Manos De Oro (Hands of Gold)

Growing up in a traditional Mexican household, I did not have to look far to learn what it meant to be a hard worker. My father, a lifelong mechanic and overall lover of manual labor, would regularly work 80+ hour weeks in order to make ends meet for us. And on his days off? Those days were reserved for my siblings and I to help him mow the lawn, pick up trash, and keep ourselves busy with chores outside. This was not to be questioned, and despite my father’s obsessive behavior that made him appear seemingly invincible, the day came when he had finally met his match.

“Manos De Oro” was born as a direct result of an experience that my family had to deal with in October of 2018. After being diagnosed with a debilitating nervous system condition, my father was hospitalized for a month and forced to stay in bed for longer than he had ever had in his entire life. The physical pain did not seem real; my father was hurting in ways that I did not know were humanly possible. And yet, his darkest hours were spent coping with the overwhelming anxiety of not being able to work. His unrelenting desire to get his hands dirty and be productive drove him into tears every single day, and it was as if I was watching a lion trapped in a cage begging to be put back in the jungle. It was heartbreaking.

The experience of watching my father go through what he did moved me in a lot of ways, and it fueled me to tell an original story that kept one question in mind; what will it look like when a man like this, an obsessive workaholic, is forced to hang it all up? Ultimately, this film is designed to be both a feeling and a reflection; a feeling that emotionally invites audiences to hold up a mirror to themselves, and a reflection of our culture that allows them to thoughtfully consider the nature of what they truly value in this life. If Manos De Oro is capable of anything, then I hope it does precisely that.