Mexico's Las Amazonas from the Yucatan swing bats and break barriers. The Indigenous women are challenging gender roles through softball, redefining what it means to be strong.
00:00Batting. Sweeping. Pitching. Watching. Running. Educating. This indigenous women's softball
00:14team in Mexico has managed to become the symbol of their community.
00:17Being part of Las Amazonas really changed my mind. It's a legacy of being stubborn in
00:26a good way. Before becoming Las Amazonas of Yoshuna, their value as caregivers went unrecognized.
00:33I leave work and come home to do another job. I have to clean, wash the dishes,
00:40tent my vegetable patch, check my expenses, and I have to find time to play. I feel that
00:49women work more than men. Strong women. Warrior women. We are Las Amazonas of Yoshuna.
01:13In Southeast Mexico in the Yucatan jungle, the blows of a bat and the shouts during a practice session
01:18contrasts with the sounds of birds and leaves rustling in the wind.
01:25Yashuna, a Mayan community that preserves the wisdom and traditions of the great Mesoamerican
01:31civilization, has gained notoriety thanks to a group of women who, dressed traditionally
01:36in hippiles and without shoes, are redefining how many people perceive sport.
01:43I'm Alvi Yajaira Diaz. I'm a housewife and I play for Las Amazonas de Yashuna softball team.
01:50When I enter the field, I forget everything. I forget my house. I forget my children. I forget everything completely.
02:08My mind is only on the field, catching the ball, running like a deer. It is something that makes me happy.
02:15I am Mrs. Enedina Kanulpot. I am a housewife. I am an artisan and I am a softball player.
02:24I am a softball player.
02:27Las Amazonas makes its values clear through its multi-generational makeup, playing without typical sports uniforms,
02:33and by centering the hard work players do in their families and homes.
02:37A normal day is taking my daughter to school. Coming home to clean, cook, and during the day,
02:49picking up my daughter from school. In the afternoons when time allows, we have practice to improve a little more.
02:58We are going to have a training to improve a little bit more.
03:08Improving on the field has not been the team's biggest challenge. Sexism in their community has proven their toughest opponent.
03:15This small indigenous community is driven by the hundreds of women who take care of their children's education and their homes on a daily basis.
03:30In many cases, the men work in nearby cities like Merida or Cancun to earn more income and return on weekends to reunite with their families.
03:38One of those hundreds of women is Alvie. For this housewife, deciding to be part of the Amazons not only represented a personal sporting challenge,
03:54it also had a major impact on her marriage, since her husband initially did not support her decision.
04:00They even briefly separated.
04:03I felt like my life was getting away from me. It was either my husband or the sport.
04:12But, well, I think that if I had not left my house that night, I think I would not be in Las Amazonas right now,
04:19and I would not be going to see these places. We've been to big cities, which I would not have dreamed we could do.
04:26I feel that, yes, it was the best decision.
04:30Alvie's husband initially refused to accept her playing because he believed that women should devote themselves entirely to caring for their home and children,
04:39a belief that is still common in Yashuna.
04:42I feel that being a housewife is tiring, and it is a job that's not recognized.
04:49Sometimes there are people who ask me, what work do you do if you're just a housewife?
04:56Household activities like cleaning, cooking, caring for children, the elderly are sick, and collecting water or fuel is known as care work.
05:05Worldwide, women carry out 76% of care work. Mexico has some of the most unpaid domestic labor in the world.
05:12Despite all these long hours caring for her daughter and home, financial necessity means picking up work where she can.
05:19The idea to sell something was my sister's. I told her, well, let's cook, so that we can support our husbands,
05:27and they don't feel the pressure of, I don't have money, when is payday, and help a little around the house.
05:33Besides being a housewife, we can do a little more.
05:42After traveling more than three hours by bus, Enadina finally arrives home in Yashuna.
05:47Her new job in Merida, Yocatan's capital, keeps her busy and away from the sadness she feels at home after the death of her husband.
