Nicaragua – Ben Hur
August 2003 – 22’00”
REPORTER: Bentley Dean
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Have you seen the film 'Ben Hur'? The Ben Hur race is based on it. Pedro Solorzano got the idea from the film. And since we work like this - we are people who drive carts. No party, big or small, has ever paid attention to cart drivers.
The Ben Hur race is the biggest spectacle on the Nicaraguan calendar. For the carretoneros who work with horse and cart and struggle to make a living, winning the Ben Hur can change their lives.
PEDRO (Calling entrants to the race) (Translation): Richardo Mejia Carbajal – “The Screamer”. Many people come with great hopes of taking part in the event, but we can't let everyone in, it's a matter of luck.
PEDRO: Maria Luisa Estrada - better known as “La Negra”.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): My shoes? Look, I just don't know.
PEDRO: Dina Rosa Martinez. What size pants? 70?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: 34.
PEDRO (Translation): There's a lot of poverty and a lot at stake in Ben Hur. The first place gets US$6,000, second place US$4,000, third US$2,000. The winner also gets a beautiful trophy, a stunning trophy.
This year for the first time, there will be a women's race.
REPORTER: Are you going to win?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: God willing. That's what we hope for.
REPORTER: What's your horse's name?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: My horse is called Lucero.
REPORTER: Is it strong?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: It's a work horse. I work with him every day. That's how I make a living.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Now we're going to get my cart painted, decorated.
REPORTER: With what?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Well, they paint it for me. They'll put on the name of the sponsor. Then they'll put on the number. The number of the heat goes on the front. It shows if I'm running in the first or second round.
Maria Luisa Estrada has been a carretonera since her husband was disabled eight years ago. She is the sole provider for her family.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: I cart cement, blocks, sand, whatever comes my way. If anyone asks me to clean a backyard, I do it. I have five kids. Three of them go to school.
REPORTER: Are they all young?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Yes. The eldest is 10. She was born on the day of the first Ben Hur.
MAN: You're going to hog the prizes.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Why worry about the prizes. I'll give them all to you.
MAN: We're with you all the way.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): All right, then.
The carretoneros are here, but the cart painters are no where to be seen.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I wonder what time they'll finish if they're not here yet. There are normally 25 carts. There's more than 25. If ones who came last are getting done first. Come on!
MAN: It's not my fault.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Why did you agree to do it then?
Maria Luisa can't wait around. Her husband, Sebastian, is in jail. Every day she must deliver him food and work for his release.
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): I'm here because of a deal over a horse. I signed a handwritten contract. The man I sold it to came to see me where I work. I wasn't doing anything. They came to my work and brought me here. They said I had to make a declaration. When I got here I was accused of rustling. I wouldn't do that.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I tell him not to worry and to remember the race is coming. He stopped racing, but I've been racing for eight years, since his accident.
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): This is where they keep us. These are the two other men. That's us. They're here for the same case. The problem was that we didn't have the documents.
REPORTER: How many people are here?
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): Three of us sleep here, plus another three above and three below.
REPORTER: How many altogether?
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): There's 10 of us. There's 11 - 11 of us here. Get me out tomorrow, please. Please.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I earn from $3 to $4. With that I have to feed five kids and pay for school. They need money every day. On top of that, I have debts to pay. My mother says I should sell the horse to pay off the debts. But if I did, how would I make a living? God willing, things will turn out OK. I have faith in the Lord.
REPORTER: Tell me about your cart. It's smaller than the others.
MAN (Translation): Yes, how does it look? My motto is if you think, you'll get far. Brute force alone is no use. You need intelligence. You need a light cart for a faster race.
MAN: A bit lower. If I made it any lower, you'd end up on the ground if you hit a pothole. You need support. I hold with my knees. I lower my knees and keep my body in the air.
MAN (Translation): It's very different, very original. None of the other carts is painted this colour. Most carts are red or green and look the same. This is very different.
REPORTER: What can I say? Do you have an account with that bank?
