I embarked upon the Corazon Vaquero project for a number of reasons. As a surfer and southern California native, I have spent a lot of time on the dusty back roads of Baja California searching for waves and it has undoubtedly etched its vast expanses into my mind. Born in San Diego, California, I grew up surrounded by the Latin rhythms that are tightly woven into our border town culture. These two forces created the backdrop for my childhood, alongside that of my cowboy father, Garry McClintock.

My father is a well-known and respected saddle maker in the old school California vaquero tradition. This tradition finds its roots in the rugged and quiet country side of Baja California. Given my father’s interests, he is an expert in all things Vaquero and a good friend to many of the deeply rooted Baja Cowboy families. My father and I found a kindred spirit in photographer Eve Ewing, who has been documenting Baja California’s back country - the cave paintings in particular- since 1964. Eve’s many travels have made her a member of many families on the penninsula. The intimacy that both my father and Eve share with the mountain people gave us full access to a range of emotions and situations that would be difficult to encounter under normal conditions.

The unique aspect of this film was its timing. Once the three of us started work on this documentary; it had a self-propelling desire to get done; It wanted to develop itself as much as we wanted it to happen. This momentum inspired all of us to dive deeper and deeper into the film, as well as the lives of the people..  

I hope this film is able to portray the admiration we have for these people as well as the mutual respect these people have for their families, the land, and each other. They are a humorous and giving people, and I hope their story educates as well as entertains.

Although at times I was never exactly sure how I was going to get there, my vision was always very clear on where this film needed to go and I feel I have accomplished that goal. I've been involved in a variety of film projects over the years - from Hollywood big budgets to low budget indies and I've always given as much as possible to these experiences. This project was no different in many ways- but it was a lot more personal, a lot more exciting and a lot more work.

                                                                                                                                                         Cody McClintock