00:00:10.480 --> 00:00:12.320
What...

00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:17.560
What is your island's nicest sound?

00:00:17.680 --> 00:00:21.440
The sound of the waves
in the early morning.

00:00:21.560 --> 00:00:23.440
Early-morning waves.

00:00:26.720 --> 00:00:31.720
That's how the waves sound.
I don't mean Bush, the president.

00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:34.520
The sound of the waves. Nice.

00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:42.480
This story begins
with the comforting sounds of the sea.

00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:49.080
It's also about the sounds of
a sewing machine, a talking palm tree...

00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:52.240
...the grating of a coconut...

00:00:53.800 --> 00:00:58.440
...a Panamanian parakeet,
a sleep-inducing maraca...

00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.880
...and a hammer that ends everything.

00:01:07.440 --> 00:01:12.480
Together, these sounds
tell a story about Central America.

00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:32.320
I'm recording the sound.

00:01:32.440 --> 00:01:37.160
For 15 years I lived and travelled
in this region.

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Everywhere in this region you always
hear sounds full of joy and rhythm.

00:01:44.880 --> 00:01:50.920
But if you listen carefully, you hear
counterforces that create turmoil.

00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:56.400
This sounds complicated and pretentious,
but it will become self-evident.

00:02:26.480 --> 00:02:34.960
BETWEEN THE AMERICAS
ep. 1: listening to San Blas

00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:00.200
Help me.

00:03:05.240 --> 00:03:07.040
Help me.

00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:11.960
You drenched me.

00:03:13.320 --> 00:03:20.280
I wanted to record the sound of the reeds
hitting the water. Why do you do that?

00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.840
To make her go down.
- To make the sea go down?

00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:29.720
To make the sea go down
and the wind lie down.

00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:34.360
And why do you use reeds for that?

00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:38.720
No idea. That's how our ancestors did it.

00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:42.640
They invented it.
- It became tradition.

00:03:42.760 --> 00:03:46.360
Do you fear the sea?
- No, I don't.

00:03:46.480 --> 00:03:50.520
I am her daughter, a daughter of the sea.

00:03:50.640 --> 00:03:55.280
Who brought me here? You sent me here.

00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.840
You feel like you're the sea's daughter?
- Yes.

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Beautiful.

00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.800
Is the sea a good parent?
- Yes.

00:04:08.320 --> 00:04:10.040
She's going down.

00:04:10.160 --> 00:04:13.880
The sea always comes up to here...

00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:17.360
...or was she further out in the past?

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She has come in closer.

00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.720
By how much? Something like this?
- Yes.

00:04:24.840 --> 00:04:31.240
God knows. I think of God every day.
- Really?

00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:35.600
Of course. God will help me.
- He will help you?

00:04:46.080 --> 00:04:50.480
They say the water level here
rises quicker than anywhere else.

00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:57.640
And as the 365 islands are just about
at sea level, they will soon disappear.

00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.000
The sea is getting more boisterous.

00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:15.600
From early on, kids are close to nature.
When they feel warm, they take a dip.

00:05:16.760 --> 00:05:20.280
Siblings teach each other to swim.

00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:26.720
At first you thrash about,
but your siblings hold you tight.

00:05:26.840 --> 00:05:31.000
That's how they learn.
Our kids are excellent swimmers.

00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:34.080
You are an amphibious people.

00:05:34.200 --> 00:05:39.480
Because they live close to the sea.
They are like little turtles.

00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.640
They will become good fishermen.

00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:52.360
This island is Faduhua.

00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:56.600
What does that mean?
- 'Little island'.

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Little island?
- Yes.

00:05:59.880 --> 00:06:03.040
How many inhabitants?
- About 50.

00:06:04.280 --> 00:06:08.240
On this little island there is little space.

00:06:14.280 --> 00:06:20.920
Don Hernán's wife asked me whether
I wanted to record her parakeets. I did.

00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:32.120
We had trouble communicating because
she only spoke Kuna, not Spanish.

00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:38.720
Did I want to record the sound of
a coconut being ground? Good idea.

00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.000
Mind your fingers.

