WEBVTT

00:00.667 --> 00:02.626 align:start
So there are all sorts
of stuff that work here.

00:02.626 --> 00:04.083 align:start
Yeah, the rough
topography of the region.

00:04.083 --> 00:06.876 align:start
Michoacánin southern
Mexico is known for its

00:06.876 --> 00:12.584 align:start
rugged coast,
varied habitats,

00:12.584 --> 00:18.167 align:start
tropical fruits and
believe it or not a town

00:18.167 --> 00:21.751 align:start
where the craftsmen
continue a centuries old

00:21.751 --> 00:27.999 align:start
instrumental tradition.

00:29.501 --> 00:31.999 align:start
Funding for
The Desert Speaks

00:31.999 --> 00:34.083 align:start
was provided by
Desert Program Partners,

00:34.083 --> 00:37.501 align:start
representing concerned viewers
making a financial commitment

00:37.501 --> 00:42.042 align:start
to the education about and
preservation of deserts.

00:42.042 --> 00:46.501 align:start
And by the
Stonewall Foundation.

00:49.167 --> 01:14.876 align:start
♪ music ♪

01:17.834 --> 01:21.999 align:start
Several years ago I
purchased this guitar

01:21.999 --> 01:26.250 align:start
in the state of
Michoacán, Mexico,

01:26.250 --> 01:30.209 align:start
but I didn't see
how it was made.

01:30.209 --> 01:33.626 align:start
Now it's time to
go back toParacho,

01:33.626 --> 01:37.751 align:start
which lies in the lush
pine forests above the

01:37.751 --> 01:43.417 align:start
dry deserts ofMichoacán.

01:46.709 --> 01:49.125 align:start
A dramatic starting place
is in the shadow of the

01:49.125 --> 01:52.542 align:start
Volcán de Colima, which
rises a couple of miles

01:52.542 --> 01:57.250 align:start
high right next to the
state ofMichoacán.

01:57.250 --> 02:00.999 align:start
Ecologist Alberto Búrquez
has never been here before.

02:00.999 --> 02:04.792 align:start
He's not a volcanologist
but he does know a good

02:04.792 --> 02:09.209 align:start
melon when he sees one.

02:09.209 --> 02:13.999 align:start
Alberto, I know that
watermelons are from

02:13.999 --> 02:17.417 align:start
Africa not Mexico
but it's hot.

02:17.417 --> 02:19.042 align:start
They are delicious.

02:19.042 --> 02:20.999 align:start
Yeah, they,
they look good.

02:20.999 --> 02:22.709 align:start
Ah, well.

02:22.709 --> 02:25.999 align:start
Y que aye? Cuanto
vale una bolsa?

02:25.999 --> 02:26.999 align:start
Quince.

02:26.999 --> 02:28.167 align:start
Quere con chile?

02:28.167 --> 02:30.125 align:start
Si, con chile, tiene
 que ser con chile.

02:30.125 --> 02:32.834 align:start
So these are 15 pesos and
they are a specialty

02:32.834 --> 02:35.999 align:start
You don't eat watermelon
just with watermelon or salt.

02:35.999 --> 02:38.250 align:start
You put chile on it.
We're in Mexico.

02:38.250 --> 02:39.959 align:start
Si. Okay.

02:39.959 --> 02:41.042 align:start
Estan grande.

02:41.042 --> 02:42.834 align:start
Ah, estan grande.

02:42.834 --> 02:44.000 align:start
Rimones reales.

02:44.000 --> 02:45.999 align:start
You know, I've been
in Mexico a lot,

02:45.999 --> 02:48.042 align:start
I've never had it
like this before.

02:48.042 --> 02:49.834 align:start
Delicious and refreshing.

02:49.834 --> 02:51.501 align:start
Well, the salt makes
you want more though.

02:51.501 --> 02:54.999 align:start
You don't need somebody
to tell you want more

02:54.999 --> 02:57.417 align:start
watermelon, you
always want more.

02:57.417 --> 03:00.709 align:start
And the salt will replace
some of the salt we have

03:00.709 --> 03:04.417 align:start
been losing by the heat.

03:09.999 --> 03:11.834 align:start
This is theVolcán de
Colima, one of

03:11.834 --> 03:14.667 align:start
the most active volcanoes
in all of North America.

03:14.667 --> 03:17.292 align:start
The visibility is pretty
bad today but when I was

03:17.292 --> 03:20.542 align:start
here 2 years ago it let
out a great puff of ash

03:20.542 --> 03:22.626 align:start
I think just for my benefit.

03:22.626 --> 03:25.584 align:start
It doesn't look as if it's
gonna do a lot today but

03:25.584 --> 03:28.209 align:start
the villages at the base
of the volcano are under a

03:28.209 --> 03:31.042 align:start
constant state of alert
and could easily be

03:31.042 --> 03:36.209 align:start
evacuated because the
volcanologists say that

03:36.209 --> 03:41.334 align:start
any day now
it's gonna blow.

