Despite being the author of a large chaquira mural located in the Palais Royal subway station at the Louvre, Santos de la Torre is an unknown quantity in his country. On October 6, 1997, President Ernesto Zedillo and his French counterpart, Jacques Chirac, inaugurated the mural with extensive press coverage. Strangely, Santos was not invited to the ceremony, nor was he fully paid for his work. This story is testimony to the struggle for survival faced by Santos and the rest of the Huichol community, whose cultural wealth is in danger of disappearing, threatened by the excessive exploitation of land, the construction of open-pit mines and the violence of drug trafficking.

Director: Nicolas Echevarria
Cast: Santos de la Torre
Year: 2014
Duration: 92 min
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Wixárika, Spanish

"Nicolas Echevarría uses his artistically sensitive and respectful eyes to look at the master
muralist Santos de la Torre."
- Variety

"This measured and beautifully filmed documentary has given the Huichol artist a late and well deserved recognition of his creativity and craft skills found in these vast paintings made of tiny pearls."
- The Hollywood Reporter