When Brazilian film director Charly Braun conceived the premise for the movie "Por El Camino" he cast the Uruguayan landscape in a starring role. The rolling hills, forests, pristine beaches and blue lagoons of the beautiful area surrounding Rocha provide a sumptuous setting for a romantic love story and on-the-road adventure which involves Santiago (an Argentinean played by Esteban Feune de Colombi) and Juliette (a Belgian played by Jill Mulleady).
The film presents semi-documentary sections highlighting the eccentric characters encountered by the couple as they travel around Uruguay. The people they meet include hippies in a mountain commune, fashion models in Punta del Este, gauchos at the rodeo, and a wealthy godfather who owns a luxury property near Rocha. These individuals offer advice and commentary that lends depth to the film's exploration of the national psyche. A definite sense of place evolves in this movie, and the viewer comes away enchanted by the uniqueness of both the location and its inhabitants.
I came home from the movie theatre still picturing the sweeping panoramic shots of horses galloping across green fields, images of the sand dunes at sunset, rocky hills and natural hot springs.
The newspaper article published the next day shook me abruptly out of the dreamy state induced by "Por el Camino". The headlines revealed that a Swiss company, Zamin Ferrous, is planning a large scale open pit mine to be located in the center of Uruguay. Minera Aratiri will be the largest of its kind in South America, covering 120,000 hectares of rural land around Cerro Chato and producing 18 million tons of iron ore per year for 30 years. A pipeline extending 200 kilometres to the coast will move the ore to a processing plant and deep sea port near the town of Castillos, where it will be loaded onto freighters for shipment to China.
The Uruguayan government is in favour of the mining development, though local residents are not so enthusiastic about a project which requires the relocation of 2,500 people and will have lasting negative impact on the landscape, watershed and soil. The land in the Cerro Chato area is currently used for raising livestock and growing high quality rice. The explosives used to create the open pits will destroy some of the most fertile land in the country, a fact which cannot be compensated by the estimated income of $40 million U.S. per annum in the coffers of the Uruguayan government, or the promise of employment opportunities for local people.
There is also growing opposition in Rocha's seaside towns where tourism is the main industry. The proposed processing plant and deep sea port will be located right next to major resorts, attractive beaches and ecologically sensitive sand dunes. It will require a lot of electricity, and Zamin Ferrous has planned a coal-fired power plant to meet its industrial needs. No one wants to spend their vacation sitting on a polluted beach next to a factory zone!
I advise anyone who is interested in seeing Uruguay to book a ticket as soon as possible. The landscape is stunning, but it is not protected. The untouched, natural Uruguay seen in the movies is teetering on the brink of destruction. Kudos to director Charly Braun for his artistry and excellent timing. No doubt "Por el Camino" will soon be billed as a nostalgic classic film that captures the essence of pre-industrial Uruguay.
Here's a news update on the Zamin Ferrous project.
