Indigenous People Saved My Life - Eduardo Servello, AMC
NEER Artist Eduardo Servello AMC
It’s a little known fact that I am actually a survivor.
When I was 8 years old, in elementary school, I got a disease. I could not walk for a year and I was in the hospital. They told me that I would die when I was 9 years old. Every year, we used to think that it would be my last year alive.
Now I am in my mid-thirties! The doctor who diagnosed me has died, but I’m still living and breathing (laughs). How?
In the Oaxaca Mountains in Mexico, there are some indigenous tribes. They practice ancient ways of healing people. They used herbs and different colors on me… and I was cured.
“The Song That Calls You Home” shot by Eduardo. It explores the Shipibo tradition of establishing connection with the spirit through diet and ceremony.
“When the Spanish Conquistadors came, they tried to erase this. But even today, it is still there. Look at the paintings - the colors, the magic.”
The first thing my shaman told me was, “You will be well.” So I automatically said, “Of course, that’s why I am here!” He replied, “Your healing has started now. Because, everything starts with a thought.”
Everything starts with a thought or an idea! It is followed by a rule as to how to create that. That’s how we create films. And that’s how the indigenous people approach creating health.
The thought: of healing, of gratitude. They start by expressing love either through prayer or a ritualistic touch. That is followed by their traditional practices to cure. But if you don’t have that first thought… like many doctors - they just get in the office and start poking patients! Obviously, that's not going to create healing.
When you follow that rule of internalizing a thought, and then express it - that’s creativity. That’s how energy works on all levels. And that’s how films are made too.
So Mexico has these two sides. We have a mixed culture between the Indigenous and the Spanish.
On the Indigenous side, we have many gods. God of Corn, God of Rain, God of the Desert. When the Spanish Conquistadors came, they tried to erase this. But even today, it is still there. Look at the paintings - the colors, the magic.
It lived on in spite of the invasion. Their way of life is so magical, but it is rational at the same time. Together, a new culture was born, and that is what we know as our Mexican or Hispanic heritage today. We cannot really segregate the two cultures.
Unfortunately, the Indigenous people of Mexico do not have equal rights. They have a completely different wisdom, and they are not suffering. In these big cities, we think we are civilized and have everything. We think we need to “help” them by westernization. But they are fully developed because they do not have any worries.
“Learning to not repeat our mistakes… that comes from the older people. I truly believe the elders have their secrets, and we need to get closer to them to learn it.”
Growing up in this wide spectrum of perspectives enriches us as filmmakers too. Have a stomach ache in Mexico? Well, we have at least ten different solutions! From an herb, to a pill, to a ritual, to a doctor…
So when you grow up with this kind of problem-solving, one gets used to seeing different angles. It brings a multi-dimensional way of seeing things. That’s something I constantly see on set. Flexibility and seeing things in new perspectives is what gets the job done.
Another big part of our value system is honoring our elders. That comes from the indigenous culture too.
See, I know that the current generations will take care of the world in the future. But, learning to not repeat our mistakes… that comes from the older people. I truly believe the elders have their secrets, and we need to get closer to them to learn it.
That’s why even for work, I have many older cinematographer friends. I get a lot of insight from them! They started shooting in 35 mm, so they explain the principles they picked up while shooting on film. That principle is everything. That’s how the digital era started, and how we learn about light. It’s fantastic.
I have a lot of peace in my heart because I identify as Mexican. Everything I read about our culture is fascinating. I am so honored and happy to have this heritage.
I did not choose it but… if I could choose again, I would come back again as a Mexican!
“The Song That Calls You Home” is a personal, scientific and mystical exploration of Amazonian curanderismo - with focus on Ayahuasca and Master Plants, their healing and visionary properties and risks - along with the wondrous world of the Shipibo people and their songs. Shot by Eduardo Servello, AMC.
On the occasion of Indigenous Peoples' Month, we at NEER acknowledge and honor the Indigenous cultures across the world.
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