"The Secret of the River": a series about muxe diversity in Mexico and the path to friendship
A series about the muxe identity of the Zapotec culture in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the interweaving of friendships that help overcome violence has premiered on Netflix.
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"El Secreto del Río" is a Mexican series directed by Ernesto Contreras that showcases muxe identities in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca. Recently released on Netflix, the series is an intimate mapping of the margins, where friendship becomes a refuge and dissident identities breathe between the cracks of everyday violence. Manuel, a boy played by actress Frida Sofía Cruz, transitions to Sicarú and shows the path toward the desire to exist beyond heteropatriarchal control.
In a context rife with hate speech and violence, this series emerges as a ray of hope. It delves into what it means to be muxe and LGBT. Through its characters and profound dialogue, it showcases the struggles between tradition and dissent, questioning how the Mexican legal system continues to fuel attacks against trans and diverse people.
Who are the muxes?
“We muxes are people from the community of Juchitán, the region of the Oaxacan isthmus in southern Mexico. We are born with a male biology but identify with the female gender. This is how we integrate into our community and assume that place,” Amaranta Gómez Regalado told Presentes .
They recognize themselves as a "third gender" that challenges binary notions of masculine and feminine. Muxes adopt traditionally feminine roles in their dress and behavior. In Zapotec culture, their existence is considered a blessing for families, although in practice they still face stigmatization and violence, especially outside their communities of origin.
In the series and through its protagonist Manuel, the series portrays the internal and external challenges of accepting an identity that does not fit into heteropatriarchal norms and reflects how muxe identity can be a source of pride, a mirror of hope, but also a source of exclusion in a patriarchal society that punishes difference.
Fabric of impunity
The series also exposes how corruption allows violence, such as sexual and domestic violence, to go unpunished, leaving victims unprotected. Instead of protecting, prosecutors and municipal police participate in the criminalization and revictimization of trans and diverse people. This reality is reflected in one of the harshest phrases in the series: "I prefer a dead son to a whore son," a horrifying statement that resonates with the symbolic and physical violence many LGBT+ people face in their family environments.
Mexico remains one of the most dangerous countries for the LGBT+ community. In 2023, the organization Letra S documented 43 transfemicides . They represented 65% of the total number of violent deaths against LGBT+ people in Mexico. Institutional neglect not only normalizes these attacks but also perpetuates a narrative in which the lives of LGBT+ people are disposable.
Activist Sofía Guandulain of Trans Difusión, a transgender organization in Oaxaca, told this outlet that violence against muxe women and LGBT+ people in Oaxaca has increased.
“The situation of violence in Oaxaca is affecting muxe women and LGBT+ people, and especially trans women. It's not just hate murders. It's also structural violence and discrimination that are putting us at risk. And there are no public prevention policies or guarantees of rights.”
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