I´ve had some interesting interactions with authority figures lately that has led me to value my experiences with the lifeguards in new and interesting ways that are essentially colored by my experiences at Piña Palmera.

I visited the Public Ministry in Puerto Angel which is a state office out of which they investigate homicides. There was not one person in the office that had been working there more than two years. I got the impression that this situation was not the exception but rather a very common thing in government offices. The lack of continuity, I think, is one of the factors that breeds distrust of government officials. Also they are almost never members of the community. It took me three days and a trip to Puerto Escondito to get authorization for the official in Puerto Angel to read me the dates of every death by drowning (which they classify as a homicide) over the last ten years in Zipolite. It was interesting, but what I really wanted was to compare drownings now with drownings BEFORE the lifeguards started saving people. My idea was that the stark difference would be the best argument for getting the lifeguards salaries.

Well since the office has only been around for ten years, I had to go to Pochutla, the nearest big city to get information earlier than 1999. I visited the public ministry yesterday and talked with the longest serving employee, Max, who started working there in 1998. He agreed to help me unearth some information when his monthly shift is up, on the 15th, but he is apparently camera shy so his boss will do the interview.

I also went to the municipal office of civil protection to try and get an interview with the people who would be in charge of employing the lifeguards of Zipolite if they were officially employed. That was the most interesting part of the day. They essentially told me that if the lifeguards hadn´t fallen out of the good graces of the President of Pochutla for a number of reasons, they would have paid positions. They told me some stories which I later talked about with the lifeguards and as cliché as it sounds, it really seems like it is a big misunderstanding. I´ve been working on this movie for the lifeguards under the impression that the authorities DIDN´T KNOW how important the lifeguards work has been and how many people they have saved. If the real problem is that they two sides are both too stubborn or proud to open up a dialouge and talk about a solution that would make everyone involved happy, I find myself in a difficult situation. Is the film my mission? Or is getting the lifeguards salaries? Do I play mediator or leave the film in their hands and say "good luck"?

At piña, we learn that overprotection can be more damaging to a child with a disability as the disablity itself. Maybe the time has come to admit that the problem that the lifeguards have is not something I can fix. Maybe I need to admit that they are grown men with control over their own lives. Maybe its even more important for their development as a team if they complete this particular quest on their own. Ill meet again with Aguila today and hopefully the president of Pochutla before I leave on the 20th. I still don´t know what I´ll say though...