MAN (Translation): Oh, no. We simply represent a very important business in - an important business in this area, in the central region of Nicaragua.
REPORTER: Do you have money in any bank?
MAN (Translation): Oh, no.
MAN: These are one inch square, light tubes. They're also sheathed in light tin sheets. It doesn't have a floor.
REPORTER: Why not?
MAN: That's part of the strategy. It's strategy.
Four times Ben Hur champion Lester Cruz has his own strategy.
LESTER CRUZ (Translation): If I'm after something, I stay very quiet. I keep my thoughts to myself. The others just go around talking. They just talk and do nothing and then end up laughed at. There are those who say they have it all wrapped up. There's a guy who's saying that but until tomorrow, nothing's certain.
REPORTER: Do you have any of the prizes in the house?
LESTER CRUZ (Translation): Just the fridge. My wife left me and she kept it all. I bought this and the TV for my mother. The fridge is in the back there.
TV ADVERTISEMENT FOR BEN HUR: Excitement! Prizes! Music and fanfare! Fantastic surprises! An original and popular spectacle! National Stadium, Saturday, 27 July at 5pm.
The day before the race, Maria Luisa is back at the jail to deliver Sebastian his lunch and leave him an important note.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): News from the lawyer. Great news. They're going the get out. Thank God. A judge is coming from Managua. He says there's enough evidence to show they're innocent. It will be 15 days tomorrow. Yes, Friday, tomorrow, it will be two weeks. Not tomorrow. They'll get out today. Have faith and they'll be out today.
Things are looking brighter on the race front, too. A local horse breeder has heard of her plight and offered Maria Luisa a thoroughbred.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): This horse is too big. This horse is too big. The cart's shafts are too short. The cart touches the horse. It's a shame.
In the end, none of the thoroughbreds are suitable. As she returns to the jail, there's bad news.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): They say they'll convict him.
REPORTER: Why are they saying something different now?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): It's a different judge. It's not the same judge who was handling the case. It's the judge who replaced him. He's the one who convicted him.
REPORTER: Did he give any reason? Did he say why?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): No, they're looking into it. It's hopeless now.
The day of the big race has finally arrived.
MARIA’S DAUGHTER (Translation): Mum, when will you be back?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Tonight.
MARIA’S DAUGHTER: Don't go.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I'm so lonely without anyone to help me.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Reading) (Translation): Amazon is a modest title for this heroine. When her husband was incapacitated in an accident, she took over the reins of the family and their horse. Now she's one of the favourites to win the Ben Hur trophy. This Sunday, Maria Luisa Estrada, a young 25-year-old champion and mother of five children, will compete with more than a hundred colleagues.
MC SHOUTS OVER PA SYSTEM: Let's hear some applause from the crowd. And now, the Ben Hur champions have arrived. And here's the President, Enrique Bolanos. A round of applause for the President. Second heat. And now the women's final is about to start. Let them hear you. Let's see if it's true. If the women rule, where are the women? Arina Delgado, with the horse Honest Attorney. Maria Luisa Estrada, with the horse Paka, Paka. Jadira Mendez, with the horse Corruption. Dina Rosa Martinez with the horse Scratch, Scratch.
WOMAN: Dina, you're standing too close. You'll ruin everything.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Who won? Who was it?
It's a photo finish but before the judges decide, the men's final is off.
MC: The wife of the Vice-President is giving away a house to the winner of the men's race and a house to the winner of the women's race.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): There are no second or third places for women? It's the women I want to hear about.
MC: First in the women's race Jadira Munoz. Second place, Dina Rosa Martinez. Third, Maria Luisa Estrada.
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ (Translation): That's over, I think. We're neither richer nor poorer. One must know how to win and how to lose.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Come on. Let's go. No use complaining. Something might come up. Maybe next year.