03:41.334 --> 03:44.125 align:start
Even while I'm nervously
monitoring this shaky

03:44.125 --> 03:46.999 align:start
mountain anticipating
an eruption,

03:46.999 --> 03:52.083 align:start
Alberto is scouring the
ground for strange plants.

03:52.083 --> 03:57.209 align:start
This issensitiva or vergonsosa
 it's a sensitive plant.

03:57.209 --> 03:59.292 align:start
It's in the legume family.

03:59.292 --> 04:02.918 align:start
It grows in disturbed
places like this.

04:02.918 --> 04:06.751 align:start
It has a property of
closing its leaves when

04:06.751 --> 04:10.792 align:start
they are contacted by
herbivores and it's a way

04:10.792 --> 04:14.792 align:start
of avoiding being
eaten by animals.

04:14.792 --> 04:17.751 align:start
This plant is a
tropical plant.

04:17.751 --> 04:20.751 align:start
It grows all
through the tropics.

04:20.751 --> 04:24.250 align:start
This plant is related to
big trees like mesquite or

04:24.250 --> 04:27.626 align:start
Palo Verdes or the big
lumber trees that grow in

04:27.626 --> 04:34.792 align:start
the tropical forests.

04:36.999 --> 04:40.501 align:start
On the coast ofColimaand
Michoacanhere it's very

04:40.501 --> 04:47.292 align:start
different from just
a few miles inland.

04:47.292 --> 04:50.000 align:start
I mean this is humid, hot,
they can grow bananas.

04:50.000 --> 04:53.000 align:start
You don't expect to see
bananas in this area but.

04:53.000 --> 04:53.584 align:start
I wouldn't.

04:53.584 --> 04:55.667 align:start
Well, there's this long
dry season even in this

04:55.667 --> 05:00.709 align:start
humid area and probably
they have to irrigate. Yeah.

05:00.709 --> 05:02.250 align:start
To grow bananas.

05:02.250 --> 05:06.000 align:start
You know, I asked the,
the manager here what

05:06.000 --> 05:07.250 align:start
they're washing here.

05:07.250 --> 05:09.125 align:start
I learned something
about bananas.

05:09.125 --> 05:11.751 align:start
They have a little latex
that they give off,

05:11.751 --> 05:13.999 align:start
and you can feel the
stickiness on the end of

05:13.999 --> 05:16.334 align:start
it, and if they don't wash
that off here it attracts

05:16.334 --> 05:19.626 align:start
fungi which then attack
the bananas while

05:19.626 --> 05:21.209 align:start
they're being shipped.

05:21.209 --> 05:24.250 align:start
So they get the dirt and
the gum they call it,

05:24.250 --> 05:26.959 align:start
the latex, and then the
next bath gets anything else.

05:26.959 --> 05:29.792 align:start
Now look at these
guys shirts.

05:29.792 --> 05:32.999 align:start
They're all covered with that.
Amazing, yeah.

05:32.999 --> 05:35.417 align:start
So I never knew what
that sticky stuff was

05:35.417 --> 05:40.626 align:start
on bananas and now I know.

05:40.626 --> 05:46.417 align:start
They have bags
around them.

05:46.417 --> 05:48.999 align:start
What do you suppose
those are for?

05:48.999 --> 05:51.459 align:start
I thought maybe to
guard against bats.

05:51.459 --> 05:54.999 align:start
Well, bats will attack
them once the produce is ready.

05:54.999 --> 05:56.751 align:start
Oh, but these
are green, yeah.

05:56.751 --> 05:58.999 align:start
But these are green so
they are put there to

05:58.999 --> 06:01.042 align:start
prevent the insect damage.

06:01.042 --> 06:03.999 align:start
Any damage would just take
them out of market despite

06:03.999 --> 06:07.501 align:start
the fact that they
can be quite edible.

06:07.501 --> 06:08.918 align:start
Yeah, but they look ugly.

06:08.918 --> 06:10.999 align:start
They will not look as
perfect as you would

06:10.999 --> 06:15.999 align:start
expect in the shelves
of supermarket chain.

06:15.999 --> 06:18.334 align:start
Look at the uniformity
of these bananas,

06:18.334 --> 06:20.542 align:start
every one the same.

06:20.542 --> 06:25.000 align:start
The ripeness, the length,
the attachment here.

06:25.000 --> 06:28.584 align:start
I mean 1 banana resembles
virtually every other banana.

06:28.584 --> 06:31.375 align:start
And they are the very
same genetic stock.

