'La Maestra': A Doc About Pursuing Dreams and Creating Opportunity for Women in Mexico Paul Ferraris and Elizabeth Pepin Silva - Indiegogo.com
go to original October 7, 2014

La Maestra: A young Mexican woman changes and inspires her small Baja fishing village by following her own path. (Paul Ferraris)

La Maestra (The Teacher) is a half-hour documentary about a young Mexican woman who decides to follow her own path and in doing so, inspires other to do the same and changes her community's expectations of what's appropriate for girls and women.

The film profiles Mayra Agulair, a teacher in a tiny rural fishing village in Baja, Mexico, who becomes the first Mexican woman surfer in her area. Told in Spanish with English subtitles using mainly Mayra's voice, the film shows how she has gone on to inspire both her students and other local women to take up the sport and follow their dreams. Through her deep connection to the ocean, Mayra has also become an environmentalist, teaching her students the importance of land and sea stewardship through hands on learning.

In the film, Mayra talks about the amazing surfing waves in her town - a gift of nature that has brought thousands of gringo surfers to the area over the years, forever changing Mayra's hometown in both positive and negative ways. In this regard, the film is also a subtle commentary on the impact outsider surf tourists can have on small communities around the globe and the need for all of us to be mindful of taking care of the environment, no matter where we are.

La Maestra is an important film because it features a strong Latina woman role model that will appeal to everyone. There is no surf media hype, no surf company sponsors, and no surf industry to spoil the soul of this film.

Please visit Indiegogo.com to support the film.

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