Thursday, February 6, 2025

Sandal-wearing Rarámuri runner is subject of documentary

A Rarámuri woman who has won fame and acclaim for running – and winning – long-distance races wearing traditional dress and sandals is featured in one of a series of new documentaries made for the streaming service Netflix.

The story of 23-year-old Lorena Ramírez is told in a film directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo and forms part of Río Grande, Río Bravo, a documentary project produced by Mexican actor Gael García Bernal.

Ramírez has competed in ultramarathons both in Mexico and abroad wearing a traditional long dress.

Among her most notable performances were victory in a 50-kilometer race in Puebla in 2017 and third place last year in a 102-kilometer marathon on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

According to Elena Fortes, an audiovisual producer working on the Río Grande, Río Bravo project, Rulfo’s film is “beautiful.”

Actor-filmmaker García.
Actor-filmmaker García.

Among the other documentaries in García Bernal’s project are A 3 Minute Hug, directed by Everardo González, and A Tale of Two Kitchens by Trisha Ziff.

The former tells the story of the annual Hugs, Not Walls event that allows family members living on opposite sides of Mexico’s northern border to physically meet and greet for a few minutes.

Ziff’s film, currently screening on Netflix in Mexico, takes viewers inside the kitchens of two restaurants owned by celebrated Mexican chef Gabriela Cámara – Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco.

Netflix plans to make 50 films and television shows in Mexico during the next two years.

Alfonso Cuarón’s critically-acclaimed film Roma and the series Narcos: Mexico, both of which were filmed in Mexico, are among the streaming service’s most successful recent projects.

Source: El Universal (sp) 

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