SYNOPSIS

EL ELEFANTE BLANCO is a film about life and death and the Mexican soul. It is set in the Mercado Adolfo López Mateos, a traditional market located in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.

With more than 6000 merchants and 9000 customers each and every day, Mercado Adolfo López Mateos (ALM) is a microcosm of Mexican life and society, struggling to shelter its soul from the stormy age of globalization. Once an object of great prestige, today it is besieged by emerging supermarkets, mismanagement and its own degeneration.

EL ELEFANTE BLANCO portrays and links various persons, who every day face the challenges of coping with their lives, in close symbiosis with the market: Alberto, who broadcasts music and self-produced commercials for the market; Hugo and his gang who wait each day for odd jobs; Lauro the grocer, who in 1964 helped found the market and today is a moral authority; Roberto, the butcher, who wraps the female clients around his finger; Ariel and his brother Humberto, who make music with the most basic of instruments to provide for their family.

All of these people are connected by the labyrinth of corridors that traverse ALM. Crammed to the roof with merchandise, not one meter of space is wasted. As soon as the merchants leave for home, the night watchmen's shift begins.

Built in the year 1964, ALM boasts a remarkable architecture and an eventful history: It is an emporium, a living space, a curse and an opportunity all at the same time.