TRADUCCION

In Candelilla de la Mar, a remote, afro and traditional place on the maritime border between
Colombia and Ecuador, SEGUNDO (25) travels through the arms of the sea until he arrives where
ELODIA is (70) in search of entrusting her with the task of allowing his first son to go out and see
the world by moving away from the life of a fisherman. ELODIA asks for some conditions for her
request to be fulfilled, SEGUNDO must prepare a soup for his wife and welcome his child at birth.

AMANDA (23), 9 months pregnant, prepares the items for the trip, including a blue crab to trade.
AMANDA bids farewell with kisses to SEGUNDO who disappears into the arms of the estuary.

After a trip over the arms of the sea, he stops the canoe and walks through an African palm
plantation. Cut a bunch of bananas. Night falls; SEGUNDO prepares a place to sleep. He opens the
bundle of blue crab and feeds it with banana leaves; the crab stays by SEGUNDO's head who lies
down to sleep looking at the stars in the middle of the palm leaves.

SEGUNDO arrives at a town full of commerce, where the cars that want to pass must go slowly
because of the tumult of people. There are meat sales in the streets and the dogs are roaming
around the place while the owner tries to chase them away. There's a seller of live fish which swim
in a bucket and a fish bowl.

SEGUNDO walks into a store and takes a handful of rice. He approaches The SHOPKEEPER and asks
him to exchange the rice for some bananas. The SHOPKEEPER fills another bag of rice and asks for
the crab in return. SEGUNDO looks thoughtfully at the clock hanging on the wall; when he sees the
time, he passes the crab to The SHOPKEEPER and they make the exchange. SEGUNDO walks down
the road asking vendors for potatoes, but no one has any. At the end of the village there is a
PEASANT WOMAN (70) that sells them to him; SEGUNDO approaches and unloads the bananas to
exchange them, but by the moment he arrives at the PEASANT WOMAN, , ALICIA (60) a madam
buys the whole bundle of potatoes. SEGUNDO gets scared and approaches ALICIA, while they put
the bundle of potatoes on a car. SEGUNDO begs for some potatoes. At the driver's yell, ALICIA
turns to see SEGUNDO who is about to cry, looking at the truck as it drives away. ALICIA feels
touched and calls him with her hand; SEGUNDO runs to reach the truck and climbs up on the truck
bed floor.

The car passes in the middle of the road where the great abysses of the Andes can be seen. When
arriving at ALICIA's house, SEGUNDO unloads the shipment. The car starts to move while
SEGUNDO looks how it goes away. ALICIA gives him 4 potatoes while she makes fun of him.
SEGUNDO sees with hatred the mountain abyss and its thick jungle. SEGUNDO runs into the
jungle.

He runs through the jungle at nightfall, looking for an imbilí tree from which flows an oil that does
not turn out once it is lit; he lights a torch. SEGUNDO, very agitated and almost without strength,
falls to his knees, closes his eyes and puts his hands on the ground; when he opens his eyes, he
sees that his hands are red from the soil of the African palms, SEGUNDO smiles and bless himself.

He arrives at the canoe completely exhausted, pushes it and lies down on the ground as the canoe
advances. He comes out of the estuary and sees the open sea, the canoe stops in the middle of the
sea. SEGUNDO puts the oar in the water and it comes out full of sand. The low tide comes.
SEGUNDO gets out of the canoe and the sand from the sea buries him up to his knees. He ties the
canoe to his waist and starts walking in the middle of the sea, his boots buried, he leaves them.
The canoe becomes harder and harder to pull. He tries to go faster; falling and sinking. He sees his
house in the distance, the sand is slowly getting firmer.

SEGUNDO hears the birth cry and stands motionless between the house and the sea. A group of
women led by Doña ELODIA carry the newborn baby along the shore and show him the sea.
SEGUNDO gets to where the women are, stretches out his hands to hold the baby, but the women
cling to SEGUNDO and take three steps back. A wave hits them very hard washing them
completely, SEGUNDO approaches ANGELITO, doña ELODIA hands him over. They enter the house,
AMANDA is lying in bed, smiles at him with a crying face, and both of them kiss the baby.

AMANDA breastfeeds ANGELITO while she looks at the sea. SEGUNDO cuts off the sleeves of a pair
of trousers and makes a small bag. AMANDA gets up and takes out from a pot some achote and
starts to grind it, takes the bags and dyes them red. SEGUNDO tears off three threads from a
throw net, the threads are big enough to make a tie around the neck, he takes out three bunches
of rice and puts them in the small bags; once they are assembled he hangs one and puts two
around AMANDA's neck.

