The Worshippers

Synopsis

Magdalena carries the weight of a promise of faith left by her late husband and of the dreams in which he reminds her that it was Saint Roque who saved their daughter from a mysterious illness. Driven by fear and a mother's love, she decides to challenge the strict norms of Tarija's religious traditions in southern Bolivia. In secret, she slips into the ranks of the promesantes chunchos, a devotion ritual reserved exclusively for men, who dance in procession covered with tunic and turban as they accompany the patron saint. Wearing her husband's garments, Magdalena exposes herself to moral and social condemnation if she is discovered during the saint's encierro and farewell. The camera follows her intimate journey and the voices around her: men who oppose her, women who never had the chance to try. The Worshippers explores the tensions between faith, devotion, fear, tradition, and the longing for equality, leaving a central question unresolved: why can't a woman be a worshipper?