06:31.375 --> 06:35.876 align:start
Most cultivated bananas
through the world share a

06:35.876 --> 06:40.999 align:start
narrow genetic basis just as
other cultivated species.

06:40.999 --> 06:44.250 align:start
And not only that this
uniformity is taken to the

06:44.250 --> 06:46.999 align:start
extreme in this production
line in which they will

06:46.999 --> 06:51.167 align:start
touch each of the "manos",
hands as we call em will

06:51.167 --> 06:55.999 align:start
decide to a certain
number of bananas per "mano"

06:55.999 --> 06:58.292 align:start
and will be padded neatly
with a nice label saying

06:58.292 --> 07:02.876 align:start
banana something will go
to international markets.

07:02.876 --> 07:05.751 align:start
So this is an industrial
operation. Absolutely.

07:05.751 --> 07:10.292 align:start
And here on the
coast ofMichoacán.

07:19.125 --> 07:25.125 align:start
For more than 100 miles
the Pacific Ocean crashes

07:25.125 --> 07:30.083 align:start
up against the rocky coast
of the state ofMichoacán.

07:30.083 --> 07:32.999 align:start
It is so mountainous that
until very recently

07:32.999 --> 07:33.999 align:start
there were no highways.

07:33.999 --> 07:38.417 align:start
Public access was very difficult
and development was limited.

07:38.417 --> 07:41.709 align:start
As a result, big parts of
that coast remain pretty

07:41.709 --> 07:44.626 align:start
much natural the way it's
been for thousands of years

07:44.626 --> 07:53.417 align:start
and parts of it seem to resemble
very closely the Sonoran Desert.

08:01.250 --> 08:04.459 align:start
Other parts resemble more
the southern margins of

08:04.459 --> 08:08.334 align:start
the Sonoran Desert.

08:08.334 --> 08:10.501 align:start
We're here in the end
of the dry season and

08:10.501 --> 08:13.167 align:start
Michoacán, we're in what's
called tropical deciduous

08:13.167 --> 08:15.999 align:start
forest, as you know
cause you're an expert.

08:15.999 --> 08:19.125 align:start
But it looks like there's
this blanket of brown and

08:19.125 --> 08:23.834 align:start
gray over everything except down
here in the arroyo bottoms.

08:23.834 --> 08:25.584 align:start
But there's a
huge variety.

08:25.584 --> 08:29.292 align:start
Well, tropical deciduous
forests are rich environments.

08:29.292 --> 08:32.999 align:start
But you know there are
some trees I think I

08:32.999 --> 08:35.792 align:start
wouldn't go up and touch,
particularly like this one

08:35.792 --> 08:38.000 align:start
after what you've
told me about it.

08:38.000 --> 08:40.292 align:start
This is the sandbox tree.

08:40.292 --> 08:41.999 align:start
The what, the sandbox?

08:41.999 --> 08:42.999 align:start
The sandbox tree.

08:42.999 --> 08:46.876 align:start
This tree has a fruit
that is explosive.

08:46.876 --> 08:48.000 align:start
So it can disperse.

08:48.000 --> 08:48.999 align:start
Like a bomb?

08:48.999 --> 08:50.417 align:start
Like a bomb but
it's really very,

08:50.417 --> 08:52.999 align:start
very dangerous and it
disperses the seeds far

08:52.999 --> 08:56.999 align:start
away perhaps 100, 150
feet away from the tree.

08:56.999 --> 08:59.417 align:start
And you don't want to
go rushing up to it and

08:59.417 --> 09:00.918 align:start
embrace this one either.

09:00.918 --> 09:03.459 align:start
So I think I'll stay away
from this and warn my children

09:03.459 --> 09:06.375 align:start
not to stay around when
the fruits explode.

09:06.375 --> 09:06.876 align:start
Indeed.

09:06.876 --> 09:09.999 align:start
Not a, not a tree to climb
unless you are pursued

09:09.999 --> 09:12.459 align:start
by lions or something.

09:12.459 --> 09:13.209 align:start
Angry lions.

09:13.209 --> 09:15.792 align:start
I've noticed that up
on the hillsides in the

09:15.792 --> 09:16.999 align:start
tropical deciduous
forests most,

09:16.999 --> 09:19.709 align:start
I'd say 90% of the
trees, drop their leaves.

09:19.709 --> 09:23.417 align:start
But down here in the
bottom most of the trees

09:23.417 --> 09:25.918 align:start
seem to retain em.

09:25.918 --> 09:26.999 align:start
Yes.

09:26.999 --> 09:31.375 align:start
Well, that's because there
is water available here.

09:31.375 --> 09:34.083 align:start
But a few of the trees in
the forest will keep the,

09:34.083 --> 09:38.918 align:start
their leaves respective of
availability of water or not.

