In this new series by the BBC, TV presenter Simon Reeve travels on the Tropic Of Cancer, journeying through troubled countries such as Mexico, Libya and Mauritania.
In this first episode, Reeve travels from Mexico to the Bahamas, encountering difficulties with locals and experiencing what it's like to be part of Lucha Libre.
As we see in this episode, the climate is stiflingly hot and humid, so if we were to choose a career involving the likes of travelling Reeve is doing, then we would have to consider the protection we would need to take with us for the film equipment and ourselves.
We would need to ensure that our cameras, audio and film are able to withstand such temperatures and humidity, so as not to destroy or damage the film.
They would also need to take sufficient energy supplies for the cameras in case the climate causes the battery to run out, and also any back-up equipment we may need. As we see in this first episode, Reeve is travelling with approximately 1 or 2 other people; Reeve carries his own backpack and the camera is shot from a first person perspective, so from what we know there may only be 3 or 4 people included in the crew.
For these people, they would need to carry many tinned items for their food, or small packages to limit the amount of equipment they need to carry along with them. They would also need to carry masses of bottled water, due to the poor facilities in the countries they are visiting. The countries have poor water irrigation systems so taking bottled water would be the first step in trying to keep healthy on this journey. As the crew are travelling abroad to South America and Africa, they would need to ensure that they received their medication and injections before they set off on their journey, to protect themselves from insect bites and diseases.
I would also think that Reeve and his team would possibly have to train before they travelled so that they could cope with the heavy strain of their backpacks on their backs in the heat that they are travelling in. This would also reduce the risk of injury as well while on their journey, as they have prepare beforehand. You can really see the extent of what the crew have to go through even before they set off on their journey, as the facilities of the destinations they are travelling to simply do not cater for hardworking film crews in strange climates.
During the episode, we can also see that even locals are struggling just to live in the places Reeve is visiting. When Reeve visits Baja California resort in Mexico, we can clearly see the juxta positioning of the workers and the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The Mexican workers are employed to create beautiful villas for the rich, costing at least $8,000 per night. The workers then go home to their shanty villages just metres from the resort. It's really interesting to see how the workers can live in such conditions when the resort can churn over around hundreds of thousands of dollars a week, yet the workers get hardly any recognition for their work. It's almost exploitation of these workers, allowing them to create such buildings for the rich and famous to 'relax' in, while they then go back to their plywood homes, in fear of hurricanes and rain, as they would simply wash their houses away.
Reeve says that almost 20,000 workers live in the shanty town near the resort, and there are also 150, 000 migrant workers working in this area alone. To add insult to injury, the workers have also suffered much more due to the recession in the US; limiting the work that their companies have for these Mexican workers.
Reeve then travels to mainland Mexico, to find out about the Mexican gang culture.
They're going to the heart of the drug war in Mexico, so before they even set off they would need to consider the health and safety risks. He arrives in Culiacan, dubbed the 'Crown of Drug Trafficking' by his local guide Pepe. The night before Reeve arrived, Pepe explains that there was an assassination attempt against the local police chief. The film crew are constantly surrounded by danger; brought on mostly by the fact that they are foreigners and are easy targets for local thieves and gangs.
Pepe takes Reeve to a local cemetery, and you can clearly see the money that is funded and produced by these gangs, as we see beautiful mausoleums protecting these criminals after death. 90% of the bodies buried in the cemetery are linked to the drug trade and gangs, and we see many posters of young men posing with military style machinery and items linked to gun and drug warfare. The wealth is also seen through the luxury of these crypts and graves; many have air conditioning and furniture, some are as big as houses.
It's also quite strange to see these families brandishing their wealth through the narcotics industry in the cemetery; almost viewing their children who have died as martyrs of the drug trade, almost worthless now because of the wealth they have brought to their families.
As they travel into Mexico, they come across a disagreement in a petrol station with a taxi driver who claims that Reeve needs to pay him for damaging his car.
Reeve and Pepe believe this guy to be in the wrong so they call the local police to deal with the situation.
As they wait, more taxi drivers and their cabs surround them in this station, Reeve becomes nervous.
Pepe tries to calm the drivers down but they won't resist.
I believe that the taxi drivers are trying to scam Reeve and the crew out of money, using their foreign status to mistake them for idiots.
The police arrive and the crew are told to come to an agreement with the drivers; so they pay them and are on their way.
It's really disheartening to see the police act is such a flippant way; maybe they feel as though the public control them, they feel worthless or even as though they have no power. They acted as though this wasn't a big deal and the only way to settle it was by money. It seems as though everything is settled by money, money is what people want and need, money is what makes the narcotics and gun crime circulate, but money is the one thing sparsely seen funded into homing and welfare of the people.
Mexico seems to be controlled by outside powers; Reeve visits a gold mine in the hills of Mexico, and one man fears for his own life after local workers attacked him.
Reeve interacts with the local communities to gain their side of the story and how they have been treated.
He creates this juxta position of the wealthy and the needy, the true workers and the ones who exploit.
The Mexicans also seem to have lost faith in their country and government. There is a Saint that criminals pray to, to ask for protection and guidance while they commit these crimes. Obviously they wouldn't be able to go to church and confess, so they find help within this Saint.
It's almost as though they have their own country, their own set-up and their own policies, as though what they're doing is fine.
Reeve also travels with the local police team; who try and target the drug safe houses.
Reeves would need to seek permission from the Mexican police to allow him to travel with them; but the fact that he did travel with them in this drug trafficking capital shows me that the police seem somewhat really relaxed about protection.
Reeve travels along the tropic to Havana in Cuba. In contrast to Mexico, officials have been impressed by Cuba's healthcare and education system but there is also another development Reeve is interested in.
There has been a regrowth of the community after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Allotments were provided for the villages, previously sites of cement factories etc.
They grow cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and mint, all grown organically. They provide Havana with over 90% of their produce.
It's inspiring to see these communities be part of this regrowth, but such a shame that even though one country is making an effort, others such as Mexico aren't.
The allotments produce over 1 million tonnes of food each year, and have been praised by the WWF for their efforts.
It's an interesting honest documentary and i look forward to watching to rest.
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