00:06:52.640 --> 00:06:56.800
This is smoked fish.
It's delicious and fresh.

00:06:56.920 --> 00:07:02.560
And who prepares all of that?
- It's all done by the missus.

00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:06.880
So, in Guna culture the woman cooks?
And the man?

00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.280
He gathers wood, and fishes.

00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:15.320
Who is more important,
the man or the woman? The woman.

00:07:15.440 --> 00:07:20.160
Yes, the home is in her name...

00:07:20.280 --> 00:07:24.640
...and when she dies,
her daughter is the heiress.

00:07:24.760 --> 00:07:29.520
That is why in the Guna culture
the woman is important.

00:07:29.640 --> 00:07:33.920
May I ask her
whether she feels important?

00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:38.560
How does it feel to be the mother
of your kids?

00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.960
I am very happy
to be able to care for my kids.

00:07:43.080 --> 00:07:48.040
Among the Guna the leader
is always a man.

00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.800
That is a problem: it is always a man.

00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:58.520
But we always say: At home,
the woman has her rights.

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She can speak up.
She fights for her femininity...

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...and for her rights.

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To be feminine or feminist?

00:08:08.880 --> 00:08:12.040
No, feminine.
- Right.

00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:19.640
Here... Listen. We are not used
to talking about these kinds of things.

00:08:19.760 --> 00:08:25.760
Was it rude of me
to talk about feminism?

00:08:25.880 --> 00:08:28.040
No?
- No.

00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:44.440
Talking past each other about feminism
was not Don Hernán's thing.

00:08:44.560 --> 00:08:48.800
He did not consider it
an important subject.

00:08:48.920 --> 00:08:54.680
Something else was closer to his heart,
his second big love: the sea.

00:08:54.800 --> 00:09:00.840
It's a small island: sea there, sea here.
- It seems like the sea is gaining ground.

00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.200
Yes, it is now 2022.

00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:09.120
Probably we will have to move
to the mainland by 2050.

00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:10.920
But I always say:

00:09:11.040 --> 00:09:15.600
We will never abandon our islands.
We're devoted to them.

00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:22.600
The sea level continues to rise. So,
we'll have to move to the mainland.

00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:26.800
We already have a building project there.

00:09:26.920 --> 00:09:32.960
Houses are being built already?
- Yes, but many of the old folks...

00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:38.200
...are happy here, because here
we can breathe fresh air.

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Fresh air from the sea or even the ocean.

00:09:43.040 --> 00:09:45.560
We feel well here.

00:10:00.800 --> 00:10:03.200
These are sounds of nature.

00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:09.480
Babdummad, the almighty Father,
has gifted us these sounds.

00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:15.240
It's like Babdummad
gifted us a piece of music.

00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:18.440
It is what we call Mother Earth.

00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:25.440
the Creator looks at me
He created everything

00:10:25.560 --> 00:10:32.360
I am so happy
so happy

00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.840
I respect the sea

00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.800
the Creator gave me
the sea

00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:46.720
I feel so happy
so happy

00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.760
so happy

00:10:51.520 --> 00:10:56.720
Worldwide, the Guna Yala are one
of the best-protected indigenous people.

00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:01.920
Western influences are few
and they are still in contact with nature.

00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:08.960
But it seems like the sounds
of their happiness are disappearing.

00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:14.000
The Panamanian government
started a project on the mainland...

00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.000
...'for when the water comes'.

00:11:31.880 --> 00:11:39.040
The Guna will end up here, like the rest
of the world: globalised and unhappy.

00:11:45.400 --> 00:11:49.400
I am so happy

00:11:51.640 --> 00:11:54.000
I respect the sea

00:11:55.160 --> 00:12:01.920
The rising sea levels will not only wash
away a paradise, but also a culture.

00:12:02.040 --> 00:12:03.960
Hello.

00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:09.360
I may be recording the Guna's
last sounds on a simple sound recorder...

00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.360
...but at least we will have a legacy later.

00:12:21.640 --> 00:12:25.280
The sewing machine
represents traditional costume.

