WEBVTT

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All columnar cacti like
very hot places.

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Southwest of Guadalajara
there's a route that

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takes desert travelers
through some of the finest

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cactus country anywhere.

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A special sort, thepitayo

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with large fruits
calledpitayas, has its

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own festival complete
with contests of many sorts.

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Funding for
The Desert Speaks

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was provided by
Desert Program Partners,

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representing concerned viewers
making a financial commitment

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to the education about and
preservation of deserts.

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And by the
Stonewall Foundation.

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♪ music

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In southern Mexico some cacti
have taken on an importance

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that few people outside of
Mexico have ever seen.

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The cacti are
calledpitayos.

01:30.459 --> 01:33.292 align:start
In early summer people
flock to a certain

01:33.292 --> 01:36.083 align:start
neighborhood in
Guadalajara to purchase

01:36.083 --> 01:38.876 align:start
a special cactus fruit.

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It's called thepitaya.

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♪ music

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The fruits come from
farther south where the

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climate and soil seem to
favor the biggest plants

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and the best harvests.

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The fruits are so revered
that a festival in their

01:57.375 --> 02:00.167 align:start
honor is held every year.

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Accompanying me on what
I callPitaya Highway

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is Alberto Búrquez whose
done studies of cacti and

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their pollinators along the way.

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These are the ones they
call I think mamayas.

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They're huge.

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The colors are amazing.

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I don't know, these
red ones look the best.

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Here, choose one,
it's paid for.

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Okay, I will try this one.

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Okay, you have 10 seconds
in which to evaluate it.

02:36.250 --> 02:39.626 align:start
This freshness that thepitaya
 has is not for our pleasure.

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It's because thepitayawants us
to disperse the little seeds.

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Oh, they want us to eat
them and our digestion will

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remove the seed coat and
enable them then to germinate.

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Yes and deposit
them somewhere.

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Boy, I'm
salivating, Alberto.

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I can't help it.

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I melt like wax in the
flame when I seepitayas.

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Mm, mm.

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You know, the people in
Baja California were able

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to take these in the
fruiting time of thepitayas

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there and they could go places
where they could not go

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other times because they
could use these for water.

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Como se llama este color?

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Morado.

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Y cuanto vale?

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Tres pesos.

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Color is coded genetically
in each cactus.

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So every tree has a
certain color that will

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never change
through their life.

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That will never
change, right.

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So if it's purple now
it's purple forever.

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Forever.

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Birds are very
partial to red color.

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They pollinate red flowers
or like red fruits.

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And that's why we
find most commonly.

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Is the red.

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.redpitayas.

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Is there any method for
eating these with dignity?

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They are self contained
and it has a soft skin

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like bananas for example.

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That's very true.

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Yeah.

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So they are, they
are easy to carry.

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And they keep them clean.

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But they mess your hands.

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Well, they mess your
hands and you have about,

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I think when
you pick them,

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you have about 8 hours
to sell them before

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they start to go bad.

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Dos por tres pesos?

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Tres.

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Five.

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So I owe him another ten.

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Otros dias.

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We sell between 20,000 to 25,000
pitayafruits every day.

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Unfortunately the season
only lasts two months

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out of the year.

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This tradition has been
passed on through the

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generations by our
ancestors and hopefully

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our sons and our
grandchildren will

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continue the same course.

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Pitayas oyga!

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The town from where these
pitayascome is having a

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fair, apitayafair so
Alberto it strikes me that

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we would be very well
advised to go look for

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Techaluta, particularly
if there's a dance there.

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But anyway, I've never
been to apitayafair

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before so it's
the place to go.

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Fortunately for us
Techalutais only a

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hundred kilometers down
the road from Guadalajara.

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Along thePitaya Highway
 at night what I thought

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were fireflies actually
turned out to be

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Techalutasgathering
pitayasby lamplight.

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♪ music

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We harvest at night so
that the fruit

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will still be ripe by
the time it gets to the market.