REPORTER: BENTLEY DEAN EDITOR: MAI DEVAHASTIN
August 2003 – 22’00”
REPORTER: Bentley Dean
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Have you seen the film 'Ben Hur'? The Ben Hur race is based on it. Pedro Solorzano got the idea from the film. And since we work like this - we are people who drive carts. No party, big or small, has ever paid attention to cart drivers.
The Ben Hur race is the biggest spectacle on the Nicaraguan calendar. For the carretoneros who work with horse and cart and struggle to make a living, winning the Ben Hur can change their lives.
PEDRO (Calling entrants to the race) (Translation): Richardo Mejia Carbajal – “The Screamer”. Many people come with great hopes of taking part in the event, but we can't let everyone in, it's a matter of luck.
PEDRO: Maria Luisa Estrada - better known as “La Negra”.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): My shoes? Look, I just don't know.
PEDRO: Dina Rosa Martinez. What size pants? 70?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: 34.
PEDRO (Translation): There's a lot of poverty and a lot at stake in Ben Hur. The first place gets US$6,000, second place US$4,000, third US$2,000. The winner also gets a beautiful trophy, a stunning trophy.
This year for the first time, there will be a women's race.
REPORTER: Are you going to win?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: God willing. That's what we hope for.
REPORTER: What's your horse's name?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: My horse is called Lucero.
REPORTER: Is it strong?
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ: It's a work horse. I work with him every day. That's how I make a living.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Now we're going to get my cart painted, decorated.
REPORTER: With what?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Well, they paint it for me. They'll put on the name of the sponsor. Then they'll put on the number. The number of the heat goes on the front. It shows if I'm running in the first or second round.
Maria Luisa Estrada has been a carretonera since her husband was disabled eight years ago. She is the sole provider for her family.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: I cart cement, blocks, sand, whatever comes my way. If anyone asks me to clean a backyard, I do it. I have five kids. Three of them go to school.
REPORTER: Are they all young?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA: Yes. The eldest is 10. She was born on the day of the first Ben Hur.
MAN: You're going to hog the prizes.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Why worry about the prizes. I'll give them all to you.
MAN: We're with you all the way.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): All right, then.
The carretoneros are here, but the cart painters are no where to be seen.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I wonder what time they'll finish if they're not here yet. There are normally 25 carts. There's more than 25. If ones who came last are getting done first. Come on!
MAN: It's not my fault.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Why did you agree to do it then?
Maria Luisa can't wait around. Her husband, Sebastian, is in jail. Every day she must deliver him food and work for his release.
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): I'm here because of a deal over a horse. I signed a handwritten contract. The man I sold it to came to see me where I work. I wasn't doing anything. They came to my work and brought me here. They said I had to make a declaration. When I got here I was accused of rustling. I wouldn't do that.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I tell him not to worry and to remember the race is coming. He stopped racing, but I've been racing for eight years, since his accident.
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): This is where they keep us. These are the two other men. That's us. They're here for the same case. The problem was that we didn't have the documents.
REPORTER: How many people are here?
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): Three of us sleep here, plus another three above and three below.
REPORTER: How many altogether?
SEBASTIAN ESTRADA (Translation): There's 10 of us. There's 11 - 11 of us here. Get me out tomorrow, please. Please.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I earn from $3 to $4. With that I have to feed five kids and pay for school. They need money every day. On top of that, I have debts to pay. My mother says I should sell the horse to pay off the debts. But if I did, how would I make a living? God willing, things will turn out OK. I have faith in the Lord.
REPORTER: Tell me about your cart. It's smaller than the others.
MAN (Translation): Yes, how does it look? My motto is if you think, you'll get far. Brute force alone is no use. You need intelligence. You need a light cart for a faster race.
MAN: A bit lower. If I made it any lower, you'd end up on the ground if you hit a pothole. You need support. I hold with my knees. I lower my knees and keep my body in the air.
MAN (Translation): It's very different, very original. None of the other carts is painted this colour. Most carts are red or green and look the same. This is very different.
REPORTER: What can I say? Do you have an account with that bank?