00:12:25.400 --> 00:12:30.600
Guna women wear this for tourists,
but also in daily life.

00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:33.280
What is that called?
- 'Wini'.

00:12:33.400 --> 00:12:37.120
Is it for protection?
- No.

00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:40.840
It's a form of adornment.

00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:44.800
Does it feel nice? Not too warm?
- No.

00:12:44.920 --> 00:12:46.680
Even on your legs.

00:12:46.800 --> 00:12:52.880
Every three months we put on new ones
with a different colour and pattern.

00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:58.160
Every three months?
- Yes, and always a different colour.

00:12:58.280 --> 00:13:03.680
I change them every month.
- You are a bit more trendy.

00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:11.640
After a while, they can get uncomfortable.
So, you change them.

00:13:11.760 --> 00:13:15.440
You don't like to always wear
the same.

00:13:15.560 --> 00:13:18.440
Go to sleep, sweetheart.

00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:25.480
Why doesn't she wear
traditional costume?

00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:29.120
She's not a woman.

00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:34.200
She is gay. And so,
she is not allowed to wear it.

00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:39.280
Would you like to wear the costume?
- Yes.

00:13:39.400 --> 00:13:44.240
But we in the gay community...

00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.880
...wear our own traditional costume.

00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:52.040
When we want to.
So, it is not compulsory.

00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:55.840
Would you like to dress like this?
- Yes.

00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:02.840
Why are you laughing?
- Because of her.

00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:08.400
Do you think she's funny?
- Yes, very funny.

00:14:09.760 --> 00:14:13.320
How does your culture
view homosexuality?

00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.120
It's considered to be normal.

00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:19.400
There is no discrimination?
- No.

00:14:19.520 --> 00:14:21.560
For us it's...

00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:27.080
I like her very much,
because she's a good seamstress.

00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:31.600
She helps me out.
She helps me when I sew.

00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:36.920
I have nice clothes.
When there's a party, my mola's ready.

00:14:37.040 --> 00:14:44.640
When I don't have time to sew,
she is the one to help me out.

00:14:44.760 --> 00:14:48.360
She does more than a woman.
- Right.

00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:54.240
You say 'she', not 'he'.
- No, she.

00:14:56.520 --> 00:14:59.000
Do you feel accepted here?

00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.880
We as gays always travel
from island to island...

00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:10.320
...for the 'chicha', a local tradition.

00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:16.280
And when we feel at home in a house,
with a family...

00:15:16.400 --> 00:15:22.760
...because we have a good time there,
we like to stay there.

00:15:22.880 --> 00:15:25.440
Do you go to all the parties?

00:15:25.560 --> 00:15:31.680
Yes, she wanders around
with her own group.

00:15:31.800 --> 00:15:34.880
With other gays?
- Yes.

00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:41.280
And they always stay somewhere else.
- We stay when we feel at home.

00:15:41.400 --> 00:15:44.920
You are looking for happiness.

00:15:45.040 --> 00:15:47.680
Are gays allowed to marry?
- Yes.

00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:54.880
Every island has its own rules
concerning gay marriage.

00:15:55.000 --> 00:16:00.120
Sometimes it's only possible to marry
when you are friends.

00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:02.960
You can take her with you.

00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.360
They film everything.

00:16:09.560 --> 00:16:16.760
This tolerance of homosexuality,
and the celebration of gender fluidity...

00:16:16.880 --> 00:16:22.160
...is, in a Central American context,
modern to say the least.

00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.680
Any more questions?
- Do you feel happy in costume?

00:16:28.800 --> 00:16:33.160
My woman's heart feels happy now.

00:16:33.280 --> 00:16:38.880
I feel accepted at the moment.
I feel like a woman.

00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:42.280
Maybe you can marry him.

00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:49.240
A modern take from an extremely
traditional people, intriguing.

00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:53.040
He thinks I laugh too much.

00:16:53.160 --> 00:16:57.000
And there are more things
that are intriguing:

00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.880
All the land is in the woman's name.

00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.480
You cannot be in a hammock
when others work.

00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:10.320
They have great parties and
brew a fermented maize drink.