09:38.918 --> 09:42.459 align:start
Now this one's got leaves
but if I remember this is

09:42.459 --> 09:46.375 align:start
one you told me I should
probably not chew on.

09:46.375 --> 09:48.876 align:start
This is what is called
very chauvinistically

09:48.876 --> 09:51.375 align:start
mala mujer, bad woman.

09:51.375 --> 09:51.876 align:start
Yeah. Yes.

09:51.876 --> 09:53.999 align:start
And I think it's because
it's not a pleasant tree.

09:53.999 --> 09:56.626 align:start
It's fierce and you should
not touch it unless you

09:56.626 --> 09:59.542 align:start
want to get stung.

09:59.542 --> 10:01.667 align:start
You know, it's just a
vicious looking plant and

10:01.667 --> 10:04.999 align:start
you can see the individual
little spines that come

10:04.999 --> 10:08.209 align:start
out and they're loaded
with venom, right?

10:08.209 --> 10:11.334 align:start
They are very,
very dangerous.

10:11.334 --> 10:14.083 align:start
They are of course loaded
with venom and if you

10:14.083 --> 10:22.999 align:start
touch one of these it
will really hurt a lot.

10:27.999 --> 10:30.292 align:start
You know, in that dry
season in a tropical

10:30.292 --> 10:32.918 align:start
deciduous forest you don't
realize that when the

10:32.918 --> 10:35.751 align:start
rains come it's a battle
of all against all to get,

10:35.751 --> 10:39.042 align:start
get to the light and grow
and these scars here are

10:39.042 --> 10:41.083 align:start
a good sign of that.

10:41.083 --> 10:43.999 align:start
Well, this is what a
climber did to themala

10:43.999 --> 10:49.999 align:start
mujerwhen trying to go
and seek light up there,

10:49.999 --> 10:51.584 align:start
up in the canopy.

10:51.584 --> 10:53.000 align:start
It looks like
it was a snake.

10:53.000 --> 10:57.959 align:start
Well, in a sort, say, has
the same evil associated to it.

10:57.959 --> 11:02.709 align:start
The climber doesn't want
the best in a trunk to

11:02.709 --> 11:05.999 align:start
reach sunshine up in
the canopy so he takes

11:05.999 --> 11:10.459 align:start
advantage of the already
existingmala mujer

11:10.459 --> 11:12.626 align:start
to climb on, on it.

11:12.626 --> 11:17.751 align:start
Cause more than 10% of the
whole flora are climbers.

11:17.751 --> 11:21.542 align:start
These are remains of the
urafruit that's exploded

11:21.542 --> 11:23.751 align:start
as you described.

11:23.751 --> 11:26.083 align:start
See, it's now
torn into pieces.

11:26.083 --> 11:28.918 align:start
And I, I'm just trying
to imagine what it's like

11:28.918 --> 11:29.918 align:start
when they go.

11:29.918 --> 11:32.667 align:start
Well, imagine this will,
it was straight when it

11:32.667 --> 11:36.792 align:start
was in the fruit and
now it's all twisted.

11:36.792 --> 11:38.792 align:start
So it dries and
curls as it dries.

11:38.792 --> 11:40.999 align:start
And then explodes.

11:40.999 --> 11:42.501 align:start
Amazing isn't it?

11:42.501 --> 11:44.626 align:start
Well, they could, boy,
they hit you in the face

11:44.626 --> 11:49.918 align:start
they could take
out a cheek.

11:49.918 --> 11:52.999 align:start
If we were to continue
walking up this canyon

11:52.999 --> 11:57.042 align:start
every 50 to 100 meters
we'd find something new,

11:57.042 --> 11:59.834 align:start
maybe even something
that is new to science.

11:59.834 --> 12:03.834 align:start
Diversity is not confined
to trees and plants in the

12:03.834 --> 12:08.125 align:start
tropical deciduous forest
but also to animals.

12:08.125 --> 12:10.584 align:start
In this case we can see
termites that live up in

12:10.584 --> 12:14.167 align:start
the branches of this tree
they have their nest up

12:14.167 --> 12:19.542 align:start
there and rarely
come down.

12:19.542 --> 12:24.000 align:start
This highly varied
tropical deciduous forest

12:24.000 --> 12:29.667 align:start
will give us surprise
after surprise.

12:29.667 --> 12:32.959 align:start
The said thing is that
ecologists I think

12:32.959 --> 12:36.000 align:start
worldwide realize that of
all the tropical habitats,

12:36.000 --> 12:39.959 align:start
the tropical deciduous
forest is the most endangered.

12:39.959 --> 12:41.999 align:start
There is
agreement on that.

12:41.999 --> 12:43.292 align:start
Oh, and look at this.

12:43.292 --> 12:46.042 align:start
This is what they
have in mind.

