00:01:19:19 - 00:01:21:14 In Venezuelan Guayana, 00:01:21:20 - 00:01:24:04 a thousand rivers from innumerable springs 00:01:24:07 - 00:01:26:16 look for the Father Orinoco, 00:01:26:22 - 00:01:31:19 irrigating the surface of these lands with alluvial gold deposits. 00:02:28:01 - 00:02:31:23 The rumor of abundant deposits in the Caroní River basin 00:02:32:04 - 00:02:36:05 has continued to attract miners for many years. 00:02:46:16 - 00:02:50:16 The first miners arrived building rafts. 00:02:52:07 - 00:02:53:22 Baptized in these rivers, 00:02:54:05 - 00:02:57:13 the miner’s faith is strengthened in their turbulent waters. 00:03:37:10 - 00:03:40:22 The divers submerge for 6 straight hours. 00:03:41:13 - 00:03:46:16 They only come up for water, coffee, or a swig of rum. 00:03:50:19 - 00:03:54:20 The hole formed by the suctioning of the “maraca” is unstable 00:03:54:23 - 00:03:57:13 and prone to collapsing at any moment. 00:03:58:23 - 00:04:03:16 Far from the earthly world, a sixth sense awakens in the diver. 00:04:03:19 - 00:04:07:22 He doesn’t see anything, but he feels what is around him. 00:04:42:19 - 00:04:46:13 After the pioneers explored the territory on rafts, 00:04:46:16 - 00:04:50:23 legions have arrived to work the rivers with arsenals of hoses. 00:04:51:04 - 00:04:57:01 They divert their courses to access the gilded riverbeds without diving. 00:06:02:11 - 00:06:06:05 From the riverbanks, the miners entered into the forest, 00:06:06:22 - 00:06:09:10 searching for ancient riverbeds 00:06:09:16 - 00:06:12:23 that once eroded gold from the lodes. 00:06:14:10 - 00:06:18:07 With jets of water, they loosen the deposits of alluvial gold 00:06:18:17 - 00:06:23:22 that hide under the layers of sand, silt, caliche, and clay. 00:07:35:01 - 00:07:39:05 The millenarian erosion of the rivers is replicated in these jets, 00:07:39:13 - 00:07:43:14 accelerating the rhythms of geologic time. 00:10:42:01 - 00:10:43:01 Look. 00:10:43:08 - 00:10:47:04 It’s here where the sun awakens the first glimmers of gold 00:10:47:10 - 00:10:50:13 among the last traces of earth. 00:11:24:20 - 00:11:26:10 Quicksilver. 00:11:27:01 - 00:11:32:08 It’s an elusive element that lives in a state of ambivalence. 00:11:41:02 - 00:11:43:11 Due to its weak metallic bond, 00:11:43:13 - 00:11:46:22 its electrons are easily extracted from their orbits 00:11:47:01 - 00:11:51:19 and attracted to those of other metals to thus form the amalgam. 00:13:32:01 - 00:13:35:23 The quicksilver is expunged after fulfilling its function. 00:13:38:19 - 00:13:42:23 It can’t resist the heat and is thus liberated from the amalgam 00:13:43:07 - 00:13:46:11 to never again recuperate its ambivalence. 00:13:50:13 - 00:13:54:10 With the little that the miner collects, his morale wanes. 00:13:56:13 - 00:13:59:07 Nevertheless, his faith keeps him unbreakable, 00:13:59:10 - 00:14:02:23 enduring the tribulations to get at the treasure. 00:14:11:23 - 00:14:14:19 The duality of the ebbs and flows of the rivers 00:14:14:22 - 00:14:17:04 that guided the life of the miner 00:14:17:10 - 00:14:19:13 are now unpredictable. 00:14:26:20 - 00:14:31:22 The seasons of winter and summer, rain and drought, 00:14:32:05 - 00:14:35:04 planting and harvesting, cold and hot, 00:14:35:13 - 00:14:37:08 are now confused. 00:16:30:19 - 00:16:34:01 The whole territory is connected by water. 00:16:34:07 - 00:16:39:07 Rains in one place increase the flows in another in little time. 00:16:41:23 - 00:16:47:19 Geological movement, on the other hand, is imperceptible but implacable. 00:16:59:04 - 00:17:05:04 Slowness is the most powerful force that has existed since eternity began. 