00:17:21.760 --> 00:17:27.840
They have a flag with a suspect cross
that has nothing to do with Nazis.

00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:33.800
And they lull their babies to sleep
by shaking a maraca.

00:17:37.800 --> 00:17:43.960
But what intrigued me most was that
the sea flowed into almost every home.

00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:48.320
The Guna seem to deal with that
in their own way.

00:17:53.280 --> 00:17:54.840
God will help me.

00:17:59.320 --> 00:18:04.640
Did you consider moving to the mainland?
- No.

00:18:06.280 --> 00:18:09.920
Aren't you worried about the water?

00:18:10.040 --> 00:18:13.120
Or the sea level?
- No.

00:18:14.560 --> 00:18:22.280
There's nothing wrong here. The sea
has not changed. This is normal.

00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:26.400
Don't you believe
the sea levels are rising?

00:18:28.320 --> 00:18:32.640
Me neither. We have a good life here.

00:18:35.080 --> 00:18:40.600
The people I've talked to seem less
worried about rising sea levels than me.

00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:44.040
They'll be all right with God's help.

00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:50.440
Does my Western climate religion
make the problem bigger than it is?

00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:57.800
For answers that are not covered
by religion, you go to a so-called saila.

00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.960
They are identified by the tie and hat...

00:19:01.080 --> 00:19:06.440
...which they earned with their scientific
approach of problems.

00:19:10.320 --> 00:19:14.840
Some people do not believe
the sea levels are rising.

00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:19.400
What do you believe?
- I do believe it.

00:19:19.520 --> 00:19:25.920
The planet is constantly moving.
And it is getting warmer.

00:19:26.040 --> 00:19:29.560
Because of the warming...

00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:36.320
...the ice over there in Europe
cannot not stay frozen.

00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:43.600
And because of all that melting ice,
water levels are rising.

00:19:43.720 --> 00:19:48.680
I believe this is a fact,
but some cannot believe it.

00:19:48.800 --> 00:19:55.680
Industry causes damage everywhere.

00:19:55.800 --> 00:20:00.280
All that smoke. We call it: glurrus.

00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:07.360
They pump up petrol
from deep underground.

00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:11.680
Petrol, kerosene, iron.

00:20:11.800 --> 00:20:13.880
Sea levels are rising.

00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:22.880
God created the world in such a way
that the drain got clogged.

00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.960
Like with a clogged toilet.

00:20:27.080 --> 00:20:33.920
So, when sea levels rise, all of this
disappears under water like this.

00:20:34.040 --> 00:20:36.760
The islands will be flooded.

00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:41.280
Like the world is a huge toilet.
- Indeed.

00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.920
I never looked at the world in that light.

00:20:53.800 --> 00:21:01.640
When I was like eight or ten years old,
all of this was mangroves.

00:21:01.760 --> 00:21:07.120
The sea was a sea of mangroves.

00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:12.960
What happened to those mangroves?
- We cut them down.

00:21:13.080 --> 00:21:17.880
And when you cut down mangroves,
they stop growing.

00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:23.520
And then the sea will get close, right?
- Yes, especially during hurricanes.

00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:30.440
You have a great view.
- I do. Look, you can see the mountains.

00:21:30.560 --> 00:21:34.720
That is the mainland.
- Yes, that's the mainland.

00:21:34.840 --> 00:21:36.440
That is the mainland.

00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:48.400
We have the sound of coconut grating...

00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:54.560
...and of the parakeets.
They represent traditional family roles.

00:21:54.680 --> 00:21:59.200
A Guna leader is always a man.

00:21:59.320 --> 00:22:01.560
We have a sewing machine.

00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:04.720
This is the sound of denial.

00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:07.400
There's nothing wrong here.

00:22:07.520 --> 00:22:10.640
I feel so happy

00:22:10.760 --> 00:22:13.640
We have a song about happiness.
- I am so happy

00:22:13.760 --> 00:22:15.920
And a woman hitting the waves.

00:22:16.040 --> 00:22:19.720
God will help me.
- So happy.

00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:22.240
But who gave us that other sea sound...