SEGUNDO serves two bowls of potato soup and sits down with AMANDA who tells him he can do a
spell to get the canoe back, SEGUNDO passes her a bowl and a piangua shell. AMANDA pumps her
breast milk and puts it in the bowl while the shell is put near her mouth to tell it a secret.
AMANDA takes out a blue flower from a handkerchief and rubs it on the shell until it is silver blue.
She dumps the shell in the bowl with the mother's milk and pours it in the sea.

The next day, SEGUNDO is surprised to see a procession of 20 canoes approaching, decorated with
lights and flowers. In the central canoe is ELODIA with a statue of the Virgin of Carmen. SEGUNDO
wakes up AMANDA. The canoe procession moves along the sea, the men play the percussion
instruments while the women sing. The family gets into the canoe until they reach the beach.
People go ashore. On the beach there is a PRIEST (35) at the edge of a stream; SEGUNDO passes
the child to the PRIEST who goes into the stream, collects some water with his hand, and baptizes
ANGELITO, people celebrate and sing.

The next day SEGUNDO throws himself into the sea, climbs on a log and starts swimming between
the estuaries until he sees something shining in the mangrove. Approaching to verify what it is, he
enters the mangrove, covering his face with his T-shirt to form a balaclava due to the amount of
midge. He must climb some tree roots. SECOND arrives where the shiny object and lifts it, being
the piangua shell that AMANDA painted silver blue, SECOND lowers the shell and sees among the
dense vegetation his canoe. He runs to the edge of the mangrove, when he reaches the edge of a
hidden place he sees a white man in his canoe, ANTONIO (35) who paddles quietly. SEGUNDO
surrounds the canoe to be able to go out to his encounter.

ANTONIO, seeing SEGUNDO, gets very scared and throws the oar into the sea. SEGUNDO jumps
into the sea to pick up the oar. SEGUNDO picks it up and gets into the canoe. ANTONIO takes out a
card from his wallet and passes it to SEGUNDO. ANTONIO bows his head and SEGUNDO realizes
that the shirt covers his face, he takes it off and comes closer stretching out his hand to ANTONIO,
the biologist explains to him that he comes to investigate the flower of the estuary. SEGUNDO
invites ANTONIO to his house.

SEGUNDO enters the house, behind him ANTONIO goes up, surprising AMANDA who takes the
baby's breast off to cover herself. ANTONIO asks SEGUNDO to be his guide in the search for the
blue flower of the estuary.

SEGUNDO, ANTONIO and ANGELITO navigate the arms of the sea. ANTONIO tries to get ANGELITO
to take a few steps in the canoe, holding him by the hands. SEGUNDO points to the shore of the
estuary and ANTONIO turns around seeing a blue flower, ANTONIO gets down to pull it out by
putting it between a bottle, he throws himself to the floor of the canoe to see the flower against
the sun.

AMANDA grinds the flower, ANTONIO observes it while drawing in a notebook the process,
suddenly ANTONIO looks AMANDA in the eyes and an uncomfortable silence is created.

Candelilla is lit by torches and decorated with flowers. SEGUNDO helps AMANDA get down from
the canoe with the baby. ELODIA approaches to receive ANGELITO. Two FISHERMEN approach
SEGUNDO and hug him while they pass ANTONIO a bottle of arrechón liquor and ask him to take a
good sip.

SEGUNDO goes with the FISHERMEN. ANTONIO looks at AMANDA who is singing along with other
women and goes next to them. AMANDA takes him by the hand and leads him to the empty
beach. ANTONIO takes her by the waist and they start to dance slowly.

SEGUNDO and the FISHERMEN arrive with bottles of arrechón and see the empty chairs. SEGUNDO
looks at ELODIA with the baby; looks for AMANDA but does not find her.

ANTONIO kisses AMANDA's hands, she starts to paint his face blue. Simultaneously SEGUNDO runs
towards the beach. When he arrives he looks at two shadows, he comes running. ANTONIO holds
AMANDA's hand and they leave in a hurry. SEGUNDO runs desperately while ANTONIO and
AMANDA run happily.

Everyone's faces start to light up from the torches, SEGUNDO stops very tired and many couples
overcome him happily with torches. AMANDA passes by SEGUNDO watching him but he does not
notice. SEGUNDO stays alone on the beach.

SECOND comes back to the party and AMANDA hands over to ANGELITO. ANTONIO with a wet
face takes a drink offered by the FISHERMEN.

ANTONIO prepares a suitcase. AMANDA passes SEGUNDO a basket and a bag to go and bring a
crab for ANGELITO's birthday. ANTONIO hugs SEGUNDO and thanks him for his hospitality.
SEGUNDO gets into the canoe and starts sailing. AMANDA moves her hand to ANGELITO to say
goodbye to SEGUNDO.

