Sundance Film Festival 2026 | Berlin International Film Festival 2026 | CPH: DOX 2026
Every Christmas, the town of Penjamillo in Michoacán, Mexico, hosts a jaripeo, a traditional rodeo that brings together local people and migrants returning from the US. The event celebrates cowboy culture and masculinity while a hidden queer community exists beneath the surface. Filmmaker Efraín, who grew up between Penjamillo and Riverside, California, combines personal memories, Super 8 footage and documentary scenes to explore machismo. Through his encounters with Noé, a cowboy who hides part of his identity, and Joseph, an openly expressive rodeo enthusiast and respected community member, the film explores identity and self-discovery in a traditionally masculine world.
A Michoacán-born artist based in Mexico City, Efraín Mojica explores light and sound through multidisciplinary art. Jaripeo is his feature debut. Rebecca Zweig is a Mexico City-based filmmaker, writer and An Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate. Jaripeo is her feature debut.