12:46.042 --> 12:49.959 align:start
And this is what happened
to the tropical deciduous

12:49.959 --> 12:53.667 align:start
forest that is to formed
for agriculture.

12:53.667 --> 13:00.542 align:start
And 90% of the TDF
is now gone to this.

13:00.542 --> 13:02.584 align:start
So this hillside,
when the rain hits it,

13:02.584 --> 13:04.999 align:start
which will be soon,
there'll be nothing

13:04.999 --> 13:06.083 align:start
to hold in the soil.

13:06.083 --> 13:08.292 align:start
All the tropical deciduous
forest that was here is

13:08.292 --> 13:10.417 align:start
destroyed and will be
replaced by buffle grass

13:10.417 --> 13:13.334 align:start
or a greener grass, some
tropical grass that will

13:13.334 --> 13:14.999 align:start
be used for cows.

13:14.999 --> 13:17.999 align:start
So to get one or two more
cows we sacrifice 100

13:17.999 --> 13:20.999 align:start
acres of tropical
deciduous forest.

13:20.999 --> 13:24.459 align:start
And perhaps 100 tree
species that were growing

13:24.459 --> 13:26.375 align:start
in this, in this area.

13:26.375 --> 13:29.125 align:start
But that had medicinal
uses, that have food uses,

13:29.125 --> 13:32.125 align:start
that can be used for
construction, for shelter,

13:32.125 --> 13:33.375 align:start
for many things.

13:33.375 --> 13:35.209 align:start
And all these, you see all
these nutrients that were

13:35.209 --> 13:39.125 align:start
contained in the forest, will
wash away in the first rain.

13:39.125 --> 13:40.876 align:start
Restoration of
this site will be,

13:40.876 --> 13:43.042 align:start
will be very difficult
because it will lose the

13:43.042 --> 13:46.999 align:start
nutrients and to start
again to establish a

13:46.999 --> 13:54.999 align:start
forest as a one that was before
would be exceedingly difficult.

14:04.083 --> 14:06.918 align:start
So there are all sorts
of stuff that work here.

14:06.918 --> 14:09.542 align:start
Well, the rough topography
of the region makes these

14:09.542 --> 14:15.083 align:start
valleys very special and
they are not very big valleys.

14:15.083 --> 14:17.584 align:start
All of a sudden
here, boom, we're

14:17.584 --> 14:20.792 align:start
out in the middle of
the a whole bunch of this

14:20.792 --> 14:23.375 align:start
they call empitireshere.

14:23.375 --> 14:24.999 align:start
Ah, the light's
really good on it.

14:24.999 --> 14:26.501 align:start
Look, you can
see the fruits.

14:26.501 --> 14:29.834 align:start
But there are thousands of
these plants and it's only

14:29.834 --> 14:37.626 align:start
because this highway got
put in that we know about em.

14:37.626 --> 14:42.584 align:start
Well, this valley of the
Balsas River is hard

14:42.584 --> 14:47.542 align:start
to get to, it's
fairly unpopulated.

14:47.542 --> 14:50.751 align:start
Because it's mountainous
there wasn't,

14:50.751 --> 14:54.125 align:start
there's not much
irrigable land here.

14:54.125 --> 14:56.667 align:start
So when, there was not
much here at all until the

14:56.667 --> 14:58.250 align:start
government looked
at this and say,

14:58.250 --> 14:59.999 align:start
"Hey, what a place to put a dam.

14:59.999 --> 15:01.999 align:start
We can make an enormous
lake reservoir,

15:01.999 --> 15:04.292 align:start
generate electricity and
then down on the coast

15:04.292 --> 15:07.459 align:start
during, when it's not
in the rainy season,

15:07.459 --> 15:09.584 align:start
we'll have water
for irrigation."

15:09.584 --> 15:11.999 align:start
The problem is that at
the times which these dams

15:11.999 --> 15:14.125 align:start
were built you could
not make such a big dam

15:14.125 --> 15:17.542 align:start
without impacting awfully
the environment and they

15:17.542 --> 15:19.999 align:start
destroyed unique habitats.

15:19.999 --> 15:21.999 align:start
Well, thousands and
thousands of hectors,

15:21.999 --> 15:24.959 align:start
tens of thousands of acres
of excellent habitat and

15:24.959 --> 15:27.667 align:start
they flooded out a whole
bunch of villages and their,

15:27.667 --> 15:29.626 align:start
their livelihood.

15:29.626 --> 15:36.959 align:start
The small farms they
had, the ranches, gone.

15:36.959 --> 15:40.417 align:start
Before the construction
of the dam very few people

15:40.417 --> 15:41.834 align:start
came to this place.

15:41.834 --> 15:44.792 align:start
Now you have a very fast
highway that goes along the

15:44.792 --> 15:51.083 align:start
dam and connects the center
of the country with the coast.

