The BBC studios decided it was worth it to invest GBP $2 million to film a series about Mexico. For 300 days, and with a production team that used the best technology, they recorded Mexico Salvaje (Wild Mexico).
The documentary shows the landscape, flora, wildlife, and chaotic places like the Central de Abastos, a huge market in Mexico City.
Patrick Morris, the series’ producer, recalls how it felt to be in Latin America’s biggest distribution center: “I remember I wanted to keep some of the ambient sounds, besides, we had two cameras and the most important thing for us was to play with the speed they live in, but also being able to record the faces that live inside the Central de Abastos”, he said.
You can watch Mexico Salvaje on the Discovery Channel starting on Sep 15, at 9:00 pm. On open television, you can watch it on Canal 11 and Canal 22, on September 16.
During its three episodes, it explores the volcanoes and mountains in the heart of Mexico, the exuberant tropical forests in the Yucatán Peninsula, and the deserts in the northern region.
“The Central de Abastos is a very busy place, but we also visited nature, remote and quiet places and that’s interesting because in other countries you see planes, highways, sounds that aren’t natural, but not here. I saw very peaceful places, it’s exciting to see color, vibration, to experience what Mexico is because English culture is very different”, said Morris.
Besides natural beauty and high-definition images, the production decided to include things like charrería (horse riding), farmers harvesting blue agave in tequila fields that date back to the 17th century, the mysteries of the Mayan empire, and the spectacular Day of the Dead in Oaxaca.
“Just as we filmed this three episode series, we also did something similar in other places like Africa, and we talked about Darwin’s evolution theory and while we recorded the wildlife, and geology, and how it has changed in time and that’s the beauty of this, that once you tell these stories, you know the meaning and you find interesting stories and you have to find balance”, said the producer.
