El Elefante Blanco

Summary

Mercado Adolfo López Mateos (ALM): 6000 merchants, 9000 customers. Every day. The gigantic traditional market in Cuernavaca/México is a microcosm of Mexican life and
society. Once an object of great prestige, today it is besieged by emerging supermarkets, mismanagement and its own degeneration. Crammed to the roof with merchandise, not one meter of space is wasted.

"El Elefante Blanco" portrays and links the lives of various persons, who every day face the challenges of coping with their lives, in close symbiosis with the market: Watch Alberto, who broadcasts music and self-produced commercials via the market's sound system; Hugo and his gang who wait each day for odd jobs; Lauro the grocer, who in 1964 helped found the market and today is a moral authority; Roberto the butcher, who wraps the female clients around his finger; Ariel and his brother Humberto, who make music with the most basic of instruments to provide for their family; Marianela celebrating 'Día de los Muertos', together with her numerous relatives, and the entire village.

All these people are connected by the labyrinth of corridors crossing ALM. The market itself never sleeps. As soon as the merchants leave for home, the night watchmen's shift
begins.

Learn the effect that globalization has on a provincial Mexican town and its inhabitants; and that it’s not strong enough to lessen their passion for life. Built in the year 1964, Mercado Adolfo López Mateos is more than an urban quarter with a remarkable architecture and an
eventful history. It is an emporium, living space, curse and chance at the same time.

Source: German films Service & Marketing GmbH