15:51.083 --> 15:53.459 align:start
The road climbs abruptly
out of the hot desert

15:53.459 --> 15:56.876 align:start
lowlands into the cool
pine forests that once

15:56.876 --> 16:00.083 align:start
covered centralMichuacán.

16:00.083 --> 16:03.417 align:start
Well inside the pine
belt isParacho, over

16:03.417 --> 16:07.083 align:start
7,000 feet in elevation.

16:07.083 --> 16:09.999 align:start
Did you ever buy a
guitar inParacho?

16:09.999 --> 16:12.042 align:start
No, I have not.

16:12.042 --> 16:15.751 align:start
But everyone I know have
come toParachoand bought

16:15.751 --> 16:17.959 align:start
an instrument here.

16:17.959 --> 16:21.667 align:start
Not only guitars but
violins and violas and

16:21.667 --> 16:23.792 align:start
other instruments
of the same kind.

16:23.792 --> 16:27.417 align:start
Yeah, it's the string instrument
capital of Mexico, right?

16:27.417 --> 16:27.959 align:start
It is.

16:27.959 --> 16:30.999 align:start
And it is said that they
produce the best stringed

16:30.999 --> 16:36.250 align:start
instruments in
the whole country.

16:36.250 --> 16:38.999 align:start
Buenos tardes. Buenos tardes.

16:38.999 --> 16:42.334 align:start
Aqui esta su taller?

16:42.334 --> 16:46.167 align:start
Y esos son los lados? Lados.

16:46.167 --> 16:48.959 align:start
So this is the back of the
guitar and the sides of

16:48.959 --> 16:51.876 align:start
the guitar and each of
these reinforcements for

16:51.876 --> 16:55.792 align:start
the body have a special
name depending where they

16:55.792 --> 17:00.792 align:start
are or what
shape they have.

17:02.334 --> 17:04.417 align:start
It takes me about 2
months to finish

17:04.417 --> 17:05.999 align:start
the guitars like this.

17:05.999 --> 17:12.834 align:start
I work on 4 guitars of differing
stages at the same time.

17:12.834 --> 17:19.000 align:start
Some shops also make other
instruments likemaracas,

17:19.000 --> 17:25.626 align:start
baleros, yoyos
 and trompos.

17:25.626 --> 17:28.542 align:start
It's a tradition
in this town.

17:28.542 --> 17:32.334 align:start
This heritage was left to
us byVasca de Quiroga.

17:32.334 --> 17:36.459 align:start
I'm not sure of
the exact date.

17:36.459 --> 17:38.209 align:start
But he's the one
responsible for bringing

17:38.209 --> 17:42.999 align:start
the guitar industry
toParacho.

17:42.999 --> 17:45.792 align:start
He was one of the first
missionaries who came

17:45.792 --> 17:48.999 align:start
from Spain.

17:48.999 --> 17:52.167 align:start
The majority of the
population here

17:52.167 --> 17:54.959 align:start
is indigenouspurepucha.

17:54.959 --> 17:59.584 align:start
Each separate town was
taught a specific trait.

17:59.584 --> 18:01.999 align:start
Here we learned
to make guitars.

18:01.999 --> 18:04.250 align:start
InUruapanthey
make thebatteja.

18:04.250 --> 18:07.999 align:start
The town ofSan Juanis
known for characteristic

18:07.999 --> 18:10.292 align:start
Michuacánclothes.

18:10.292 --> 18:13.209 align:start
Alberto I'm glad you've
finally found a good job.

18:13.209 --> 18:14.999 align:start
Ah, this is really heavy.

18:14.999 --> 18:17.792 align:start
(speaking Spanish)

18:17.792 --> 18:20.292 align:start
This wood will
sink in water.

18:20.292 --> 18:22.626 align:start
It's a relative
of the mesquite.

18:22.626 --> 18:23.792 align:start
It's heavy.

18:23.792 --> 18:26.083 align:start
Don't drop it
on your toes.

18:26.083 --> 18:29.999 align:start
This wood he's had for
awhile but it grows in

18:29.999 --> 18:32.876 align:start
the, in the hills,
apparently at an elevation

18:32.876 --> 18:38.125 align:start
of about 2,000 feet
in southernMichuacán.

18:38.125 --> 18:39.999 align:start
And look, look.

18:39.999 --> 18:42.999 align:start
Boy, it does have
a rich color. Beautiful.

18:42.999 --> 18:44.999 align:start
So I hear, I
didn't know this,

18:44.999 --> 18:48.459 align:start
this is called the
diapason.

18:48.459 --> 18:51.292 align:start
And you can see the
color's very similar.

18:51.292 --> 18:54.334 align:start
He is usingclavijasand
clavijasare different

18:54.334 --> 18:56.667 align:start
from the metal ones.

