Mama Lucha, Mi Abuela Luz Mária

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Monster Woman made headlines, speeches and the public agenda in Quito and Ecuador. Luz María Endara, known as Mama Lucha, was a feared woman who managed to articulate a criminal structure with which she controlled all the popular markets in Quito. She used violence to dominate and lead, confronting her own subordination as an impoverished woman.

Her myth and legacy survive today, not only as a legend about violent and atrocious acts, but also as the figure of the matron of the markets who, with her mechanisms, managed to appease, organize and shape the spaces of informal commerce, spaces that historically have functioned outside the rules, surveillance and public policies, in a sort of para-state.

The documentary reconstructs a human story of Luz María Endara from the voice of the women in her family, particularly from the point of view of her granddaughter. This point of view contrasts and complements the official account of the Monster Woman. We seek to recover the historical memory of an era in which the city of Quito began to grow exponentially. Through the story of Luz María Endara, we want to tell the story of the city, of violence and, especially, of the women who inhabit the market, who with their work and care weave the warp on which this city is based.