00:17:07:02 - 00:17:10:14 The insistence of raindrops, rays of sunlight, 00:17:10:19 - 00:17:14:01 gusts of wind, and the pull of gravity 00:17:14:05 - 00:17:17:16 have eroded the igneous rock of the Guayanese Massif 00:17:17:22 - 00:17:21:19 that emerged from the bottom of the chaotic primeval waters. 00:17:56:01 - 00:17:59:04 The auriferous deposits searched for by the miner 00:17:59:11 - 00:18:02:01 originated in far off stars that, 00:18:02:05 - 00:18:05:16 upon exploding in supernovas, fell to earth. 00:18:05:19 - 00:18:10:10 And over millions of years they amassed in lodes. 00:18:23:13 - 00:18:28:02 Generated by fire, gold is impregnated by stellar winds, 00:18:28:07 - 00:18:32:07 incubated by the earth, disseminated by water, 00:18:32:13 - 00:18:37:11 and its shine then resuscitated by human ambition. 00:18:47:07 - 00:18:50:07 The Pemón Indians tell that, time ago, 00:18:50:10 - 00:18:53:10 when man had not yet discovered corn or cassava, 00:18:53:16 - 00:18:57:02 the Tree of Life had a complete inventory of fruits 00:18:57:13 - 00:19:00:10 to be enjoyed by mortals. 00:19:05:10 - 00:19:09:05 But the ancestral creator cut down the Tree of Life 00:19:09:10 - 00:19:11:19 to get the fruit more easily. 00:19:12:07 - 00:19:14:23 And from its stump emanated so much water 00:19:15:07 - 00:19:17:01 that the world flooded. 00:19:23:22 - 00:19:27:10 The flow took with it the seeds of all the fruits, 00:19:27:13 - 00:19:30:11 disseminating them throughout the earth. 00:19:36:08 - 00:19:42:01 After the deluge, came a great fire that burned almost everything. 00:19:44:10 - 00:19:49:07 And so the demiurge made man again with bee’s wax... 00:19:53:08 - 00:19:57:07 but he melted in the sun. 00:20:53:16 - 00:20:55:14 He then formed man with clay. 00:20:55:20 - 00:20:58:05 And the sun hardened him by the day 00:20:58:19 - 00:21:02:20 to thus become humanity and restock his species. 00:21:31:20 - 00:21:33:16 The “moriche.” 00:21:34:01 - 00:21:38:07 The closest thing to the Tree of Life that exists today. 00:21:45:13 - 00:21:49:04 It purifies the waters and softens the ebbs and flows of the currents, 00:21:49:08 - 00:21:52:17 while its seeds spread downstream. 00:21:59:04 - 00:22:00:22 Each fruit has little meat, 00:22:00:23 - 00:22:02:13 but the bunches are big 00:22:02:16 - 00:22:05:13 and provide a source of fat and vitamins. 00:22:15:08 - 00:22:17:20 Apart from providing an abundance of food, 00:22:18:04 - 00:22:22:11 the “moriches” are a refuge for diverse species. 00:22:31:19 - 00:22:35:07 The fallen palm leaves also feed the soil with organic material, 00:22:35:13 - 00:22:39:07 supporting microorganisms and other plants in its surroundings. 00:22:50:23 - 00:22:56:07 The Pemón cut “moriche” palms to make thatch for their huts. 00:22:58:04 - 00:22:59:19 Like any construction, 00:22:59:22 - 00:23:03:22 it begins to decay the moment it begins to be built. 00:23:12:13 - 00:23:16:22 But if correctly cured, the roof can last up to 15 years. 00:24:59:04 - 00:25:02:22 Whether the object of work be the “moriche” or the subsoil, 00:25:03:04 - 00:25:08:19 man needs a richness of tools to access the value offered by nature. 00:25:26:20 - 00:25:29:01 Only by cutting and burning the forest 00:25:29:05 - 00:25:31:16 is the soil suitable for a few harvests, 00:25:31:19 - 00:25:34:22 especially of bitter cassava to make “casabe.” 00:25:59:01 - 00:26:03:07 The cultivation of cassava is centralized in domestic units. 00:26:05:13 - 00:26:10:04 The man prepares the terrain. The woman sows and harvests. 00:26:15:16 - 00:26:20:20 Cassava does not require constant inputs of labor and fertilizers. 00:26:21:22 - 00:26:24:10 It grows in both rainy and dry seasons, 00:26:24:19 - 00:26:27:19 and there are various harvests throughout the year. 00:26:29:16 - 00:26:33:17 But to then process it involves tedious labor. 