00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:24.640
...that was so reassuring?

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:33.800
All of this was part of the island?
- This used to be land.

00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:37.800
And when did it flood?
- I don't know exactly...

00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:41.920
...but my granddad told me
it was in the late 1980s or mid-'90s.

00:22:42.040 --> 00:22:47.520
When he bought the island,
all of this was part of the island.

00:22:49.760 --> 00:22:54.120
This is a clear example
of climate change.

00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.200
If the water continues to rise like this...

00:22:57.320 --> 00:23:02.360
...the islanders will have to move
to the mainland.

00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:07.040
I would rather stay here.

00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:10.640
Life on the islands is better.

00:23:10.760 --> 00:23:15.320
Here you have the sea with its riches.
You don't have that there.

00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:19.240
On the mainland
the modernisation will start.

00:23:19.360 --> 00:23:23.680
Electrical appliances,
modern technology...

00:23:23.800 --> 00:23:31.240
It's different. I know, because I lived
in the city for 40 years.

00:23:31.360 --> 00:23:35.200
I've been here two months
and life is different.

00:23:35.320 --> 00:23:39.400
Are you happier here?
- Yes, it's radically different.

00:23:39.520 --> 00:23:44.400
At home or downtown, I constantly
had my phone in my hand.

00:23:44.520 --> 00:23:48.640
Here, I don't. Here, I do some raking,
I look around...

00:23:48.760 --> 00:23:54.320
...I chat with fishermen or I take a walk.
Here I have distractions...

00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:59.760
...that keep me from being glued
to a screen all day long.

00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:05.360
The island has just one owner.
- Who?

00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:10.000
My grandfather,
who is also my foster father.

00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:14.400
He bought it?
- Yes, in the 1980s.

00:24:14.520 --> 00:24:19.520
In the '70s, it was a mangrove forest.
The sea split it in two.

00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:23.200
At high tide, the water reaches the trees.

00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:28.480
Did your foster father invest well or not?
- I hope well...

00:24:28.600 --> 00:24:35.040
...because we're now investing money
to make the island attractive for tourists.

00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:39.680
We are trying to get
all the necessary permits.

00:24:39.800 --> 00:24:44.400
Despite the risk of the rising water,
you're investing?

00:24:44.520 --> 00:24:49.280
Sure. The facilities and foundations
are nearly done.

00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:53.400
Brave.
- We'll see how long we can continue.

00:24:55.280 --> 00:25:00.360
Are you Guna?
- A mestizo. Dad is Latino, mum's Guna.

00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:04.040
Do you feel Guna?
- That's why I'm here.

00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:07.880
Else I would be working
at home in Panama.

00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.520
I came here to see how we can make
granddad's island profitable.

00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.680
Brave.

00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:31.360
Traditionally the islands were uninhabited.

00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:35.800
The Guna lived along a river
on the mainland.

00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:39.560
I have a map.

00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:46.280
500 years ago we lived
along the banks of this river.

00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:49.160
Is this Colombia?
- The border area.

00:25:49.280 --> 00:25:53.560
The islands were empty.
- Why did you leave the river?

00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:58.040
When the Spaniards came,
we had to move here.

00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:03.240
We had to flee.
The Spaniards wanted to kill us.

00:26:03.360 --> 00:26:11.400
Colonisers brought their diseases,
arms, and their Bible.

00:26:11.520 --> 00:26:13.440
Yes, exactly.

00:26:13.560 --> 00:26:20.320
So, that's when you moved to the islands.
- We could live in peace here.

00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:25.560
You must have liked the islands.
- We're used to them.

00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:28.720
You found paradise.
- Exactly.

00:26:28.840 --> 00:26:36.120
There's a lot of fish, it's very quiet,
and there's always a nice breeze.

00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.480
I'm trying to record the wind.

00:26:44.600 --> 00:26:46.720
'Burwa'.
- Burwa?

00:26:46.840 --> 00:26:53.880
Yes. Burwa means: breeze, wind.

00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:59.200
If your body doesn't get air, you will die.

