Night, full-moon, bodies in constant cadence lift a fishing net on top of a boat. Darkness wraps all movement, and the fish collected are scattered by glimpses of light. From physical labour to the rituals involved in religious festivities, Moretones (Bruises) takes us through the diverse geographical and spiritual landscapes of the Costa Chica, a region marked by the imprints of colonialism and the echoes of slavery and displacement on the Afro-descendants who live there, present in contemporary forms of racism and lack of opportunities. Animal spirits, known as tonos, mirror daily life. Upon being born, a person acquires a close spiritual link to an animal, a link that lasts throughout the lives of both creatures.
Within this cosmogony, the change of seasons and absence or abundance of water in the landscape finds rhythm in the activities and relationships of Juli, a fisherwoman in a forgotten town that resists rust and decay; Don Chico, a healer that embodies his tono at night to take care of other people’s tonos; Doña Ester, a 97 year-old midwife that roams at night in her animal form; and Jaime, a farmer and construction worker.