05:59I was born here in this town. It was smaller than it is now.
06:03I started playing baseball here when I was six or seven years old, and that's how I grew up.
06:08I never played with dolls.
06:10Enadina plays a vital role for Las Amazonas. Her childhood love for baseball had her questioning gender roles early.
06:22Here in town there is a lot of sexism.
06:27I wanted to study, but my father told me that girls do not have the right to go to school.
06:32They have to get married, and then they will take care of their children.
06:36When we started Las Amazonas in 2017, things started to change.
06:46Though the team has helped to shift attitudes at home, Enadina's return to her beloved sport was initially out of necessity.
06:56Through a government program, a doctor came to encourage us to work out, and I told the ladies that I wanted to play baseball.
07:03Then some of them said, how are we going to play it? We don't have a bat. We don't have gloves.
07:13So I told them that it wasn't a problem.
07:17We could play it without gloves, and that my husband has baseballs.
07:22Of course we can.
07:23And Enadina's passion and determination didn't just help her team succeed.
07:35A video of Las Amazonas' practice went viral, reaching the Yucatan government and even Major League Baseball.
07:40They traveled to the U.S., playing a game and throwing the first pitch at an Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants game.
07:51However, recognition is not enough for the team's founder.
07:55Almost two million women doing paid domestic work in Mexico do not receive any type of social security, presenting financial pressure and entrenching inequality.
08:03I leave work and I come home to another job. I have to clean, wash the dishes, tend to my vegetable patch, check my expenses, and I have to take time to go out and play softball.
08:19I feel like women work harder than men.
08:24Enadina spends the last hours of her day weaving hammocks that will be sold in Merida.
08:29After the death of her husband, she needs the extra income, especially as she still supports one of her sons.
08:34It's game day, and Las Amazonas have to travel to Peito, a town more than 70 kilometers from Yashuna, as their home field is under construction.
08:51The journeys aren't just an adventure for the players. Many of them, including Alvi, take their children with them to look after them and share the experience.
09:10Las Amazonas may stand out for their role in the community, but sport is still a competition.
09:15Their captain, Sitlali, pushes them on.
09:21We as outfielders, short stops, second base, wild card, catcher, pitcher, first baseman, second, third, please give it your all.
09:32Don't let the balls pass us by. It's a shame that this happens. We can't leave things like this. We have to attack.
09:38Yashuna draw a solid crowd to their local league game, reflecting both their impact and softball's growth in Mexico.
09:47Let's get a loud round of applause for these two women's teams, Las Amazonas and Las Felinas.
09:56Enedina watches the game closely. Once done playing, she hopes to eventually coach girls and young women to continue the Las Amazonas legacy.
10:09Yashuna starts off on the right foot and begins to lead Las Felinas by a couple of runs.
10:26Las Amazonas pitcher, Arely Carrillo, shows that she is a young talent on this team.
10:31And these warrior players have to earn their name, showing bravery when things accidentally get rough.
10:47Nothing happened. They're still playing. They are playing. They are not dead. They are fine.
10:53It's the final inning. The Amazons are one out away from victory.
11:01There it is. Las Amazonas win.
11:10But more important than the score is the recognition they get, even from their opponents.
11:15I'm glad to see them play. They inspire us housewives to play this sport.
11:25We can play. It's not just about cooking, sweeping, taking care of the children, the husband.
11:34We can also play sports like men.
11:36They've gone far. They've put the name of Yucatan on high. It means that we're on the right path.
11:46Hey, Jessie, we forgive you. You can travel in the van.
11:52As long as a woman likes what she is doing, anything is possible.
11:57Just as we are housewives and we manage to overcome the sexism of our people.
12:03Now we travel a lot. We have already left the country.
12:10I want my grandchildren, when they see photos of Las Amazonas, to feel proud of me for being a fighter,
12:17for representing Yesuna, for playing softball.
12:21Strong women. Warrior women. We are Las Amazonas of Yesuna.