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That's why we wake up
early in the morning to harvest.

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We harvest with headlamps
which facilitates

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identifying which fruits
are ready to be picked.

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The majority of people
around here work

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harvesting thepitayas
 during most of April,

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May and some of
June when it ends.

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This hook here has barbs
that we try to wrap around

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the fruit before we do a
quick twist detaching

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the fruit from the cactus.

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The ripe ones have a shine
to them that indicates

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they're ready
to be harvested.

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There are several
families here.

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The owner of this property
hires families so that

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they can be together.

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There's a certain division
of labor between the families.

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Some harvest, others scrape the
spines off the fruits.

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If you grab the spiny
fruit from the top,

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you're gonna get stuck but
if you grab it from

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the bottom you're okay.

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A la megiemendas.

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Una persona?

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Si.

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So one person can harvest 1,500
of these fruits a day.

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Es un poco mas fuerte
 colores desde pitaya.

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This particular color
this sort of purplish-rose

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color is close to the wild
variety of color and

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this one has been cultivated.

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This is a better
seller on the market.

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People like to buy this
color and these are also bigger.

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These are, this is from
a cultivated plant.

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They're very elongated
buds aren't they?

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They're like, they're 4
inches long so that's,

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that's 10 centimeters long.

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So my bet is that it's
bat pollinated and

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is pollinated by
long-tongue bats.

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Long-tongue bats, huh?

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Because of the
very long flower.

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That looks more like
a pollen robber.

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He's stealing.

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Stealing the pollen.

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Well, sometime, maybe
8,000 years ago,

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somebody had to find that
either a piece fell off

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and took root or they got
great fruits from one and

08:03.501 --> 08:05.751 align:start
said, "I wonder what
happens if I throw this on

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the ground" and the
cutting itself took root.

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Which happened,
which one was it?

08:11.042 --> 08:13.250 align:start
Well, and then they
started reproducing that

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very good form ofpitayo, the
big one with very sweet juice.

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And they got bigger and
bigger as more and

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more people selected em.

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Did you notice that some
of the plants have fallen

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over but even when they
fall over they

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still produce fruits.

08:31.626 --> 08:32.834 align:start
That's pretty good.

08:32.834 --> 08:35.959 align:start
Columnar cacti are
resilient plants that can

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withstand a lot of damage,
natural damage and

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still produce their fruit.

08:42.167 --> 08:44.375 align:start
I guess they really
want to reproduce.

08:44.375 --> 08:47.999 align:start
And apparently the public
cannot get enoughpitayas.

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The market just seems
endless and so this,

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this idea of taking
cuttings and making new

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orchards is expanding
throughout this whole

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valley into the south.

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They sell the cuttings at
much higher price than the

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pitayasthemselves and
they are really valuable things.

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You are selling the
producer that strain that

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is coveted by everyone
in the valley.

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I can imagine, if you
plant an apple tree,

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it takes generally
7 years to produce.

09:16.375 --> 09:17.999 align:start
Here, if they
take a cutting,

09:17.999 --> 09:19.999 align:start
put it in the
ground, 2 years.

09:19.999 --> 09:20.792 align:start
That's great.

09:20.792 --> 09:23.250 align:start
You know, the plants pretty well
take care of themselves.

09:23.250 --> 09:23.999 align:start
Very much.

09:23.999 --> 09:29.334 align:start
And they are producing
an organic product too.

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So half of the work has
been done in the orchards.

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There, yeah, the easy part.

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Collected, bring em and
then some fruits

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do not shed their spines.

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There has not been
selection of that.

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But they consider them so
valuable that still they

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collect them and remove
the spines from them.

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Cies filamucho?

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La salva.

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So these spines actually
have a little venom in em

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and they actually,
they hurt when you,

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when you get pricked by
them and you have to get

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those out or man, you'd
really be in a lot of pain.

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Me enseña asi uno?

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Des pues.

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Des pues.

