Deadliest Roads | Guatemala: Land of the Maya | Free Documentary

[Applause] [Music] hey [Music] [Music] is going to the city to do your shopping something banal and every day for most people however on rainy days in guatemala this is not the case [Applause] foreign [Music] mata and alberto's village is 30 kilometers away it's not far but it takes a long time especially if you're holding on by a finger [Music] the windscreen wipers work temperamentally but that's not the only problem that they face alberto is at least reassured by something with the rain there's no risk of starting a fire the fuel is diluted however the downpour of water is worrying is [Music] on the roads in guatemala it's not unusual to see men practicing a strange type of dance strange but important they do it to balance the weight so that the wheels become more stable in the mud [Music] [Laughter] this bus is in a bad state the brakes are burning white hot [Applause] though the slope is not so steep but 10 tons on an ice rink will surely give you chills [Music] now alberto will have to keep spinning his wheels if he wants to reach the top of the hill [Applause] yes [Music] [Music] not very reassuring as guatemala is a country of mountains there are many ravines according to alberto there's much more to fear with the police [Music] alberto and his sister pick up all those who can't afford a bus ticket but there's still a cold sweat surcharge the passengers fight fear with a remedy that doesn't cost them much is [Music] the guatemalans are used to saying tranquilo tranquilo translation no need to rush we'll get there in this central american country there is a solution for everything if there's no more space on a bus it's not a problem there's always space on the bumpers and in the aisles at their own risk and peril however [Music] too much merchandise is never a problem as long as it's in place everything is fine for the riders and their horses who drink too much before a race however [Music] [Applause] it's still not a problem even if they can't stand up anymore [Music] the shaman gives them protection with a little alcohol but it's best not to rely on the spell working some horses return alone [Music] [Applause] for the drivers who get stuck there's always help along the way and sometimes even a pickup truck but success is not always guaranteed and then the smile can disappear the angry man is soon comforted with a [Applause] tranquilo when one of the three active volcanoes in guatemala spits lava on the surrounding villages the guatemalans still have a solution an offering to maximo slip him a cigarette and give him a glass of alcohol and this nationally known saint will make your wishes come true [Music] in guatemala they face every problem with a smile [Applause] [Music] [Music] getting from one point to another without asking for protection is a bit like driving without breaks according to jose [Music] a wise precaution as return is not always guaranteed [Music] cabinet jose left at 3am he goes to refuel at the grocery store in a small village 120 kilometers away but 120 kilometers of mountains and tracks is a minimum of 18 hours of travel [Music] so okay the rainy season lasts until december the floods can be devastating it doesn't look like it but this is a national track one with a cruising speed between 10 and 20 kilometers per hour [Music] foreign moment [Music] everyone progresses at their own pace depending on the state of the road help between drivers is a matter of [Music] courtesy but help from anywhere else comes at a price this traffic jam means that jose will have to pay if he gets stuck here [Applause] [Music] if there aren't enough helping hands the inhabitants of the neighboring village pay for the services of their bulldozer there is even an operations supervisor [Music] foreign strangely enough the bulldozer never levels out the quagmire it's just there to take the trucks out and with these three tons of cargo jose has little chance of passing through five euros the standard price for peace and quiet foreign troubles have only just begun for jose it's not an easy road ahead of him [Music] [Applause] [Music] the colour of the buses is not simply for decoration they indicate the destination this is necessary as 25 percent of the population cannot read or write these old american school buses are essential to the country's economy as in the countryside very few people own a car [Music] so if rudy can't fix his engine he may encounter some angry passengers [Music] [Applause] the locals call them chicken buses because they pile themselves onto them like caged chickens who can know if these frozen goods will reach their final destination rudy serves guatemala's most remote village carmelita 80 kilometers into the very heart of the jungle [Music] in guatemala the bus drivers transport many who cannot afford to travel they are in fact long distance transporters postmen and even gas station attendance foreign this here is a street vendor either very good at balancing objects or enjoys the taste of risk with a get up like this but it appears to hold up okay [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] okay leaving flores is already a challenge in itself rudy has dozens of other orders to collect before going into the jungle [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] five euros per trip is not cheap especially since in guatemala the average salary is around 430 euros rudy speeds for the first 20 kilometers indeed the truck might have a difficult time over the remaining 60 kilometers it may shake a little or even a lot [Music] [Applause] [Music] jose the truck driver is attempting to get his truck out of a ditch he's paid five euros to use the farmer's backhoe loader but the rope has broken he's resorted to digging alone the price did not include the extra help and shovels [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Applause] foreign fortunately for jose a driver has lent him his chain [Music] is [Music] a form of extortion in disguise keeping the ditches and holes there has become somewhat of a guatemalan national sport why fill them up when they can make money improvising as a road mender is a matter of survival for some families [Music] it's hard to know if this family is digging or filling the holes it ensures food on the table see tips are their only income [Music] foreign foreign [Music] according to a un report for every 14 million people 83 percent live in poverty and extreme poverty the descendants of the mayans are the first to be affected hunted and disliked since the spanish conquest they've taken refuge in the countryside the mixed race white people control the administrations and large farms [Music] as a result of being abandoned by the state school is often not a priority for the mayans their primary concern is to find something to eat every day women and children travel through the forest in search of firewood three hours later everyone has their own bundle of wood even the youngest i see at 10 years old the intensity of this work is already taking its toll on pablo's back it will take him two hours to reach his village but he will walk there without complaint but this is the least of his problems at the top of this mountain at an altitude of 2500 meters his nightmare awaits this is