00:27:46:22 - 00:27:51:13 Bitter cassava requires sophisticated instruments to make “casabe,” 00:27:51:17 - 00:27:54:10 an essential food in the region. 00:27:58:19 - 00:28:01:10 Cyanide must be removed with the “sebucán,” 00:28:01:16 - 00:28:04:11 which squeezes out the poison from the vegetable material 00:28:04:16 - 00:28:06:07 with successive levels of tension 00:28:06:22 - 00:28:11:11 to thus transform a harsh root into a staple food. 00:31:10:08 - 00:31:11:23 A “lapa.” 00:31:12:16 - 00:31:16:22 This nocturnal rodent digs burrows in the jungle floor. 00:31:17:13 - 00:31:22:16 It’s prized by the miners for its fatty and tasty meat. 00:32:46:23 - 00:32:49:10 In the jungle, there is also a presence of mammals 00:32:49:11 - 00:32:50:22 that live up in the trees, 00:32:51:01 - 00:32:53:01 like these capuchin monkeys. 00:33:13:13 - 00:33:18:05 At dawn, they form platoons in horizontal formations. 00:33:18:19 - 00:33:23:04 They traverse the forest and feed on wild fruits. 00:33:41:10 - 00:33:42:23 Unlike these simians, 00:33:43:07 - 00:33:47:10 humanity continues engulfed in the mud from which it was formed. 00:34:13:07 - 00:34:15:02 Near the Cuyuní river, 00:34:15:04 - 00:34:16:23 the miners, unstoppable, 00:34:17:01 - 00:34:20:11 persist in penetrating the most hidden layers. 00:34:30:10 - 00:34:33:10 It took 5 years to dig this hole. 00:34:34:16 - 00:34:37:04 They call it ‘4 Dead Men.’ 00:34:37:22 - 00:34:42:01 The earth does not unclench its gold for free; 00:34:42:13 - 00:34:45:19 nature charges her rent. 00:37:28:02 - 00:37:31:07 The sluice is the intermediary between gold and man, 00:37:31:11 - 00:37:34:01 where the coveted metal ascends and descends 00:37:34:04 - 00:37:36:04 between the soil and the sky 00:37:36:07 - 00:37:39:13 to finally fall in the hands of the miner. 00:37:47:13 - 00:37:51:07 Gold, in the ground, is without form. 00:37:51:08 - 00:37:53:13 It’s only when separated from the mud, 00:37:53:17 - 00:37:56:02 that the hermetic mineral shines. 00:38:21:10 - 00:38:23:19 Once the gold is in the miner’s hands, 00:38:23:22 - 00:38:26:13 he must set aside for the expenses on credit, 00:38:27:04 - 00:38:32:07 as well as the obligatory percentage for the people with guns and radios. 00:38:42:07 - 00:38:44:14 The boss of the mining outfit provides the machines, 00:38:44:19 - 00:38:47:01 the gasoline, and the food. 00:38:47:04 - 00:38:49:10 The earth provides the water and the gold. 00:38:49:14 - 00:38:52:01 The workers provide their labor. 00:38:52:23 - 00:38:56:20 65% of the profits is for the boss 00:38:57:01 - 00:39:00:14 and the remaining 35% is divided 00:39:00:22 - 00:39:03:22 in salaries between the workers and the cook. 00:39:04:07 - 00:39:07:19 But nothing is returned to the earth. 00:39:27:16 - 00:39:31:22 Only a few months of rain are needed to ruin the miner. 00:39:32:22 - 00:39:34:19 His expenses continue 00:39:34:22 - 00:39:37:04 and he must borrow from the merchants 00:39:37:08 - 00:39:41:10 until his faith staggers under the accumulated debt. 00:39:45:01 - 00:39:48:10 But if he finds some good gold, he amasses more machines 00:39:48:16 - 00:39:52:17 to keep digging and risk it all again. 00:40:25:14 - 00:40:29:01 Motorized systems are constantly deteriorating 00:40:29:07 - 00:40:31:13 and require many inputs and spare parts 00:40:31:16 - 00:40:35:05 to produce ever diminishing yields, 00:40:35:14 - 00:40:38:19 dissipating evermore energy without recuperation. 00:41:56:19 - 00:42:01:22 The sluice must be dismantled to be built up again in another spot. 00:42:04:13 - 00:42:08:19 The versatility of the material of wood is indispensable 00:42:09:10 - 00:42:13:01 and the nearby forest provides it in abundance. 