Crew of Equus Communications

    Equus Communications has been producing documentaries in Central and North America for over 18 years. Equus' Executive Producer Jeanette Salfeety has had ties to Belize since 1986. In 1991, she returned and founded the first chapters of The Natural Guard, an environmental education program for youths founded by folk singer Richie Havens. During her two-year stay in San Pedro Town, Salfeety and her Natural Guard group were responsible for dozens of projects dealing with wildlife education and rescue, medicinal plant cultivation and use, beach cleanups, planting trees and gardens, as well as conservation and pollution awareness. Many of these projects were the subjects of video segments on Nickelodeon and featured as articles in The San Pedro Sun newspaper. Since returning to the US in 1992, Salfeety has produced dozens of video segments for television, cable and feature film distributors, such as PBS, Nickelodeon, Telescene in New York City, Planet Video in Canada, and Playhouse International in Los Angeles, California. Many of these videos were also shot in Belize.

    The Equus team arrived in Belize on March 1st this year and met first with Chaa Creek Resort's Mike Green of La Ruta Maya Race Committee for his advice on a "plan of attack" to catch the ultimate footage. With the help of Luis Garcia of Belize Community Service Alliance, Equus was able to establish access roads in order to obtain optimum shots of the race from land. Belizean Javier Molina also teamed up with Joe and Jeanette as a "third camera" for the operation. Joining them were Production Assistants Chris Rock and Sharon Sanders, with Mike Barry catching all the sound for the documentary. Sponsors of the race as well, Equus provided a "Finishing is Winning" award to the final paddlers crossing the finish line.

    Equus filmed the race from start to finish during the three-and-a- half-day event. Emmy-award winning Editor and Director of Photography, Joe Vecchione, guided the film crew, which operated from safety boats and specific locations on land. Joe explained, "It was pandemonium from the start. At four o'clock on the morning of the race, the fire truck in Santa Elena was running around the streets, blasting a crowing rooster from its public address system to wake everyone up!" He compared the utter chaos in the water as La Ruta Maya started, to the races for land that took place in America's Wild West days. Salfeety agreed stating, "It was like watching the New York Marathon - from start to finish, everyone was cheering, from the first canoe to the last 'paddler'." Mentioned more than once was the amount of spectators waiting on bridges for the canoes, "at times there were so many, that vehicles could not pass." The support teams chasing the canoes on land were likened to a road race as well, and several accidents were barely avoided. Jeanette was also amazed by the support crews, who ran down steep banks and swam into the water to catch their teams, throwing water and other necessities into the canoes.

    The serious competitors were described as "machines," some said to be paddling an impossible 75 strokes per minute. Salfeety was equally impressed by the camaraderie that took place between the teams competing in the pleasure craft division who assisted each other or shared tips, and showed the true hospitality of the Belizean people.

    Equus paid particular attention to the festivities taking place along the route during each day of the competition. Salfeety spoke of the countless people the crew interviewed as they traveled along the river and camped overnight on the banks. "It was like Woodstock in the middle of the jungle," Joe commented. Another repeated the directions they received to one location as, "Don't worry. You'll hear the music just before you get there!"

    The Equus crew could not say enough about the wonderful people along the route. They recalled, "Women stayed up all night cooking the most delicious Belizean dishes. What was amazing is their fires remained at the same height and intensity, no matter what time you were there, late evening or early morning." Spending the night at Burrell Boom, the Equus team showed excerpts of their footage on the side of a Big H panel truck. Salfeety explained, "It was like the first drive-in theatre in Belize - everyone, especially the top teams were crowding in to see what tactics their opponents were using to get ahead. Others had never seen themselves in the water - it was so great to see the reactions!"

    The Equus crew returned to the US after a brief two-day rest in San Pedro Town. Their documentary on La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge will be titled "The Gauntlet," to show the seriousness of the race and to hopefully encourage some serious competition from around the world for next year's race. The film will also focus on the support of local businesses and spectators, and promote eco-tourism, native wildlife, the river environment, as well as the history and culture of Belize. Upon its completion, it will be marketed to several distribution companies such as National Geographic, Discovery and ESPN Sports.

    Through this medium, Equus would like to express their appreciation and sincere thanks to the British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) and the race committee for their support and enthusiasm for this production. Equus will inform the Belizean populace of the date and time when this documentary will air.