Ecuador trip: Day Nine

We arrived at Cuenca's largest cathedral on the main plaza before 9 a.m. where we were going to film mass with Alberto Luna, the former Archbishop of Cuenca. Having never attended a mass before I wasn't sure what to expect but tried to be inconspicuous standing behind the camera about 100 feet from the alter. The mass lasted for about thirty minutes with Denise darting in and out of the pews getting shots and close ups of the Archbishop.

After the mass we waited until Alberto Luna was ready and then set up for the interview in the cathedral near the altar with him seated on a pew. Alberto Luna was until his recent retirement the Archbishop of Cuenca, one of the largest cities in Southern Ecuador. He still holds mass daily in the cathedral and his services are always packed (today's was no exception), a sign of his popularity with the people here. In addition to being a much loved and respected figure, Alberto Luna is also controversial because of his stance on the importance of working with the poor and issues with the church’s support of class structure.

After the interview, we kindly thanked Alberto Luna for his time and spent a few more hours filming b-roll in and around the church. Tomorrow we leave Cuenca and head for the jungle, a full days journey by plane and car.