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Ow!

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Gee, those things do hurt.

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Come on Alberto, no
making fun of them.

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You are better at teaching
then at removing the spines,

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for sure.

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Well, you know, there are some
talents that we have to develop.

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A lot ofpitayas.

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I see.

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I came to Mexico she says
just to peel these spines

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off thepitayas.

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Since I just got
spined, I'm out of here.

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I don't know about you.

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Gracias señora.

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Okay,gracias.

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Muchas gracias.

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A part of most festivals
in western and northern Mexico

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are horse races.

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They usually take place
at midday when most

11:08.542 --> 11:12.542 align:start
other people are
taking a siesta.

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There is a strong rural
culture and at the top

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of that is horse racing.

11:18.083 --> 11:19.999 align:start
You raise horses
to work in your,

11:19.999 --> 11:23.584 align:start
in your ranch but then
you nurture them to race

11:23.584 --> 11:27.501 align:start
against your neighbor,
against the other town

11:27.501 --> 11:29.999 align:start
that is north
of this town,

11:29.999 --> 11:32.501 align:start
against the other
state and so on.

11:32.501 --> 11:32.999 align:start
So there is a.

11:32.999 --> 11:35.999 align:start
So it's really the epitome
ofyo soy mas macho que tu.

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Indeed, yes.

11:36.999 --> 11:39.626 align:start
They have a special name
for this sort of paired racing,

11:39.626 --> 11:42.584 align:start
just two, one
horse against another.

11:42.584 --> 11:44.292 align:start
They are calledcarreras
 parejeras.

11:44.292 --> 11:48.209 align:start
!Carreras parejerasare these two
horses that they're racing

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against each other and of course
they represent different

11:51.250 --> 11:57.375 align:start
sides of this town or this
community and this is expressed

11:57.375 --> 12:03.751 align:start
throughout this ritualized
encounter of horse racing.

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[cheering]

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It's a lot more than
just a simple horse race, right?

12:10.959 --> 12:13.709 align:start
I mean there's a huge
background cultural scene

12:13.709 --> 12:15.751 align:start
that we're watching
right here.

12:15.751 --> 12:17.999 align:start
And this has been
happening for hundreds of

12:17.999 --> 12:21.042 align:start
years after the Spaniards
came to the Americas

12:21.042 --> 12:22.709 align:start
to start the conquest.

12:22.709 --> 12:25.000 align:start
I'll tell you what, I'll try to
mingle in so nobody notices me.

12:25.000 --> 12:27.959 align:start
Yes, I, I bet you will,
you will mingle easily.

12:27.959 --> 12:30.000 align:start
Nah, they won't
even know it's me.

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How much are money
you prepared to lose?

12:31.999 --> 12:33.876 align:start
I'm prepared to
bet up to 1 peso.

12:33.876 --> 12:36.959 align:start
I've seen a lot of similar
parties in Mexico but I've

12:36.959 --> 12:38.999 align:start
never seen them drinking
tecatesand eating

12:38.999 --> 12:42.959 align:start
pitayas, so it's part of the
pitayafair or festival.

12:42.959 --> 12:49.999 align:start
[cheering]

12:49.999 --> 12:52.918 align:start
So there are 4 races and
probably 45 minutes to

12:52.918 --> 12:54.209 align:start
an hour between each, so.

12:54.209 --> 12:56.709 align:start
You can make the
race in 30 seconds.

12:56.709 --> 12:59.417 align:start
Yeah, but that would lose
the point of the whole thing.

12:59.417 --> 13:01.999 align:start
So you have to create
expectation to eat

13:01.999 --> 13:04.459 align:start
pitayas, to drinktecates,
to see the horses

13:04.459 --> 13:07.834 align:start
going back and forth.

13:07.834 --> 13:11.626 align:start
[Spanish speaking]

13:11.626 --> 13:15.417 align:start
They will make several
fake starts so people really.

13:15.417 --> 13:16.999 align:start
Yeah, hey, we're starting.

