Filmmaker Diego Huerta on highlighting the Charreria in the U.S. and Mexico

Diego Huerta, Documentary Photographer and Filmmaker, joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the journey to capture the lifestyle of Charreria, a traditional practice and sport of livestock hearing.

Video transcript

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ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Today kicks off Hispanic Heritage Month. And for the past three years, our next guest embarked on a journey to capture the lifestyle of Charreria, a traditional practice and sport of livestock herding. From the state of Washington to Southern Mexico, he aimed to understand the Mexican national sport and what it means to the people on both sides of the border. Documentary photographer and filmmaker Diego Huerta joining me now.

Diego, good to have you here. So tell us-- what did you learn on this journey? And how do you feel the sport, this Charreria, differs on each side of the border?

DIEGO HUERTA: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. And yes, as you say, for me, as a creator of these documentaries, it's very important to talk about the Charreria on both sides of the border-- in Mexico and the United States. "Charros y Escaramuzas" is the effort of three years of production, traveling through different states in Mexico and the United States. The importance of this docuseries is to show a culture of more than 100 years that is considered a World Heritage Site.

Charreria is considered the national sport of Mexico. But more than the sport, it's a culture that I share with the United States in 14 states in the American Union.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Talk to me about the importance of this sport when it comes to the Mexican economy. How sort of intertwined are those two things, Diego?

DIEGO HUERTA: Yeah. For me, more than projecting a country-- I'm from Monterrey, Mexico-- but more than projecting a specific country like Mexico, my desire is to project the wealth that we have as a humanity. Because the Charreria [INAUDIBLE] is a Mexican tradition, it has now had to adapt in the United States. And perhaps tomorrow, the Charreria will reach other countries. I'm proud to partner with [INAUDIBLE], who has supported my documentary, because we share values like inclusivity and collaborations.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Now, I know you took on a big challenge here when you made this film. Part of the making of this film happen during the pandemic. We had the borders--

DIEGO HUERTA: Yes.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: --closed between Mexico and the US during that time. How were you able to get this film made during COVID?

DIEGO HUERTA: Yeah. Filming a docuseries in times of pandemic was a great challenge. But thanks to the fact that I can do everything myself-- I travel alone-- I could carry out this docuseries with all the necessary sanitary measures. So for me, it was a big, big challenge.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: I want to talk for a moment about Latinos and their representation in film, because I looked up into stats, and they're not great, Diego. But I think you already know this. 3.6% of filmmakers and directors are Latino. And on television, just 5 and 1/2 percent of all those we see on TV are Latino. So what more can be done to support Latinos in filmmaking and television?

DIEGO HUERTA: I think, for the Latino community around the United States, it's too important to give the opportunity to the new generation to not just to-- came to the United States and try to find a better lifestyle through the work, through the hard work. I think the Latino community have a lot of potential creativity. And I think it is important to encourage to the young people, to the new generation, to start creating through their-- a lot of time, a lot of kind of art, like a film, like art, like painting, like music, I think it's important to encourage the new generation to bring all that creativity-- creativity.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Well, the-- the film is definitely a labor of love. Diego Huerta, documentary photographer and filmmaker, thank you so much for being with us here to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month.