00:26:59.320 --> 00:27:04.920
So, the wind is what makes you happy?
- Yes, the wind is nice.

00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:14.240
The wind is the sound
of the discovered paradise...

00:27:14.360 --> 00:27:18.200
...that the Guna
want to keep for themselves.

00:27:18.320 --> 00:27:24.160
According to their rules, an island always
has to be the property of a Guna.

00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:29.400
Foreign investors are not welcome here.

00:27:29.520 --> 00:27:33.720
Tourists are hosted
on special tourist islands.

00:27:33.840 --> 00:27:38.480
But some think the tourists
should have stayed away...

00:27:38.600 --> 00:27:41.840
...because they destroy the islands.

00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:48.640
Our God did not want more strangers
to come here.

00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:52.960
They keep on coming.

00:27:54.280 --> 00:27:58.440
As a result, all of us are changing.

00:27:58.560 --> 00:28:04.320
Is tourism changing the Guna culture?
- Yes.

00:28:05.560 --> 00:28:10.360
And it's also the reason
the climate is changing.

00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:13.120
We will be punished.

00:28:13.240 --> 00:28:20.000
You think, because the Guna culture
is changing, the sea will punish you?

00:28:20.120 --> 00:28:23.200
Yes, that might well be possible.

00:28:32.520 --> 00:28:35.840
Hold that to your...
- To my ear?

00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:43.360
Sometimes you hear the sea in it.

00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:47.720
You love the sound of the sea.
- Yes, I do.

00:28:47.840 --> 00:28:50.400
The waves.
- Yes, the waves.

00:28:56.840 --> 00:28:59.240
Do you hear it?

00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:09.600
All that screaming.

00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:15.320
The Latin American tourists
make a racket. The Latinos.

00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:21.120
Like those Latino tourists.
They drink and they yell a lot.

00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:25.680
And you can't hear the sea any more.
- No.

00:29:35.640 --> 00:29:40.840
I came to these islands
to record the sounds of the Guna.

00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:46.520
And to show them
they will be up to their necks in water.

00:29:46.640 --> 00:29:49.960
But how would that benefit them?

00:29:50.080 --> 00:29:55.280
My flight to visit them with my recorder,
will make them even worse off.

00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:03.200
Furthermore, most of the Guna did not
seem concerned by the climate.

00:30:04.560 --> 00:30:07.920
So, what was I even doing here?

00:30:08.040 --> 00:30:11.720
Was there anything I could contribute?

00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:15.920
What would be your message
for the people...

00:30:16.040 --> 00:30:20.120
...who do not believe
the water level will rise?

00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:26.960
What would you like to tell them?
In your own language, in Guna.

00:30:28.320 --> 00:30:33.640
They say the sea level is rising...

00:30:33.760 --> 00:30:40.320
...and that our islands will sink.

00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:44.880
And that we will have to move
to the mainland.

00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.520
Our creator is not to blame for this.

00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:52.160
We are to blame for this, humanity.

00:30:52.280 --> 00:30:58.600
But most of all, the Europeans with
their big factories are to blame for it.

00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:01.520
Those factories emit gases...

00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:06.960
...that warm the earth
and cause the ice to melt.

00:31:07.080 --> 00:31:10.640
The melting ice turns into water...

00:31:10.760 --> 00:31:15.480
...which causes the sea levels to rise.

00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:21.720
The water can't go anywhere, because
the seafloor does not have a drain.

00:31:21.840 --> 00:31:26.400
It's like somebody closed the drain...

00:31:26.520 --> 00:31:30.320
...and this causes the sea level to rise.

00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:36.560
Let's not blame our creator
for this problem.

00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:39.960
The rich carry most of the blame.

00:31:41.760 --> 00:31:47.080
What he says, hits the nail on the head.

00:31:48.600 --> 00:31:51.200
I always say to people:

00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:57.440
Who will destroy the world?

00:31:57.560 --> 00:32:02.600
God will not destroy the world.
God would not do that.

00:32:02.720 --> 00:32:08.120
We are the ones
who are destroying the world.

00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:12.560
Without the sea, air, fire and oxygen...