13:16.999 --> 13:17.751 align:start
No, never mind.

13:17.751 --> 13:21.417 align:start
But it's part of the,
of the whole festive occasion.

13:21.417 --> 13:22.999 align:start
Yeah, the ambience.

13:22.999 --> 13:26.375 align:start
So this is the end of
400 meters and look,

13:26.375 --> 13:28.792 align:start
this is not a
low tech race.

13:28.792 --> 13:31.959 align:start
They've got a photo finish
computer in case there's

13:31.959 --> 13:34.999 align:start
any questions at all.

13:34.999 --> 13:36.792 align:start
There's something
unfair about this.

13:36.792 --> 13:39.584 align:start
Well, I would put a
bet on the white one.

13:39.584 --> 13:39.999 align:start
I see.

13:39.999 --> 13:42.000 align:start
The pony seems to have
a slight advantage here.

13:42.000 --> 13:43.999 align:start
This is sort of parade
in which they display the

13:43.999 --> 13:46.918 align:start
quality of their horses
for people to assess,

13:46.918 --> 13:53.334 align:start
then make an educated guess on
which to put a bet on.

13:53.334 --> 13:55.792 align:start
And this is a contender.

13:55.792 --> 13:58.042 align:start
Twopesos,
 senquento centavos.

13:58.042 --> 13:59.542 align:start
I'll take your bet.

13:59.542 --> 13:59.959 align:start
Okay.

13:59.959 --> 14:01.542 align:start
So, you're gonna go with
the one on the left,

14:01.542 --> 14:03.667 align:start
I'm gonna go with
the one on the right.

14:03.667 --> 14:04.709 align:start
Perfect.

14:04.709 --> 14:05.417 align:start
All right.

14:05.417 --> 14:07.000 align:start
Oh, we have to
do a handshake?

14:07.000 --> 14:08.125 align:start
Oh, yes.

14:08.125 --> 14:09.250 align:start
I see, oh, okay.

14:09.250 --> 14:12.626 align:start
So remember, in this next
race there's a mare named

14:12.626 --> 14:14.501 align:start
La Golandrina,
the swallow,

14:14.501 --> 14:17.667 align:start
running against a
horse with no name.

14:17.667 --> 14:19.292 align:start
No name.

14:19.292 --> 14:20.375 align:start
Look how powerful it is.

14:20.375 --> 14:21.834 align:start
Well, there's something
wrong, though.

14:21.834 --> 14:23.792 align:start
I mean, if you've got a
horse that's anything at

14:23.792 --> 14:24.999 align:start
all you give it a name.

14:24.999 --> 14:26.501 align:start
I mean even if
it'snombre, name.

14:26.501 --> 14:29.042 align:start
Are you suggesting
that I'm going to lose?

14:29.042 --> 14:34.626 align:start
I think you've put your money in
a bad place Dr. Búrquez.

14:34.626 --> 14:35.999 align:start
Okay, here comes my bet.

14:35.999 --> 14:38.209 align:start
This is theLa
 Golandrina, she's a mare.

14:38.209 --> 14:40.667 align:start
Boy, look at the flame
of desire in those eyes.

14:40.667 --> 14:42.626 align:start
Right, and big noses.

14:42.626 --> 14:45.167 align:start
And you know what
golandrinameans, swift.

14:45.167 --> 14:47.167 align:start
I think she can
fly like a swallow.

14:47.167 --> 14:48.626 align:start
Uh, mine will get a name.

14:48.626 --> 14:50.834 align:start
It will be called
El Sandio de Techaluta,

14:50.834 --> 14:54.542 align:start
meaning that this big
pitayas, red and tasty.

14:54.542 --> 14:56.459 align:start
The red ones, look like
a watermelon, yeah, yeah.

14:56.459 --> 15:01.542 align:start
The watermelon
pitayaofTechaluta.