MAN (Translation): Oh, no. We simply represent a very important business in - an important business in this area, in the central region of Nicaragua.
REPORTER: Do you have money in any bank?
MAN (Translation): Oh, no.
MAN: These are one inch square, light tubes. They're also sheathed in light tin sheets. It doesn't have a floor.
REPORTER: Why not?
MAN: That's part of the strategy. It's strategy.
Four times Ben Hur champion Lester Cruz has his own strategy.
LESTER CRUZ (Translation): If I'm after something, I stay very quiet. I keep my thoughts to myself. The others just go around talking. They just talk and do nothing and then end up laughed at. There are those who say they have it all wrapped up. There's a guy who's saying that but until tomorrow, nothing's certain.
REPORTER: Do you have any of the prizes in the house?
LESTER CRUZ (Translation): Just the fridge. My wife left me and she kept it all. I bought this and the TV for my mother. The fridge is in the back there.
TV ADVERTISEMENT FOR BEN HUR: Excitement! Prizes! Music and fanfare! Fantastic surprises! An original and popular spectacle! National Stadium, Saturday, 27 July at 5pm.
The day before the race, Maria Luisa is back at the jail to deliver Sebastian his lunch and leave him an important note.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): News from the lawyer. Great news. They're going the get out. Thank God. A judge is coming from Managua. He says there's enough evidence to show they're innocent. It will be 15 days tomorrow. Yes, Friday, tomorrow, it will be two weeks. Not tomorrow. They'll get out today. Have faith and they'll be out today.
Things are looking brighter on the race front, too. A local horse breeder has heard of her plight and offered Maria Luisa a thoroughbred.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): This horse is too big. This horse is too big. The cart's shafts are too short. The cart touches the horse. It's a shame.
In the end, none of the thoroughbreds are suitable. As she returns to the jail, there's bad news.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): They say they'll convict him.
REPORTER: Why are they saying something different now?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): It's a different judge. It's not the same judge who was handling the case. It's the judge who replaced him. He's the one who convicted him.
REPORTER: Did he give any reason? Did he say why?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): No, they're looking into it. It's hopeless now.
The day of the big race has finally arrived.
MARIA’S DAUGHTER (Translation): Mum, when will you be back?
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Tonight.
MARIA’S DAUGHTER: Don't go.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): I'm so lonely without anyone to help me.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Reading) (Translation): Amazon is a modest title for this heroine. When her husband was incapacitated in an accident, she took over the reins of the family and their horse. Now she's one of the favourites to win the Ben Hur trophy. This Sunday, Maria Luisa Estrada, a young 25-year-old champion and mother of five children, will compete with more than a hundred colleagues.
MC SHOUTS OVER PA SYSTEM: Let's hear some applause from the crowd. And now, the Ben Hur champions have arrived. And here's the President, Enrique Bolanos. A round of applause for the President. Second heat. And now the women's final is about to start. Let them hear you. Let's see if it's true. If the women rule, where are the women? Arina Delgado, with the horse Honest Attorney. Maria Luisa Estrada, with the horse Paka, Paka. Jadira Mendez, with the horse Corruption. Dina Rosa Martinez with the horse Scratch, Scratch.
WOMAN: Dina, you're standing too close. You'll ruin everything.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Who won? Who was it?
It's a photo finish but before the judges decide, the men's final is off.
MC: The wife of the Vice-President is giving away a house to the winner of the men's race and a house to the winner of the women's race.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): There are no second or third places for women? It's the women I want to hear about.
MC: First in the women's race Jadira Munoz. Second place, Dina Rosa Martinez. Third, Maria Luisa Estrada.
DINA ROSA MARTINEZ (Translation): That's over, I think. We're neither richer nor poorer. One must know how to win and how to lose.
MARIA LUISA ESTRADA (Translation): Come on. Let's go. No use complaining. Something might come up. Maybe next year.
REPORTER: BENTLEY DEAN EDITOR: MAI DEVAHASTIN