In the heart of Yucatan, Las Amazonas swing bats and break barriers. These Indigenous women are challenging gender roles through softball, demanding recognition for their unpaid care work and redefining what it means to be strong — on the field and at home.
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.