15:01.542 --> 15:16.999 align:start
[cheering]

15:16.999 --> 15:19.709 align:start
With my 2 pesos and 25
centavos in winnings,

15:19.709 --> 15:23.542 align:start
I can buy a small
pitayaback in town.

15:23.542 --> 15:26.999 align:start
The heat of competition
runs high inTechalutaand

15:26.999 --> 15:30.334 align:start
the mayor goaded me into
doing something I might

15:30.334 --> 15:34.792 align:start
not otherwise have done.

15:34.792 --> 15:48.209 align:start
♪ music

16:03.042 --> 16:09.125 align:start
A la una, a la
 dos, de las tres!

16:09.125 --> 16:17.000 align:start
What speed! See how they know
how to eat pitayas.

16:17.000 --> 16:23.792 align:start
Can't waste anything there's no
fooling the judge.

16:23.792 --> 16:32.709 align:start
One mom has only two
left.another only one.

16:32.709 --> 16:33.709 align:start
Excellent.

16:33.709 --> 16:37.667 align:start
Come on mom.eat, eat! When
you're done raise your hand.

16:37.667 --> 16:41.042 align:start
OK we have a winning mom.

16:41.042 --> 16:44.834 align:start
David is still enjoying the
exquisite taste of pitayas.

16:44.834 --> 16:52.999 align:start
He's following the rules. He can
do it! He can do it!

16:52.999 --> 17:03.792 align:start
A big hand for David in the
pitaya eating contest!

17:03.792 --> 17:07.209 align:start
Elsewhere on thePitaya
 Highway!■pitayasare harvested

17:07.209 --> 17:11.209 align:start
from wild plants that are just
as important to the native

17:11.209 --> 17:14.999 align:start
peoples as the domesticated
plants are up north.

17:14.999 --> 17:17.834 align:start
They grow in a place
appropriately named

17:17.834 --> 17:20.999 align:start
Enfernio, Little Hell.

17:20.999 --> 17:24.417 align:start
We know that columnar
cacti like dry places and

17:24.417 --> 17:31.334 align:start
also columnar cacti like
very hot places andEl Enfernio

17:31.334 --> 17:35.083 align:start
seems appropriate place to be
for a columnar cacti.

17:35.083 --> 17:36.751 align:start
It's dry and hot.

17:36.751 --> 17:39.000 align:start
One neat thing I found
about here is that a lot

17:39.000 --> 17:41.209 align:start
of these cacti have
retained their,

17:41.209 --> 17:42.918 align:start
their native names.

17:42.918 --> 17:45.751 align:start
So we've got
piteres, pochones,

17:45.751 --> 17:48.751 align:start
teponchesandtepamos.

17:48.751 --> 17:50.334 align:start
Wow.

17:50.334 --> 17:53.000 align:start
So let's, let's go
down and we'll get down in

17:53.000 --> 17:55.999 align:start
the cactus forest
a little bit more.

17:55.999 --> 17:58.375 align:start
Oh, oh, oh, oh,
stop, stop, wait.

17:58.375 --> 17:58.999 align:start
Okay.

17:58.999 --> 18:01.459 align:start
Everywhere where there
arepitayasyou will find

18:01.459 --> 18:05.999 align:start
people collecting them.

18:05.999 --> 18:11.042 align:start
These fruits will be available
for a couple of months here,

18:11.042 --> 18:13.999 align:start
which is longer
than in some other places.

18:13.999 --> 18:17.834 align:start
So till the end of June,
first of May to the end of

18:17.834 --> 18:19.999 align:start
June, they'll be lucky
enough to havepitires

18:19.999 --> 18:22.417 align:start
and I'm lucky
enough because this is the

18:22.417 --> 18:24.999 align:start
first time I've ever
tastedpitirefruits.

18:24.999 --> 18:26.417 align:start
It's almost like melon.

18:26.417 --> 18:29.501 align:start
Oh, the fruit,
taste it, taste it.