the pakaya volcano a monster capable of projecting its ashes as high as 1 500 meters its last eruption date was the 6th of june 2018. this volcano never sleeps its lava flows off and reach the homes of surrounding villages [Music] okay [Music] [Applause] [Music] to counter the volcano's rage some people turn to the church however others appeal to something a little more unusual [Music] marta is a shaman she goes to the market to buy the ingredients necessary for her incantations [Music] this shop would have made merlin the enchanter very proud you can find love elixirs good luck potions and even curses for those who believe in them like marta [Music] the shaman prices her spells according to each person's income mata calls upon an extraordinary character known as maximon he is represented by this mannequin maximon is the son of a christian saint and a mayan god he represents the spirit of the world he will solve your problems in exchange for cigarettes and alcohol [Music] but he has nothing to do with local folklore he is in fact revered throughout the whole of guatemala everyone hopes that maximon will be able to convince the pakaya volcano to stay dormant for years to come [Music] rudy's bus travels year in and year out in the sweaty heat of the jungle [Music] the sun is beating on the sheet metal and it's 35 degrees in the cabin [Music] for three hours now everyone has been subjected to the constant shaking of the road [Music] rudy himself deals with the rocking of the bus all year round [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] not only does driving require a lot of concentration it's also physically exhausting and to pump it rudy must constantly disengage the engine to slow it down shift gears again accelerate and slow down his bus is on its last legs is it's taken much longer than the expected five hours to reach the most remote village of guatemala fatigue has set in but rudy stays on [Music] course [Music] in the distant villages of the jungle life flows slowly people value their time differently the bus ride once a week is their only link to the outside world [Music] [Applause] hello [Applause] and many other unusual things apart from these goods there's no other reason to travel here there's no time to lose everyone wants to get home as soon as possible discontent against the government is rising as they do nothing to improve the lives of the citizens why does the state leave them abandoned most of the jungles inhabitants are mayans and due to the general lack of resources the government doesn't care about their situation even though they are the first inhabitants of this land hundreds of mayan descendants can be found all over the country a few months ago a huge city was discovered again its pyramid reaching a height of 30 [Music] meters every year the village of todos santos celebrates all saints day their revolt against spanish invaders [Music] they play the marimbas all day and all night they go at full speed for two days [Music] all the inhabitants of the village wear a symbolic costume the red represents the blood spilled by their ancestors and the blue and white of the shirts evoke the spirits of the sky [Music] all the tailors who told us santos are hard at work [Applause] there are so many costumes to cut that many inhabitants have become fashion designers [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] the most courageous and there are few decide to take a ride on this ferris wheel operated by a man with a wrench it's spinning a little fast but it seems to be holding up but here is the main attraction of this november the first celebration horse racing but this is no ordinary horse race tradition states that the riders and their horses get drunk for two days before competing on an improvised racecourse [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the alcohol the dancing and the loud music of the marimbas gradually sends the riders into a trance the musicians follow them but the dancers remain on the dance floor [Music] the fireworks do not mark the end of the evening quite the contrary the next morning the musicians are still performing but the riders however are a little worse for wear i'm not sure he's up for the race [Music] hello one last small sip of alcohol is offered to the riders but this time if it is spit out by the shaman it provides them with protection so why all this drinking before the race according to urban legend a village drunkard reportedly stole a conquistador's horse and wreaked havoc he taunted the spaniards for hours by galloping around the city do you know today that's my my first time that's my first time no scare yeah a little bit [Music] although the circular track is 200 meters the riders will loop it without a break for eight hours [Music] the race kills two people every year but according to the inhabitants of todos santos death is synonymous with an abundant harvest this year there were only injuries [Music] [Applause] the last rider who stays in his saddle will earn his part of the legend on the tracks there is someone else who's also drunk but unlike the inhabitants of todos santos jose is drunk from fatigue he's been driving for 18 hours straight and he has to dodge obstacles along the way the last rock that fell took with it an entire truck wagon one moment of distraction and jose would find himself in a ravine or in the same state as the truck the driver drove into a hole that broke his rear axle right off the good attitude doesn't work every time they still got stuck for two days in the middle of the track [Music] after 20 hours of driving jose finally arrives at his destination [Music] [Music] without a moment's rest jose is back on the road the driver cannot afford to miss an order another load is waiting for him [Music] in the jungle rudy also fights against fatigue [Music] the passengers have started to feel better [Music] [Music] the driver has been driving for seven hours now that's two more than expected only in the jungle do the hours start to feel much longer [Music] so now when he can he follows one delivery after another without even stopping the bus [Applause] even though he works in the family business this way of life is starting to take its toll on him [Applause] foreign [Music] me eight hours later he finally hands over to another driver the journey is far from over [Music] his father is here to make sure everything is okay rudy's brother julio gets into the driver's seat even though he's only 17 years old [Music] i don't know [Music] well in the middle of the night in the heart of the jungle julio has little chance of running into the police is foreign the bus has taken 10 hours to run only 80 kilometers no matter how hard it gets or how much trouble the guatemalans are in they're not discouraged their credo is to never get angry and keep saying the magic word tranquilo there will always be a [Music] solution [Music] so [Music] uh you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,277,660

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys Guatemala, dicing with death Guatemala, dangerous Guatemala, most dangerous roads Guatemala, dangerous roads Guatemala, deadliest roads Guatemala, Guatemala

Id: zVKD7E6GyBE

Length: 51min 53sec (3113 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 24 2021