SEGUNDO he gets to a point where he sees a blue crab. He stops the canoe, and starts to chase it,
catches it and realizes that he can stand up, the water has gone down a lot because the break
(water fall) came, SEGUNDO stands in the middle of the sea, takes out a rope and ties the canoe to
his body to drag it very happy.
The FISHERMEN arrive to pick up ANTONIO who comes down with his suitcase, at the door comes
AMANDA with ANGELITO in her arms.

SEGUNDO very tired and full of sand, drags the canoe. He looks in the distance at his house which
has a light on. Without entering the house he leaves the crab at the door. He is surprised to see
that no one is there. He approaches a lit candle that floats on a piece of raft.

SEGUNDO picks it up and the crab falls through the door and the candle turns out. At dawn
SEGUNDO walks and swims with difficulty, until reaching the house of ELODIA. She enters with
force where some women stop singing. He approaches them with rage, the women run around
while he asks them insistently and with increasing desperation where his wife and son are. In the
back of the room ELODIA comes out and with a shout she silences him. SEGUNDO is paralyzed at
the door, the women see him and ELODIA tells him that those are the consequences of his desire.

SEGUNDO huddled together crying to a sock of ANGELITO looks at the sea. He gets up, picks up a
machete and leaves the house; he reaches the estuary and enters it but stands on the shore and
kneels down disappointed.

SEGUNDO comes home at dawn, approaches the door and looks at the sand covered with blue
crabs. SEGUNDO looks for the blue shell in a chest, puts on his boots and leaves the house with
the machete. He runs to the estuary and enters it cutting the branches that obstruct his way and
stepping quickly among the roots that rise in the sea, advances as the sun goes down.

SEGUNDO steps on the ground. He sees a big jungle full of mountains, he smiles and takes a step,
at that moment he is bitten by a snake in his calf. He falls to the ground, takes off his boot and
observes the bite. SECOND, feeling increasingly sick, he begins to vomit as he continues to walk.
Sweat soaked, he falls to the floor. He clenches his teeth, leans on his knees and stands up, once
standing takes a step and falls heavily on his stomach.

Two young Awa girls run through the jungle, carrying traditional baskets of flowers. The young
women cross the river and enter a house passing the flowers to DEMETRIO (50) who sits down and
grinds them together with a liquid. SEGUNDO is on the floor lying on a sleeping mat, the leg where
the snake bit him is tied with some leaves. DEMETRIO makes him take the liquid, SEGUNDO opens
his eyes and tries to get up but his head hurts.

SEGUNDO walks with difficulty through the community, the children look at him through the
windows of the houses and run looking for SEGUNDO to play to chase them. SEGUNDO arrives at
the river where the children who play and the women who wash quickly get out of the water and
leave SEGUNDO alone; he approaches the shore and carefully removes the leaves from his leg. As
he removes them, he looks at a large wound which he begins to wash with pain.

SEGUNDO walks through the empty community. He notices that in DEMETRIO's house there are
many people gathered inside and outside. DEMETRIO is in front of an Awá OLDMAN, surrounded
by children and women who are all over the house. SEGUNDO enters and DEMETRIO asks him to
come over. He takes a large bijao sheet and stretches it on the floor and starts drawing 9 moons.
DEMETRIO tries to explain with signs that he must stay in the community for nine months while he
heals, SEGUNDO nods his head.
SEGUNDO tries to leave the community, walks quickly with a limp through the jungle, his leg hurts
a lot and starts to bleed. He continues to advance but seems lost, he hears the river and advances
towards it. When he arrives at the point from which he started.

DEMETRIO asks SEGUNDO to talk about their lives, so he brings some big bijao leaves and a
basket, stands up and makes as if he were walking with one hand holding a woman's hand and the
other holding a baby. DEMETRIO pretends to play with the baby, then he puts the bijao leaves as a
skirt and the basket on his head and pretends to hold the baby in the basket. DEMETRIO makes
the sign to say goodbye and then as if he were a woman he sends a kiss and walks like a woman,
imitating cutting branches in the jungle with the machete, she begins to make the movements of a
snake that bites the woman's foot, falls to the ground and does not move. DEMETRIO takes
everything off and acts like the baby crying and tries to wake up the mother who is on the floor,
dead. DEMETRIO stands up and pretends the sun is going down and imitates the way he is at
home, worrying about his wife and baby not coming. Pretending to run through the jungle in
despair until he finds his wife and child killed by the snake, DEMETRIO picks up the dead baby,
lulling it to sleep and sobbing. DEMETRIO sits down on the floor and asks SEGUNDO to tell his
story. SEGUNDO is overwhelmed and cries because of DEMETRIO's story. SEGUNDO stands up and
hugs DEMETRIO.