18:29.501 --> 18:31.501 align:start
It's got a perfume in it.

18:31.501 --> 18:31.999 align:start
Mmm.

18:31.999 --> 18:36.501 align:start
It's unlike ourpitayas,
 it's not like themamayas.

18:36.501 --> 18:39.709 align:start
It's perfumed.

18:39.709 --> 18:41.667 align:start
It has a perfume to it.

18:41.667 --> 18:42.999 align:start
That has never
happened before.

18:42.999 --> 18:44.501 align:start
How can you have a cactus
fruit with a perfume?

18:44.501 --> 18:47.751 align:start
This really makes me
think about dispersal syndromes.

18:47.751 --> 18:48.375 align:start
Yeah.

18:48.375 --> 18:51.083 align:start
While mammals have a
very keen sense of smell,

18:51.083 --> 18:53.918 align:start
bats disperse
fruits ofpitaya.

18:53.918 --> 18:54.250 align:start
Yeah.

18:54.250 --> 18:57.459 align:start
So this, the perfume on
this fruit is telling me

18:57.459 --> 19:01.876 align:start
that birds apparently do
not play a major role in

19:01.876 --> 19:06.999 align:start
dispersing the fruits
ofpitireor any otherpitaya.

19:06.999 --> 19:08.999 align:start
Y quanto hijos tienes?

19:08.999 --> 19:10.000 align:start
Tres.

19:10.000 --> 19:11.626 align:start
Muy hoven.

19:11.626 --> 19:15.584 align:start
Ana Lilia has three
young children, which is

19:15.584 --> 19:20.375 align:start
quite a responsibility in a
wild place like this.

19:20.375 --> 19:23.375 align:start
She's able to make enough
money collecting and

19:23.375 --> 19:29.918 align:start
selling thesepitiyasto
make it worth her while.

19:29.918 --> 19:33.501 align:start
In total she gets 2
buckets of 20 liters each

19:33.501 --> 19:39.751 align:start
every day through the
whole fruiting season.

19:39.751 --> 19:49.667 align:start
♪ music

19:49.667 --> 19:51.584 align:start
Do you ever feel like
you're eating your

19:51.584 --> 19:55.459 align:start
way throughMichoacán?

19:55.459 --> 19:56.999 align:start
Buenos dias.

19:56.999 --> 19:58.751 align:start
Ay pachones.

19:58.751 --> 20:00.417 align:start
A dos.

20:00.417 --> 20:03.501 align:start
A dos cada uno.

20:03.501 --> 20:06.667 align:start
So these are 2 pesos
apiece and the bigpachones

20:06.667 --> 20:11.167 align:start
as they call em are 5, but
they're really big.

20:11.167 --> 20:14.042 align:start
In many ways I would
say here we are far into

20:14.042 --> 20:20.751 align:start
southern Mexico looking for the
origins of the Sonoran Desert.

20:20.751 --> 20:22.584 align:start
If we were to look for
what the Sonoran Desert

20:22.584 --> 20:25.709 align:start
looked like in its infancy
a million years or so ago

20:25.709 --> 20:29.792 align:start
we could have come here
and gotten an idea.

20:29.792 --> 20:32.667 align:start
I want to stop here and
find out where this guy

20:32.667 --> 20:37.167 align:start
lives who makes
chairs of, of wood.

20:37.167 --> 20:39.667 align:start
Buenos dias, señora.

20:39.667 --> 20:41.125 align:start
Vive alla?

20:41.125 --> 20:43.125 align:start
Bueno.

20:43.125 --> 20:46.083 align:start
Yeah, just like I can't
imagine what a chair is

20:46.083 --> 20:50.209 align:start
gonna look like made
out of cactus wood.

20:50.209 --> 20:52.584 align:start
çSpanish SpeakingÑ

20:52.584 --> 20:55.959 align:start
The basic form, it is made
out of thepitirecactus,

20:55.959 --> 20:57.999 align:start
which also has great fruits.

