"Las estrellas de la línea" ("The Railroad All-Stars) is a documentary written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Chema Rodríguez. It follows a group of sex workers from Guatemala City as they form a soccer team and compete in local championships, in a effort to draw attention to their denunciation of the precarious conditions of poverty and risk in which they live and work, as well as to demand respect for their rights as human beings. Through the interviews, the audience learns about their personal histories and tragedies that led them to become sex workers.
One of the most moving scenes of the documentary, an event which caused controversy in Guatemala at the time, is when they join a soccer league that have their matches at a private soccer club located in a upscale area of the city. Despite having paid their fees to join, they were expelled from the league because of complaints from members of the club. As one well-known local columnist wrote: "it is unacceptable in a private club to have a group of whores playing soccer alongside young ladies of the highest social and economic rank in the country." This started a series of columns in local newspapers, some challenging the prejudice, others expressing the prejudice very openly. At least people started talking about a neglected and ignored group of people within our society.
For a review of the documentary:
http://www.socialdesignsite.com/content/view/64/73/
For the trailer:
http://estrellasdelalinea.blogspot.com/2009/01/triler-de-estrellas-de-la-lnea.html
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