Meta Mayan (1981)

Shot in the Guatemalan Highlands Meta Mayan II is a keenly observed poetic video essay on the indigenous culture of the Mayans Velezs vision is intensely personal avoiding overt editorializing or ethnographic analysis he depicts the landscapes gestures textures and rhythms of their culture in powerful evocative images The political and internecine conflicts confronting the Mayans are conveyed through the sound of American news broadcasts Through subtle video effects rapid almost liquid pans magnified closeups and slow motion Velez expresses their strength and dignity His highly charged slowmotion image of a Mayan woman gazing with curiosity and suspicion at the camera becomes an eloquent metaphor for a culture in transition