20:57.999 --> 21:02.042 align:start
These slats are made out
of a different plant they

21:02.042 --> 21:07.459 align:start
callotateand, do you
suppose I ought to try it,

21:07.459 --> 21:09.999 align:start
Alberto, or should I just
stand here looking at it?

21:09.999 --> 21:11.375 align:start
It has a great smooth feel.

21:11.375 --> 21:13.999 align:start
Feel how smooth and
hard that wood is.

21:13.999 --> 21:14.999 align:start
Wow.

21:14.999 --> 21:16.584 align:start
I wouldn't expect it.

21:16.584 --> 21:18.000 align:start
And light.

21:18.000 --> 21:19.083 align:start
Yeah.

21:19.083 --> 21:20.417 align:start
All right.

21:20.417 --> 21:23.459 align:start
God, I'll take 4.

21:23.459 --> 21:26.209 align:start
It takes me about a
whole day to make chair.

21:26.209 --> 21:29.083 align:start
You've gotta start with a
base and then build some

21:29.083 --> 21:30.876 align:start
slats for the seat.

21:30.876 --> 21:34.083 align:start
So it takes more or less
a day to make one chair.

21:34.083 --> 21:37.959 align:start
You would not expect to,
to have a chair off

21:37.959 --> 21:41.375 align:start
of cactus, cactus wood.

21:41.375 --> 21:42.834 align:start
Yeah, absolutely not.

21:42.834 --> 21:43.667 align:start
And here we are.

21:43.667 --> 21:45.999 align:start
So he's, he actually,
you can plane down real,

21:45.999 --> 21:48.959 align:start
real easily, smooth down.

21:48.959 --> 21:50.876 align:start
La Madera, como
 es la Madera.

21:50.876 --> 21:55.375 align:start
Come see the wood that I
use to make furniture.

21:55.375 --> 21:57.918 align:start
Only in a few places
I've seen objects made

21:57.918 --> 22:00.209 align:start
of columnar cacti wood.

22:00.209 --> 22:07.083 align:start
One cactus trunk will
make up to 6 chairs.

22:07.083 --> 22:10.999 align:start
Look, this is part of the
trunk that he's cut apart.

22:10.999 --> 22:16.000 align:start
This is, this is
cactus wood, right?

22:16.000 --> 22:18.999 align:start
Oh, that thing is heavy.

22:18.999 --> 22:23.083 align:start
So this whole piece must
weigh 50 pounds, 50, 60 pounds.

22:23.083 --> 22:27.999 align:start
I would say this is
sort of hard pine wood.

22:27.999 --> 22:34.751 align:start
Not as hard as some hard woods
but for sure strong and heavy.

22:34.751 --> 22:36.459 align:start
Todos estos pitire.

22:36.459 --> 22:38.999 align:start
Es pitire.

22:38.999 --> 22:42.709 align:start
It's hard.

22:42.709 --> 22:46.584 align:start
In this region there
are a lot ofejetos.

22:46.584 --> 22:48.999 align:start
The majority of
individuals have their own

22:48.999 --> 22:51.999 align:start
little piece of land and
it's their right to do

22:51.999 --> 22:54.999 align:start
what they want with it.

22:54.999 --> 22:57.999 align:start
Well, it's sort of sad
but more wood is available

22:57.999 --> 23:02.083 align:start
because some of the
pitiresare dying from

23:02.083 --> 23:03.501 align:start
a long time drought.

23:03.501 --> 23:05.999 align:start
He says it's been going
on for several years.

23:05.999 --> 23:11.542 align:start
I was here 2 years ago, it
hasn't rained much since then.

23:11.542 --> 23:19.999 align:start
çSpanish speakingÑ

23:19.999 --> 23:23.918 align:start
So we're gonna get a
bed made out of this.

23:23.918 --> 23:25.542 align:start
Now that's smooth.

23:25.542 --> 23:27.125 align:start
It's heavy.