00:32:12.680 --> 00:32:15.240
...we cannot survive.

00:32:15.360 --> 00:32:21.720
But the Europeans and North Americans
are clear cutting everything.

00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:26.600
There are hardly any trees left.
Trees are our people.

00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:30.240
They are our brothers and our sisters.

00:32:30.360 --> 00:32:32.280
Trees are life.

00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:38.360
When a tree is alone, it sounds like this...

00:32:42.800 --> 00:32:45.920
Because it sways.

00:32:46.040 --> 00:32:48.840
Trees talk to each other.

00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:51.240
They bump into each other.

00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:57.840
And what do they tell each other?
- They talk like we do.

00:32:57.960 --> 00:33:02.240
What do they say?
- No idea, but they talk.

00:33:02.360 --> 00:33:06.360
I see talking about trees
makes you emotional.

00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:09.520
You have tears in your eyes.

00:33:11.800 --> 00:33:16.280
Why?
- It moves me.

00:33:19.040 --> 00:33:22.960
Because you love them?
- Please, man.

00:33:24.320 --> 00:33:28.520
They're not cared for.
You chop them down.

00:33:31.360 --> 00:33:34.080
You have so much industry.

00:33:34.200 --> 00:33:39.000
You need money. All those millionaires...
Why?

00:33:40.560 --> 00:33:47.000
You need money. We don't need money.
We just want to live our lives.

00:33:47.120 --> 00:33:49.560
And have enough to eat.

00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:54.560
It's so nice to meet a man
who gets so moved by nature.

00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:57.920
Thank you, sir.

00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:21.960
You chop them down.

00:34:23.160 --> 00:34:30.120
I imagined the palm lecturing me with
big words like 'cognitive dissonance'.

00:34:35.120 --> 00:34:42.080
And that it would tell me that I, with
my carbon footprint, would be its death.

00:34:43.560 --> 00:34:49.960
And that I had count how many trees
were felled for the new development.

00:34:52.800 --> 00:34:57.880
And that it would lecture me about the
CO2 emissions of the cement industry.

00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.320
But then, I would protest and say:

00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:05.640
No palm tree, I did not build
those houses there.

00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:08.920
I am just here to record sounds.

00:35:10.080 --> 00:35:12.760
I'm recording the sounds.

00:35:12.880 --> 00:35:19.320
How many homes are they building?
- 300 homes for 300 families.

00:35:19.440 --> 00:35:20.920
Are you Guna?

00:35:21.040 --> 00:35:25.680
I am one of the beneficiaries
of this project.

00:35:25.800 --> 00:35:29.840
As I am from the island of Gardi Sugdub...

00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:35.720
...my family is one
of the 300 families that will move here.

00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:40.520
Are you a supervisor?
- Yes, I work for the builders.

00:35:40.640 --> 00:35:43.880
We started this project in 2020.

00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:49.200
It is a government project
called 'Roofs of Hope'.

00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:54.840
From the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
- Are the homes built from metal?

00:35:54.960 --> 00:36:02.840
No, the walls are made of plastic
and they are filled with concrete.

00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:10.520
It makes me a bit sad to consider
how hard the Guna fought...

00:36:10.640 --> 00:36:16.200
...to preserve their culture,
but in a while, they will live here.

00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:18.960
This is a pilot project.

00:36:19.080 --> 00:36:25.280
For the first time
the Guna community will move...

00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:27.480
To the mainland.
- Yes.

00:36:27.600 --> 00:36:31.120
There are two reasons for that:

00:36:31.240 --> 00:36:36.320
Overpopulation and climate change.

00:36:36.440 --> 00:36:39.760
OK? That is why they're moving.

00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:45.920
They have no choice.
- Exactly. They'll have a better life here.

00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:54.240
They have no other choice but to live
in a plastic home on the mainland.

00:36:54.360 --> 00:36:58.360
The hammer is the sound
of the inevitable consequence.

00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:00.760
I am so happy

00:37:00.880 --> 00:37:05.200
Will they hear a song about nature here
next year?

00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:06.760
so happy

00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:10.640
In 20 years, will women wear
traditional clothing here?

