Bartolomé de Las Casas later attributed the following speech that Hatuey gave to the Taíno as a warning of what was to come. He showed the Taíno of Caobana a basket of gold and jewels, saying:
Here is the God the Spaniards worship. For these they fight and kill; for these they persecute us and that is why we have to throw them into the sea... They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters. Incapable of matching us in valor, these cowards cover themselves with iron that our weapons cannot break...The Taino chiefs in Cuba did not respond to Hatuey's message, and few joined him in his campaign of resistance. Hatuey resorted to guerrilla tactics against the Spaniards, and was able to confine them for a time, killing at least eight Spanish soldiers.
Using mastiffs in terrorizing and torturing the Native people for information, the Spaniards succeeded in capturing him. On February 2, 1512, he was tied to a stake and burned alive at Yara, near the present-day City of Bayamo.
Before he was burned, a priest asked Hatuey if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven. Las Casas recalled the reaction of the chief:
[Hatuey], thinking a little, asked the religious man if Spaniards went to heaven. The religious man answered yes... The chief then said without further thought that he did not want to go there but to hell so as not to be where they were and where he would not see such cruel people. This is the name and honor that God and our faith have earned.
He has attained legendary status for leading a group of natives in a fight against the invading Spaniards, and thus becoming one of the first fighters against colonialism in the New World. He is celebrated as "Cuba's First National Hero". The 2010 film Even the Rain includes a cinematic account of Hatuey's execution.
Hatuey & Cochabamba Water War
The narrative
Mexican filmmaker Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) and his Spanish executive producer Costa (Luis Tosar) arrive in Cochabamba, Bolivia, accompanied by a cast and crew, prepared to create a historical film depicting Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World, the imposition of Columbus’ will upon the natives, and the subsequent indigenous rebellion by Hatuey. Cognizant of his limited budget, Costa elects to film in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America. There, impoverished locals are thrilled to earn just two dollars a day as extras in the film, and willingly engage in physical labor for set preparation. Costa saves many thousands of dollars by having underpaid extras perform tasks meant to be completed by experienced engineers.
Sebastián casts a local man named Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) in the role of Hatuey, the Taíno chief who led a rebellion against Columbus; and Daniel's daughter Belén in a crucial role as well.
Their first encounter with Daniel gives Costa pause and causes him to oppose his casting, but Sebastian gives him the role. Sebastian is unaware that Daniel is leading demonstrations against the historically real event of water privatization that the Bolivian government has agreed to. Filming begins smoothly despite the alcoholism of actor Anton, (Karra Elejalde) cast as Colón (Columbus), but when Costa observes Daniel's revolutionary involvement, he grows uneasy.
Daniel pretends to acquiesce to Costa's insistence that he stop protesting, but actually continues protesting and sustains facial wounds in a clash with police. At this point, Costa bribes Daniel to wait for filming to conclude before participating in the rebellion again. Daniel agrees, accepting the money, but spends it on funding the protesters and remains involved, eventually becoming bloodied and imprisoned. Sebastián experiences moral conflict and begins to doubt the likelihood of the film's completion, but is reassured by Costa, who bribes the police for Daniel's temporary release in order to film a key scene, in which Colón and his conquistadors execute Hatuey and his rebels. Upon this scene's completion, police arrive in the Bolivian jungle and detain Daniel again, but are besieged by the film's extras, aiding Daniel's escape.
That night, when actors Juan and Alberto see the latest news reports showing violence in Cochabamba, they become so worried that they demand to leave. Sebastián begs them to stay and they hesitantly agree. The next day, as the cast and crew prepare to depart for filming, Costa is met by Daniel's wife, Teresa, who desperately implores him to assist her in finding her daughter Belén, who has disappeared into the protests and is reportedly wounded and needing hospitalization. Teresa's persistence wins over Costa's conscience, and despite Sebastián's equally impassioned insistence against it, he leaves with her.
After Costa and Teresa's obstacle-laden drive through riotous Cochabamba, Belén's life is saved, but her leg is badly injured and may never fully heal. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is stopped by a military blockade and all except Antón leave Sebastián to journey home. The revolution ends shortly thereafter with the departure of the multinational water company, but Cochabamba is left in ruins from the conflict. Costa expresses hope that the film will be finished after all, and Daniel emotionally presents him with a vial of Bolivian water in appreciation for his life-saving efforts.
The political and economic context
The restoration of civilian rule to Bolivia in 1982 ended decades of military dictatorships, but did not bring economic stability. In 1985, with hyperinflation at an annual rate of 25 thousand percent, few foreign investors would do business in the country.The Bolivian government turned to the World Bank as a last refuge against economic meltdown. For the next 20 years, successive governments followed the World Bank's provisions in order to qualify for continued loans from the organization. In order to move towards independent development, Bolivia privatised its railways, telephone system, national airlines, and hydrocarbon industry. In October 1999, the privatization of Cochabamba's municipal water supply followed, allowed by a new law and the investment of a new firm, Aguas del Tunari – a joint venture involving San Francisco-based Bechtel Corporation. The agreement involved the firm investing in a long-envisioned dam so they dramatically raised water rates.
Protests, largely organized through the Coordinadora in Defense of Water and Life, a community coalition, erupted in January, February, and April 2000, culminating in tens of thousands marching downtown and battling police in the 2000 Cochabamba protests. In April 2000, the national government reached an agreement with the Coordinadora to reverse the privatization. The wave of demonstrations and police violence was described as a public uprising against water prices.
Brown and barren land: Bolivia's historic drought – in pictures
During Bolivia’s worst drought in 25 years, photographer Marcelo Perez visited the reservoirs that supply drinking water to its biggest cities, to find a stark and arid landscape
La sequía histórica de Bolivia – en imágenes
All photographs by Marcelo Perez
Fri 5 May 2017
Towards the end of last year, the government of Bolivia declared a state of emergency after the worst drought in 25 years affected at least seven of the country’s major cities.In November and December 2016 and January 2017, photographer Marcelo Perez visited reservoirs that supplied drinking water to La Paz, the capital, and neighbouring city El Alto to document the critical levels they had reached.
