AllMovie

As directed by Yolanda Cruz, this documentary relays the unusual chronicle of Alejandro Santiago, a sculptor who experienced one of the great shocks of his life in his mid-fifties. Born in Teococuilco in 1964, Santiago moved with his family to Oaxaca City at age 8, where he would spend most of his formative years. He built up a formidable (and lucrative) career for himself as an artist, and as he reached middle age, decided to enter a brief, self-imposed exile in France. Upon returning to Oaxaca, Santiago was horrified to discover that the majority of the population had evacuated the city, thanks to Mexico's interest in drawing on the residents for export labor to the United States. In response, Santiago constructed a massive art piece - 2,501 life-size sculptures, paying homage to the various migrants who had left the village.