I made a short, sweet, unprofessional editing of some interviews I made in Argentina/Brasil in 2022 about Yerba Mate:
For the ones who know me, know the collective importance of mate, I tend to give this infusion and have definitely been invited (or even forced hahaha) to drink mate with me at least once. But, mate is not a drink. Well, actually it is. It is a liquid that you take by mouth. But it is not a drink. In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and the South of Brazil, people do not take mate simply to quench their thirst. There is much more. When somebody comes to visit you, the first thing you say is „hola“, the second thing is „would you like a mate?“ This happens in every single house. In the houses of the deep-pocketed, and in the houses of the poverty-stricken. It happens among people who like to chat and gossip and also among reserved and/or immature creatures. Among the elderly in a nursing home and among teenagers while they study or use drugs even. It is the only thing parents and children share without arguments or confrontation. The computer keyboard over here is always dirty with yerba (the crushed tea leaves of mate), you can see this at any office or house. Always mate, in times of inflation, hunger, disease, eternal curses. If you run out of yerba, a neighbour will always give you some. Yerba will never be denied and always shared. Mate is simply a manifestation of values. It means solidarity, it means talking and listening. It means friendship. It means being humble about who prepared the best mate. It means generosity of giving to the end. Hospitality and invitation. Fairness and retribution. It means you have to say „thank you“ at least once a day. Mate is the ethical, honest and loyal attitude of meeting somebody simply to share. Being and staying in Argentina for a couple of days recently, I sat down with my people, shared mate and asked them „What is mate for you?“. The individual and personal answers and stories turned out to be so beautiful, sincere and emotional that I decided to make a short and sweet documentary with the help of a dear friend.
Inspired by the book "El libro de la Yerba Mate" by Karla Johan Lorenzo.
Edited by my good friend Lujan Benjamin.
For the moment, the video is only in Spanish language. As I was trying for hours to correctly add English subtitles, at one point I got really tired. To watch the video with English or any other subs, please check Youtube settings of the video, click "subtitles", followed by clicking "auto-translate" and then choose your language
I hope you might enjoy it!