Aylín is a teenager from a working-class neighborhood in Mexico who, after eating dirt following an act of bullyinghe discovers that he possesses the supernatural ability to have visions that reveal the whereabouts of missing people. Together with her brother and her friends, she will learn to use her gift to search for the missing, becoming a sort of heroine who fights against violence and injustice in her community. Here’s how it’s presented Earth eaterPrime Video’s new bet now available on its platform, an adaptation of the novel by Argentine writer Dolores Reyes, which combines magical realism and social denunciation.
This new production for the service of streamingcomposed of seven episodes, it sees the participation of the actresses Lilith Curiel, in the role of Aylín, Mabel Cadena, in the role of Lourdes, and the Oscar candidate Yalitza Aparicio, in the role of the teacher Emma. The trio of performers celebrates a similar work Earth eater has been able to make the leap to television and adapts with a bit of contemporaneity to a country like Mexico, which has been facing a missing persons crisis for several years.
“I think a great job was done Earth eater because unfortunately the systematic violence that runs through Latin America has not been changed either. This adaptation gives you a little hope about how you see the interconnected characters. Regardless of gender, age, generational wounds, they have the opportunity, without fully understanding what this super gift consists of, to accompany the process of changing the narrative and present a better panorama of the reality they are experiencing,” says Cadena, accompanied by Curiel and Aparicio, through a video call.
In 2019, Reyes published his first novel Earth eater. However, a couple of years later, with the increase in conservative discourse and the arrival of Javier Milei as president in Argentina, the work faced attempts at censorship. The controversy, far from silencing her, multiplied her readers and consolidated her as a symbol of resistance. Curiel believes this adaptation of the novel is more “assertive” and approached with “greater caution,” which allows it to reach a wider audience. “In the book, some themes are addressed with much more rawness and visibility. On the other hand, the series, without leaving them aside, tries to ensure that every person is able to connect with what is happening. That it is put on the table and we can talk about these themes”, completes the 16-year-old actress.
In Earth eaterthe harsh and brutal reality of disappearances in Mexico, with more than 120,000 people of whom no trace is known, uses narrative resources such as magic and the detective genre to touch on problems such as feminicides, machismo and violence against women. Both Cadena and Aparicio consider the importance of fiction productions being able to accompany and make visible the struggles of many people, families and groups in the country who have to face these horrors on a daily basis.
“I believe that projects are not always born with the intention of educating and transforming a society. It is enough that some are made with all the love, passion and respect, so that the audience can connect with what many experience and that each of the characters can leave a seed of hope for someone else,” says Aparicio.
On the same point, Cadena quotes the Argentine director Lucrecia Martel on the importance of not stopping talking about these issues. Above all, he says, do not stop remembering the missing and do not forget all the orphans that this violence leaves behind. “Creating fiction allows us to accompany our imagination and curiosity in seeing difficult realities captured on the screen. One thing I love about fiction is that, of course, I can add a little of my social justice and what I think about certain topics, but what matters most to me is being able to create a character who, with his light and his darkness, is compatible with a viewer who can make him aware of the problems he is seeing,” he adds.
Another pillar of the series is connecting and engaging young people with social causes that matter and impact the country. Together with her friends Verónica (Max Peña), Hernán (Juan Daniel García Treviño) and her brother Walter (Roberto Aguilar), Aylín’s character, with sensitivity, strength and determination, will try to take the bull by the horns to stop the violence and find a sense of justice. Curiel highlights how this ensemble, in which he includes his character, has that perspective of diversity, representation and determination that “anyone could identify with”. “It was very rewarding to be able to portray such a genuine and real character where many people can see a heroine who was not something different in their life,” she reflects.
“It seems to me that young people’s access to information has fueled their determination, empathy and involvement in issues such as gender violence and disappearances. This also allows these new generations to be so awakened by this access. It is important that they bring the light to raise their voices and demand justice in the face of tragedies like this. There are many moments in the series where we can also see social empathy and sisterhood,” concludes Aparicio.
