Synopsis: In the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta in Colombia lives an indigenous Arhuaco family, the Villafanes. Almost everything was taken away from them. They lost their homes. Their land was occupied by the drug lords. They were persecuted by the church, and faced military insurgency. 50 years ago, under the spiritual leadership of their father, they decided they had enough.
The Tyronas, who claimed to go back to the beginning of the Earth, disappeared like the Mayans and the Incas. Yet, two descendant tribes, the Kogis and the Arhuacos -who call themselves the "Elder Brothers"- have survived in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta for the last 500 years. This film retraces their suffering and slow recovery from almost extinction while maintaining intact the original Tyrona traditions (clothes, songs, ceremonies, social, political and agricultural structures). They survived the days of the Spanish conquistadores, persecution from the church, civil conflict, the terror of the drug lords, as well as the pressure of the industrial progress, paramilitaries and today's armed insurgency.
Return of the Tyronas to the ocean is shot in this unique ecological mountain range of Colombia which offers a microcosm of all the climates of the world, hence its nickname "Corazün del Mundo" (Heart of the World). Legend has it that its flora, fauna and glaciers flowing straight into the ocean, maintain the spiritual and ecological balance of the world.
