At Ocotillo Films, we believe the best stories are told by the people who carry them forward. This time around, Desert Door and East Foundation helped us amplify one of those stories.
Timo and Miguel Rodriguez have been cowboys nearly as long as they’ve been brothers.
Between the Rio Grande and Hebbronville, Texas, is the San Antonio Viejo Ranch, where the two have worked for over 50 years. The land there is harsh. It didn’t ask us to be careful and watch where we walked—it demanded we wear snake boots and know damn well where we stepped.
While the terrain was rough, Timo and Miguel were resolute. Their half-century of experience out here meant they knew this brushland like they knew each other.
The brothers came up from Mexico with little more than one another, but like Zane from East Foundation says, they’ve rooted themselves into this place. They’re as much a part of the ranch as the ranch is part of them now.
It was important to us that Timo, Miguel, and the other Spanish-speaking ranchers got to hear their story in their own language, so we decided to bilingually caption the video for both Spanish and English speakers.
“Working with Ocotillo was a joy. I specifically enjoyed their collaborative process, creative approach and easy-going nature. They made sure Desert Door was a part of every step of the way and adopted our team into theirs.” –– Carolina Colantouni, Art Director at Desert Door.
We aren’t quite the cowboys Timo and Miguel are. We don’t know if anyone could be nowadays.
Getting up before the sun and leaving after it sets isn’t easy, especially to run cattle all day, but it’s another day at the office for the true cowboys of the Wild Horse Desert.
East Foundation and Desert Door partnered with us on this short film as part of a project to show the connection people like Timo and Miguel have with the land, and the brothers personify that even better than we could’ve imagined.