00:43:19:22 - 00:43:24:16 After the mining outfit leaves, some “paleros” work the cut. 00:43:30:10 - 00:43:34:16 They work at their own rhythm, without foreman nor schedule. 00:43:35:04 - 00:43:40:11 They only have to invest in their basic tools and food. 00:43:55:04 - 00:44:01:04 The morphology of the miner’s hand has evolved to dig, grab, and caress. 00:44:07:20 - 00:44:10:13 Within the vertigo of the whirlwind, 00:44:10:17 - 00:44:14:22 gold is drawn to the stillness at the bottom of the pan. 00:45:57:19 - 00:46:00:13 The miner inhabits a lost world, 00:46:00:19 - 00:46:05:07 a universe of its own that separates him from the rest of the world. 00:46:13:16 - 00:46:16:07 He digs out his dwellings along the shores of the river, 00:46:16:11 - 00:46:20:11 without interest in founding towns nor raising flags. 00:46:36:22 - 00:46:41:10 He structures sticks covered with plastic tarps to lift his hammock 00:46:41:16 - 00:46:44:16 and thus recuperate his labor power. 00:46:49:11 - 00:46:54:16 The hut is a testament to his transient passage through the jungle. 00:47:04:04 - 00:47:05:08 In the camps, 00:47:05:16 - 00:47:09:14 rugged men and fugitives on the drift abound. 00:47:13:23 - 00:47:17:16 But the miner of pure vocation is of a noble heart 00:47:17:22 - 00:47:21:07 and aspires to survive and provide for his family, 00:47:22:11 - 00:47:26:13 although the jungle ends up separating him from them. 00:51:50:20 - 00:51:57:02 Collecting just 50 grams is a blow to the morale of the miner. 00:51:59:01 - 00:52:03:07 Where there is much to win, there is everything to lose. 00:52:09:22 - 00:52:12:14 But how many failures for one success? 00:52:14:08 - 00:52:18:04 How many days of sorrow for one moment of glory? 00:52:19:19 - 00:52:24:10 How many sins before achieving redemption? 00:52:50:22 - 00:52:54:13 Before, Dutch pirates transited the Cuyuní. 00:52:55:16 - 00:53:01:01 Now, mining rafts sack along the lengths of its thick waters. 00:53:08:07 - 00:53:12:07 When the water is high, they dig along the banks of the river. 00:53:47:05 - 00:53:49:13 The “missile.” 00:54:36:11 - 00:54:40:07 The jungle tries to fulfill its function of protecting the gold, 00:54:40:11 - 00:54:43:10 impeding the work of the turbines and the miners, 00:54:43:16 - 00:54:47:10 who have to spend time and fuel in cleaning it. 00:56:50:16 - 00:56:53:22 These miners examine the entrails of the earth 00:56:54:07 - 00:56:58:01 in search of glimmers of the precious metal. 00:57:28:16 - 00:57:31:07 One arrives at the lode following these veins, 00:57:31:11 - 00:57:34:22 which don’t require dynamite to extract their material. 00:58:27:04 - 00:58:29:11 Far from the vegetable and animal kingdoms, 00:58:29:16 - 00:58:33:10 the miner here enters into the mineral domain. 00:58:47:19 - 00:58:51:10 In the shafts, the miner digs deep in darkness, 00:58:51:17 - 00:58:55:13 where the heat and pressure in the chest is intensified. 00:59:01:08 - 00:59:03:04 If the air pump fails, 00:59:03:08 - 00:59:06:13 he has few minutes to get out before being asphyxiated 00:59:06:16 - 00:59:10:22 by the gases that emanate from the center of the earth. 01:01:21:19 - 01:01:24:14 The “ripiadora” crushes the quartz from the lode 01:01:24:19 - 01:01:27:08 to then pass it through the mill. 01:01:52:22 - 01:01:58:07 A first pass through the mill extracts about 30% of the gold. 01:01:58:13 - 01:02:03:04 The mill owner takes 20 to 25% of that, 01:02:03:10 - 01:02:06:14 but then passes the material two more times through the mill 01:02:06:19 - 01:02:09:16 before selling it to the cyanide plants. 