Muchachas

Juliana Fanjul – Muchachas

My grandmother’s death brought me back to Mexico City, where my eyes were opened as to on how unfair our relationship with the maids had been. To what extent was I also responsible for the invisibility of these women, who had always lived around me?

Diploma project (2014) by Juliana Fanjul

Documentary / 63mn

Synopsis

Through a dialogue with Remedios, Guadalupe and Dolores, domestic workers who had been taking care of my family and home for many years, I open the doors of the Mexico in which I grew up, to explore the relationships between employees and employers.

As I wander through these houses linked to my childhood talking with these housekeepers, I question our conflicting bonds, rooted in the blur between work and affection.

Why don’t I really know these women who watched me grow up?

Muchachas is a documentary which, in addition to revealing the unforgettable presence of these figures who are absent from themselves, casts a little light on a social problem and explores the issue of the relationship to the Other.