18:56.667 --> 18:59.542 align:start
So these tune
from behind.

18:59.542 --> 19:02.667 align:start
Hard woods and
they just fit.

19:02.667 --> 19:08.250 align:start
Que bonito las
encrustaciones.

19:08.250 --> 19:12.959 align:start
Yeah, inlay from,
made from shell.

19:12.959 --> 19:15.501 align:start
Esta es de cahoma.

19:15.501 --> 19:16.918 align:start
De cahoma.

19:16.918 --> 19:18.292 align:start
Mexicana? Si.

19:18.292 --> 19:19.918 align:start
So Mexican mahogany.

19:19.918 --> 19:22.209 align:start
Again this is. So
this, when it is done,

19:22.209 --> 19:24.792 align:start
will cost a little
bit under $1,500

19:24.792 --> 19:27.334 align:start
but for all of the
work that's in it that

19:27.334 --> 19:30.250 align:start
is not a bad price.

19:30.250 --> 19:32.999 align:start
I really enjoyed looking
at how these men that

19:32.999 --> 19:36.709 align:start
inherited 400 or 500 years
of culture are still doing

19:36.709 --> 19:41.209 align:start
the instruments as they
were told by the friar

19:41.209 --> 19:44.751 align:start
that came here
with the conquests.

19:44.751 --> 19:48.667 align:start
How do you fill the place,
you visited it a long time

19:48.667 --> 19:53.209 align:start
ago and now we see a
bustling city full of shops.

19:53.209 --> 19:54.209 align:start
It is. It's a city now.

19:54.209 --> 19:58.959 align:start
It was a small town but
it still, guitar, guitar.

19:58.959 --> 19:59.999 align:start
It's clean.

19:59.999 --> 20:01.584 align:start
Fiddle, oh.

20:01.584 --> 20:03.375 align:start
Takes me back.

20:03.375 --> 20:07.000 align:start
It's just seductive.

20:07.000 --> 20:09.042 align:start
Buenos tardes.

20:09.042 --> 20:11.667 align:start
Cinco años tiene esperando.

20:11.667 --> 20:13.584 align:start
Si.

20:13.584 --> 20:17.000 align:start
The guitars aren't just
simply made and sold.

20:17.000 --> 20:20.834 align:start
A good guitar has to be
assembled and then aged

20:20.834 --> 20:26.751 align:start
just as a very fine wine
or a good whiskey needs time.

20:26.751 --> 20:29.584 align:start
(speaking Spanish)

20:29.584 --> 20:31.999 align:start
So, I'm almost afraid to
touch it but this guitar

20:31.999 --> 20:34.999 align:start
is 35 years old in the
making and it was just

20:34.999 --> 20:38.125 align:start
about a month ago that
he put varnish on it.

20:38.125 --> 20:44.999 align:start
It belonged to his father and it
still isn't finished.

20:44.999 --> 20:48.834 align:start
The family started
out here in 1870.

20:48.834 --> 20:51.584 align:start
So they have a little
experience making guitars.

20:51.584 --> 20:54.417 align:start
And they can afford to
wait for 35 years

20:54.417 --> 20:57.292 align:start
to finish a guitar.

20:57.292 --> 20:58.501 align:start
My goodness.

20:58.501 --> 21:00.542 align:start
Given that ancestry.

21:00.542 --> 21:05.834 align:start
And it's a beautiful
object by itself.

21:05.834 --> 21:10.999 align:start
So this is the first
guitar thatHeronojomade

21:10.999 --> 21:13.999 align:start
while he was in school.

21:13.999 --> 21:17.999 align:start
His grandfather is here
in the picture and his father.

21:17.999 --> 21:24.999 align:start
Apparently it's a picture
from several years ago.

21:46.209 --> 21:48.542 align:start
So if you want
to buy a guitar,

21:48.542 --> 21:51.167 align:start
the first thing you should
look at is the wood,

21:51.167 --> 21:56.501 align:start
the construction, but more
than anything else the tone.

21:56.501 --> 22:00.417 align:start
It should be
strong like this.

22:00.417 --> 22:14.125 align:start
♪ music ♪

22:14.125 --> 22:14.999 align:start
Que persista.

22:14.999 --> 22:21.626 align:start
He stresses a lot the time
it remains with the sound.

22:21.626 --> 22:24.626 align:start
The reverberations within
the sound box itself. Right.

22:24.626 --> 22:28.167 align:start
He mentioned also that
he was using a Mexican walnut.

22:28.167 --> 22:30.667 align:start
Yeah, it's actually
walnut, yeah,

22:30.667 --> 22:31.999 align:start
and it's gorgeous.

22:31.999 --> 22:33.709 align:start
It's a beautiful guitar.