00:37:10.760 --> 00:37:14.680
And where to hang your hammock?

00:37:14.800 --> 00:37:21.920
With that in mind, we arrive at this story's
last sound: a sleep-inducing maraca.

00:37:36.600 --> 00:37:41.560
The government is building
a neighbourhood with new houses.

00:37:41.680 --> 00:37:45.760
For those who want to move
to the mainland.

00:37:45.880 --> 00:37:50.280
Do you want to move?
- If they build me a house.

00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:56.840
If the house is free?
- Yes, then I would move.

00:37:58.080 --> 00:38:02.480
I could not move otherwise.
I have no money.

00:38:02.600 --> 00:38:07.040
Would you like to move there?
- Yes, I sure would.

00:38:07.160 --> 00:38:11.080
This is your chance to tell the supervisor.

00:38:11.200 --> 00:38:16.440
If the house is free,
I will move over there.

00:38:16.560 --> 00:38:22.040
I am a woman with five children
and I'm not married.

00:38:22.160 --> 00:38:27.080
So, if the house is free,
I will move over there.

00:38:27.200 --> 00:38:32.120
I would like a home.
Preferably a big house...

00:38:32.240 --> 00:38:40.240
...because my children have children
of their own. They will move with me.

00:38:40.360 --> 00:38:45.360
So, if the house is free,
I will gladly move over there.

00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:50.600
Unfortunately everybody
hears about these homes.

00:38:50.720 --> 00:38:55.800
Because of social media
which anyone can access.

00:38:55.920 --> 00:39:03.160
The people who have been assigned
a home, visit every Sunday.

00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:09.280
They post their pictures online.
- That is how the news spreads.

00:39:09.400 --> 00:39:12.920
I can tell them this is a pilot project.

00:39:13.040 --> 00:39:18.960
So, if they are considering
moving to such a project...

00:39:19.080 --> 00:39:22.320
...we will gladly work with them.

00:39:22.440 --> 00:39:24.560
We're ready to help them.

00:39:24.680 --> 00:39:28.840
Originally, we lived on the mainland,
not the islands.

00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:34.320
So, in fact we're returning to our roots,
our mainland roots.

00:39:34.440 --> 00:39:40.840
We're looking for solutions, so,
we're also building traditional homes.

00:39:40.960 --> 00:39:42.520
Welcome.

00:39:45.080 --> 00:39:49.640
My ancestors already lived
on the mainland.

00:39:49.760 --> 00:39:51.600
They lived inland.

00:39:51.720 --> 00:39:57.240
But when they saw these palm-filled
islands, they moved here.

00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:59.280
We grew up here...

00:39:59.400 --> 00:40:05.920
...but it won't be a problem for us
to live on the mainland again.

00:40:06.040 --> 00:40:12.120
So, as far as I'm concerned,
I could live there. I could live there.

00:40:12.240 --> 00:40:16.600
Are you happy with his message?
Is it what you hoped for?

00:40:16.720 --> 00:40:21.600
Yes, but the all homes
have already been assigned.

00:40:23.200 --> 00:40:27.600
So, now we'll just wait
until the water comes.

00:40:30.440 --> 00:40:34.240
To wait for the water.
There's nothing more they can do.

00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:40.080
Of course, the palm tree lectured us:
There's nothing more you can do.

00:40:40.200 --> 00:40:44.000
It's too late now.
All of you were caught napping.

00:40:52.600 --> 00:40:55.200
You got him to fall asleep?
- Yes.

00:40:56.600 --> 00:41:00.160
Some babies can be lulled to sleep
with a maraca...

00:41:00.280 --> 00:41:04.160
...and others prefer to fall asleep
on your chest.

00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:13.840
In the next episode of Between
the Americas we go to the mainland.

00:41:13.960 --> 00:41:15.920
How will life sound there?

00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:24.720
for El Chorrillo and Panama

00:41:24.840 --> 00:41:29.720
Why don't you want to escape
from poverty?

00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:44.200
For more information about this series,
visit vpro.nl/tussendeamerikas.