a pie, vinieron...
So these these
guys came two hours,
they live fairly close, it was
only a two hour walk by foot.
And there are some
rancherillasthat may take
two days, three days
walking... To get here.
Just to get here.
So imagine what are the
chances that they are
going to connect on a regular
basis throughout the year.
So other things happen,
other social events are
happening besides the
religious and besides the
rest of the ceremonies
that are going on right
now that's a
social lubrication.
No, I think
particularly I've noticed
the bright, bright colors.
The bright colors that the
girls like to wear and I don't
think they're above a little
flirtation with the guys, yeah?
this is a time to stretch
their stuff and they
know how to do it.
Exactly.
They're showing off.
The combination of
the ancient traditions and
sort of, incorporation
of modern stuff is interesting.
Did you notice the flutes?
Absolutely.
And what are
they made out of?
Well, some of
them I saw the,
was definitely copper.
The other one was probably
just regular tubing with a
little whistle
part at the end.
But they make great sound
and that's the important thing.
The drums are
absolutely traditional.
Just about every
Tarahumarathat you see
from the tiny little kids
to the adults are in these
wonderful tire sandals and
its just one single strap
of leather, and
it breaks off,
so they stop... They
have to fix it.
Fix it up.
But you can fix them?
Oh, absolutely.
It takes you two minutes.
It's sort of
heartening to see the
number of little boys.
Absolutely.
And the little girls
with their gorgeous...
You can tell that we have
Pharisaioshere orPintoslater.
[drum beat]
That drum beat
goes right through you.
Absolutely.
It just penetrates
right to your soul.
The essence of
Sonora is fairly easy to
identify, there's not
justtacos de carne asada,
you know, meat tacos,
roasted meat tacos,
butChihuahuaseems to me
really to have a different
identity and part of
that is two things;
theTarahumarasin the
Sierra Madreand the Mennonites.
Two cultures that
are so different,
yet there are
some similarities.
When you see aTarahumara
woman or even men
sometimes they
are very shy,
they will not talk very
much to aMestizoMexican.
Right.
And they tend to
keep to themselves.
Yeah.
And when you see a Mennonite
woman or a Mennonite man...
They're sort of shy,
they really don't speak
the language and they keep
to themselves and yet
here they are part of the,
of the popular
conception... OfChihuahua.
...ofChihuahua.
So it's Easter and
it's religious but even
more important it's the
Tarahumara'saffirmation
of their own
indigenous background,
their own culture.
Exactly.
The rise of the
Sierra Madre Occidental
created rivers that
brought water toPaquime
and filled the aquifers
that the Mennonites now use.
It also created a
labyrinth of profound
canyons and plateaus and
high mountain peaks that
gave a haven to the
Tarahumarasand enabled
them to carry on the
ancient traditions that
they still celebrate.
Adobe is the ideal building
material of the desert.
The blocks moderate
temperature extremes,
but that's not all.
...here is the courtyard of
this adobe house...
Adobe buildings are attractive,
they have character,
they're functional,
and they can last for centuries.
It feels good when you
tap it and rub it.
Next time onThe Desert Speaks.
And here's
the Apache pine.
It's one of about eight
species up here in the
Sierra Madre, but look
at the length of these needles.
They're incredible.
They are long, they
are about a foot long.
Yeah.
Pretty much a totally
renewable resource.
They're everywhere.
Everywhere, and they
can use them for their
baskets, little
ones and big ones.
And they weave
them real well.
And of course that type of
weaving is very, very difficult.
Oh, yeah.
Well, another discovery
inTarahumaracountry.
Funding for
The Desert Speaks
was provided by
Desert Program Partners,
representing concerned viewers
making a financial commitment
to the education about and
preservation of deserts.
And by the
Stonewall Foundation.
Copies of the Desert
Speaks are available from KUAT.
To order, call 1-800-841-5923
and please be sure to mention
the episode number.
For more information
visitThe Desert Speaks
on-line at this address.