SEGUNDO works building a canoe on the river bank together with several children. The children
run towards the community, SEGUNDO notices that on the way to the houses men appear covered
with flowers and leaves representing spirits. A girl takes SEGUNDO's hand and makes faces of joy,
fear and strength according to the spirit that appears. The men dressed as spirits go into the
jungle.

SEGUNDO look at the river bank and see a crab move. SEGUNDO jumps up and catches it. When
he catches it he runs to the community, and when he arrives he shows it to DEMETRIO, who smiles
at him and tells him that the time lo leave has come. He gives SEGUNDO a basket for his head and
immediately leaves the house with DEMETRIO and starts walking through the community towards
the jungle. From the houses, the people observe them, the children go out with fruits and dried
meat to give it to SEGUNDO who puts it in the basket. SEGUNDO and DEMETRIO walk through the
jungle until they reach the top of a mountain. They observe the community and the rivers that
cross it; they continue advancing until they meet the back of the Cumbal volcano.

The landscape is no longer the jungle, it's more an Andean forest. DEMETRIO says goodbye, takes
off his boots and passes them on to SEGUNDO. The vegetation slowly turns into a moor. SEGUNDO
feels a lot of cold, takes out his machete and tries to make fire with sparks but he can't make it
because of the wind. The mist reaches where SEGUNDO is, who, overwhelmed, huddles under a
frailejón. SEGUNDO sees a donkey in the midst of the mist, he crawls towards it and rides up to get
warm; lying on top of the animal he falls asleep.

ROSITA (25) and her FATHER (50) who wakes up violently with a whip to SEGUNDO, who falls off
the donkey. ROSITA, seeing the aggression, jumps to defend him. SEGUNDO does not answer for
being exhausted. ROSITA enters the house with SEGUNDO, gives him clothes. SEGUNDO tells
ROSITA the story about the search for his wife and son; from ANTONIO he tells her about the
company where he worked. ROSITA tells him that this company is in the village. In the morning
SEGUNDO goes down to the village and is welcomed by VICENTE (50) who serves two glasses of
whisky and passes one to SEGUNDO. VICENTE talks about the love that emerged between
ANTONIO and AMANDA. VICENTE informs him that they now live in Europe. SEGUNDO gets up and
leaves the office. A year later, SEGUNDO is herding cattle across the meadow, in the background is
ROSITA milking, she runs out, hugs and kisses him. SEGUNDO takes a small flower, rolls it up,
approaches ROSITA and puts the flower as a ring.

SEGUNDO and ROSITA get married. The guests take shovels and start digging a circle; with the land
that comes out other people create mud to join it with straw and start making the walls of a
house, while dancing, eating and singing. People cover ROSITA and SEGUNDO with mud, people
arrive with long sticks and start building the roof. The women tie up the couple with ribbons and
make them dance while they kiss.

SEGUNDO, already with a notable change in his face, enters the offices of a factory and
LAURENCIO (50), proposes to SEGUNDO a cattle transport business.

SEGUNDO and ROSITA lead a cow herd through the mountain. One of the cows separates and is
left behind. ROSITA goes to where the cow is and starts pulling her. She walks through the bushes
and a shot is heard; SEGUNDO goes back to see what happened and he finds ROSITA lying on the
floor with a shot in the leg from a shotgun trap. SEGUNDO puts ROSITA on a horse and rides away.

The doctors take ROSITA to the emergency room. After the surgery they let SEGUNDO come in and
hug her. ROSITA asks him to look for the cattle to claim the payment. SEGUNDO leaves the
hospital and begins to walk towards the mountain, he hears the cows, as he turns around he looks
at the cows in the town square spread out. LAURENCIO pays SEGUNDO a large amount of money.

SEGUNDO places the money on the bed, takes out a wooden chest from under the bed and when
he opens it, the blue piangua shell appears. SEGUNDO takes it in his hands and lies down
squeezing it while the tears run down his face.

SECOND, lying on the bed he squeezes the blue shell, gets up and in the background through a
window the streets of Paris can be seen.

SEGUNDO walks through a park looking at the dry winter trees and the crows that rise as he
passes by. SEGUNDO gets on the subway while looking at a card which has notes of the ANTONIO's
address.

SEGUNDO stops at a building and rings the bell; after a moment, ANGELITO (7 years old) opens.
SEGUNDO looks at him and shakes his hand. SEGUNDO and ANTONIO sit down in the room and
observe each other. AMANDA enters the room and is paralyzed when she sees SEGUNDO. They
talk about leaving ANGELITO in Paris. SEGUNDO tears up, gets up and takes off her clothes, leaving
only his pants. He rolls up his pants to show the scar of the snake, approaches AMANDA and
kneels in front of her, begging to return to Candelilla but she does not accept. SEGUNDO stands up
and takes the blue piangua shell out of his pocket, placing it in AMANDA's hands.