22:33.709 --> 22:35.501 align:start
It is beautiful.

22:35.501 --> 22:38.083 align:start
It's beautiful wood.

22:38.083 --> 22:49.167 align:start
♪ music ♪

22:49.167 --> 22:52.751 align:start
Parachois famous for its
guitars but not for

22:52.751 --> 22:55.000 align:start
its guitar players.

22:55.000 --> 23:00.792 align:start
Some people are
trying to change that.

23:00.792 --> 23:03.292 align:start
♪ music ♪

23:03.292 --> 23:06.876 align:start
We are going now to visit
the school for children,

23:06.876 --> 23:08.375 align:start
boys and girls.

23:08.375 --> 23:09.999 align:start
Boy, what a great idea.

23:09.999 --> 23:13.501 align:start
This school was
designed specifically

23:13.501 --> 23:17.959 align:start
for children to teach them
how to play the guitar,

23:17.959 --> 23:21.000 align:start
to complete the cycle from
the construction of these

23:21.000 --> 23:25.250 align:start
instruments to the
playing of the guitars.

23:25.250 --> 23:27.375 align:start
The objective of the
school is to teach the

23:27.375 --> 23:30.999 align:start
kids to play so this
cycle can be completed.

23:30.999 --> 23:34.999 align:start
Currently there are 20
children studying guitar here.

23:34.999 --> 23:43.751 align:start
The ages range
from 8 to 16 years.

23:43.751 --> 23:46.999 align:start
This school has produced some
award-winning

23:46.999 --> 23:48.542 align:start
young guitar players.

23:48.542 --> 23:54.999 align:start
They have received national as
well as international awards.

23:54.999 --> 24:00.918 align:start
The guitar is the icon,
it's the soul ofParacho.

24:00.918 --> 24:03.999 align:start
The construction of
guitars inParachohas

24:03.999 --> 24:06.792 align:start
evolved over
the centuries.

24:06.792 --> 24:10.999 align:start
This evolution has
relevance with the players.

24:10.999 --> 24:13.375 align:start
They too are evolving
with their talents,

24:13.375 --> 24:17.834 align:start
with their artistic
expressions.

24:17.834 --> 24:19.999 align:start
This is all happening
in this school,

24:19.999 --> 24:21.751 align:start
which is the center for
research and development

24:21.751 --> 24:30.417 align:start
of the guitar and the
guitaristahere inParacho.

24:30.417 --> 24:34.042 align:start
The pine forest, tropical
deciduous forest and

24:34.042 --> 24:36.292 align:start
deserts of the southern
part of the state of

24:36.292 --> 24:39.876 align:start
Michuacánare among the
richest in the world and

24:39.876 --> 24:42.000 align:start
scientists are only
beginning to appreciate

24:42.000 --> 24:44.999 align:start
the vast diversity
that occurs here.

24:44.999 --> 24:48.125 align:start
At the same time
development has arrived

24:48.125 --> 24:50.292 align:start
and is exploding
in its influence.

24:50.292 --> 24:53.501 align:start
The challenge to Mexicans
will be to make sure that

24:53.501 --> 24:56.209 align:start
the natural values are
somehow protected as

24:56.209 --> 25:01.125 align:start
almost unhindered
development hits the region.

25:02.584 --> 25:06.584 align:start
Next time on
The Desert Speaks.

25:06.584 --> 25:08.167 align:start
It's tall.

25:08.167 --> 25:09.999 align:start
It's distinctive.

25:09.999 --> 25:11.792 align:start
It's like the palm of your hand,

25:11.792 --> 25:14.083 align:start
raditates out from a
central point.

25:14.083 --> 25:16.667 align:start
It's graceful.

25:16.667 --> 25:20.751 align:start
It's popular.

25:20.751 --> 25:25.999 align:start
These are vicious spines.

25:25.999 --> 25:30.834 align:start
And parts of it are delicious.

25:34.751 --> 25:57.751 align:start
♪ music ♪

26:02.250 --> 26:03.999 align:start
Funding for
The Desert Speaks

26:03.999 --> 26:06.125 align:start
was provided by
Desert Program Partners,

26:06.125 --> 26:09.167 align:start
representing concerned viewers
making a financial commitment

26:09.167 --> 26:14.292 align:start
to the education about and
preservation of deserts.

26:14.292 --> 26:18.626 align:start
And by the
Stonewall Foundation.

26:20.626 --> 26:25.125 align:start
Copies of the Desert
Speaks are available from KUAT.

26:25.125 --> 26:29.417 align:start
To order, call 1-800-841-5923

26:29.417 --> 26:33.999 align:start
and please be sure to mention
the episode number.

26:33.999 --> 26:41.501 align:start
For more information
visitThe Desert Speaks
on-line at this address.