01:02:14:02 - 01:02:19:22 He who digs the rock is he who obtains the least metal from it. 01:02:30:14 - 01:02:36:04 When the waters of the river bulge, the flow of the town ebbs. 01:02:42:22 - 01:02:46:10 But gold always continues its path through these streets 01:02:46:16 - 01:02:52:01 and the townspeople have to take to them everyday to get some. 01:03:06:22 - 01:03:09:07 It’s through the gold buyer, 01:03:09:13 - 01:03:14:01 that the miner interchanges his gilded product for fiat money. 01:03:21:04 - 01:03:24:07 He uses a torch to examine the quality of the metal 01:03:24:13 - 01:03:27:08 and burn off the excess quicksilver. 01:03:31:02 - 01:03:34:13 The slag always makes sparks. 01:04:00:11 - 01:04:01:20 The profession of the buyer 01:04:02:01 - 01:04:05:19 consists in changing the form and substance of value. 01:04:06:07 - 01:04:11:02 Skillful fingers increment the earnings of this transaction. 01:04:39:01 - 01:04:42:04 Upon being separated from the miner’s orbit, 01:04:42:07 - 01:04:45:17 gold passes through a sea of hands. 01:05:43:10 - 01:05:46:13 The merchant transports commodities for the miner 01:05:46:19 - 01:05:48:13 in exchange for his gold. 01:05:50:07 - 01:05:53:01 He then converts that gold into more commodities 01:05:53:10 - 01:05:56:01 and thus continues an expansive cycle. 01:06:05:20 - 01:06:09:11 The merchant accumulates the wealth generated by the miner 01:06:09:14 - 01:06:14:22 to then invest in real estate, commerce, and financial activities 01:06:15:01 - 01:06:18:14 that reproduce profits quickly. 01:06:32:23 - 01:06:36:16 Gold without bravery, money without productivity, 01:06:36:20 - 01:06:40:22 profits without glory, speculation without risk, 01:06:41:04 - 01:06:44:11 prices without values. 01:06:54:04 - 01:06:57:14 The trader brings his flakes of metal to the crucible 01:06:57:17 - 01:07:00:13 to then sell the smelted piece to wholesalers, 01:07:00:16 - 01:07:04:16 a privileged few with power to transport gold abroad. 01:11:05:10 - 01:11:09:04 Following its millenarian impulse, gold continues its flow 01:11:09:05 - 01:11:14:04 through transit countries that export more gold than they produce. 01:11:16:04 - 01:11:18:19 It has final destinations at refineries abroad, 01:11:18:22 - 01:11:21:23 where it is purified with more advanced techniques. 01:12:28:22 - 01:12:32:01 Before rendering tribute to the Atlantic ocean, 01:12:32:04 - 01:12:38:16 the sedimental flow of the Orinoco River receives the dyed waters of the Caroní. 01:12:44:16 - 01:12:49:20 The paternal river has imposed his law, and his tributaries fulfill it. 01:13:08:01 - 01:13:12:22 The booms and busts of the gold economy in Venezuelan Guayana 01:13:13:01 - 01:13:16:01 began in 1846. 01:13:19:22 - 01:13:25:20 Today, gold ingots continue to slip through its borders without return. 01:14:16:11 - 01:14:19:19 The multitude arrives at the miraculous soils of the jungle 01:14:19:20 - 01:14:22:02 following the rumors of gold rushes, 01:14:22:10 - 01:14:26:07 always digging with faith in a lucky strike. 01:14:36:16 - 01:14:39:16 But have they put that faith in the right place? 01:14:40:11 - 01:14:42:22 Will it be enough? 01:18:30:20 - 01:18:33:13 From what source is value born? 01:18:36:04 - 01:18:39:14 What currents circulate its flow? 01:18:42:14 - 01:18:45:11 What seed does it germinate from? 01:18:49:08 - 01:18:51:01 How is it cultivated? 01:18:51:23 - 01:18:53:20 Who sows it? 01:18:54:14 - 01:18:56:04 Who harvests it? 01:19:04:22 - 01:19:08:07 What value does the labor of the miner have? 01:19:11:10 - 01:19:14:16 What fruit will he bear before wilting? 01:19:18:05 - 01:19:21:01 Who will he offer it to? 01:19:26:14 - 01:19:29:15 Who will forgive him?