Parents' Guide to Corazon de Mezquite

Corazon de Mezquite is a lovingly-shot tribute to the traditional and spiritual ways of the Yoreme people of Mexico. But the movie suffers a bit from the contradiction between its expressed desire to help preserve an endangered culture while also advocating for exactly the kind of modern outlooks that generally threaten and unravel old traditions. To the modern eye, it seems unfair and prejudicial to keep girls and women from playing the harp "just because." We root for Lucia to persuade her father to allow her to play. But chipping away at dearly-held traditions piece by piece is exactly how traditions are dismantled. The filmmakers can't have it both ways. Either they sympathize with Yoreme habits steeped in religious and spiritual beliefs that dictate restrictive roles for men and women or they embrace a more modern view of what women should be allowed to do.

It's useful to note that the world's indigenous cultures didn't start out believing in the Catholic symbolism (Mother Mary, figures of Christ) introduced by foreigners, symbols featured here in local customs and rites. Clearly if the Yoreme culture accepts Christian rituals, it has already changed from what it was originally. This asks if women's roles in the culture can change without destroying the culture itself.