Aug 31, 2026 · 25 min · 10 segments
In the area surrounding the mysterious Zone of Silence—amidst lonely roads, desert landscapes, and small towns in Durango—there are stories that rarely reach those living outside the region. In this…
I'd prefer not to give my name because I currently work making documentaries and news reports, most of the time for a television network everyone in Mexico knows.
And even though this story happened many years ago, I wouldn't want anyone to connect it to me now.
I can give Uriel all the details privately if needed, but for the program I'd rather stay anonymous.
I studied film, and like many people when they finish their degree, I had that excitement of wanting to set out across the country with a camera, convinced that any road could become a project.
What I did have was a car that was barely holding together, a couple of cameras I had bought after years of saving, and the idea of making a documentary series about small towns in Mexico before they emptied out entirely, before they changed forever.
From childhood he talked to me a lot about the desert, about the endless roads, about villages that seemed frozen in time, no matter how much the cities changed.
Not to tell me scary stories, but more as something that was simply part of the landscape he grew up in.
He said that when he was young it was very common to hear stories from people who swore they had seen very strange things out there, or who insisted that radio stopped working, that cars would cut out, that compasses went haywire, that stepping into the area felt deeply strange.
himself, because he had gone out there more than once.
Over the years I ended up associating that whole part of the state with a mysterious place, one of those you have to visit at least once out of sheer curiosity.
That's why when I planned that trip, I decided to pass through the area and added the town of Ceballos as one of my stops for photography.
My project had nothing to do with the Zona del Silencio, but I knew it was relatively nearby, and it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the journey to see that region.
I'd prefer not to give my name because I currently work making documentaries and news reports, most of the time for a television network everyone in Mexico knows.
And even though this story happened many years ago, I wouldn't want anyone to connect it to me now.
I can give Uriel all the details privately if needed, but for the program I'd rather stay anonymous.
I studied film, and like many people when they finish their degree, I had that excitement of wanting to set out across the country with a camera, convinced that any road could become a project.
What I did have was a car that was barely holding together, a couple of cameras I had bought after years of saving, and the idea of making a documentary series about small towns in Mexico before they emptied out entirely, before they changed forever.
From childhood he talked to me a lot about the desert, about the endless roads, about villages that seemed frozen in time, no matter how much the cities changed.
Not to tell me scary stories, but more as something that was simply part of the landscape he grew up in.
He said that when he was young it was very common to hear stories from people who swore they had seen very strange things out there, or who insisted that radio stopped working, that cars would cut out, that compasses went haywire, that stepping into the area felt deeply strange.
himself, because he had gone out there more than once.
Over the years I ended up associating that whole part of the state with a mysterious place, one of those you have to visit at least once out of sheer curiosity.
That's why when I planned that trip, I decided to pass through the area and added the town of Ceballos as one of my stops for photography.
My project had nothing to do with the Zona del Silencio, but I knew it was relatively nearby, and it seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the journey to see that region.
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