23:27.125 --> 23:28.584 align:start
Feel it.

23:28.584 --> 23:30.918 align:start
This one is really heavy.

23:30.918 --> 23:32.876 align:start
If I work really
hard it'll take me

23:32.876 --> 23:37.999 align:start
about 3 days to
make this bed frame.

23:37.999 --> 23:42.000 align:start
It's very comfortable
to sleep on these beds

23:42.000 --> 23:48.292 align:start
because there's good air
flow coming from below.

23:48.292 --> 23:51.626 align:start
So this bed is made out of
pachonewood andpachone

23:51.626 --> 23:53.999 align:start
is a cactus that
grows only around, around

23:53.999 --> 23:57.709 align:start
this area, perhaps a radius
of 40 miles and that's it.

23:57.709 --> 24:02.542 align:start
That's the only place
they are in the world.

24:02.542 --> 24:05.751 align:start
çSpanish speakingÑ

24:05.751 --> 24:07.417 align:start
Oh, so this is woven

24:07.417 --> 24:11.083 align:start
of palm and that's
the extent of the bed.

24:11.083 --> 24:12.751 align:start
Let's, let's try it.

24:12.751 --> 24:13.834 align:start
You are right.

24:13.834 --> 24:15.125 align:start
It isn't, isn't
that great?

24:15.125 --> 24:17.999 align:start
Go and get somepitires
 for me, could you?

24:17.999 --> 24:19.667 align:start
Oh, yes, well, and a fan.

24:19.667 --> 24:22.292 align:start
I'll, I'll get somebody
to come fan you.

24:22.292 --> 24:23.459 align:start
Isn't that great?

24:23.459 --> 24:25.542 align:start
Well, we better
head on up the road.

24:25.542 --> 24:27.918 align:start
This is just too much fun.

24:27.918 --> 24:35.667 align:start
♪ music

24:35.667 --> 24:37.999 align:start
Both cacti and agaves
are native to the Western

24:37.999 --> 24:40.834 align:start
Hemisphere and have become
a commercial success

24:40.834 --> 24:42.626 align:start
in their native habitats.

24:42.626 --> 24:46.000 align:start
So far,pitayashave only
expanded into abandoned

24:46.000 --> 24:49.083 align:start
agricultural lands and
waste places and their

24:49.083 --> 24:54.334 align:start
planters have maintained a broad
array of genetic diversity.

24:54.334 --> 24:58.000 align:start
Cacti are quite at home in
arid and semi-arid lands

24:58.000 --> 25:04.792 align:start
and any commercial success
with them is a desert bonus.

25:05.876 --> 25:07.959 align:start
So there are all sorts
of stuff that work here.

25:07.959 --> 25:09.459 align:start
Well, the rough
topography of the region.

25:09.459 --> 25:12.167 align:start
Michuacánin southern
Mexico is known for its

25:12.167 --> 25:17.834 align:start
rugged coast,
varied habitats,

25:17.834 --> 25:22.751 align:start
tropical fruits and
believe it or not a town

25:22.751 --> 25:26.834 align:start
where the craftsmen
continue a centuries old

25:26.834 --> 25:31.292 align:start
instrumental tradition.

25:31.292 --> 25:34.999 align:start
Next time onThe
Desert Speaks.

25:37.125 --> 25:56.918 align:start
çSpanish speakingÑ

26:02.292 --> 26:06.999 align:start
FUNDING FOR THE DESERT
SPEAKS IS PROVIDED BY

26:06.999 --> 26:08.792 align:start
DESERT PROGRAM PARTNERS.

26:08.792 --> 26:11.542 align:start
REPRESENTING CONCERNED VIEWERS
MAKING A FINANCIAL COMMITTMENT

26:11.542 --> 26:16.417 align:start
TO THE EDUCATION ABOUT AND
PRESERVATION OF DESERTS

26:16.417 --> 26:19.999 align:start
AND BY THE STONEWALL FOUNDATION.