Max Arens

Independencia

Max Arens\' grandmother was born in Independencia, a German-speaking settlement located at the foot of the Ybytyruzú mountain range in Paraguay. Emigrants from former German East Africa first travelled to the area in 1919, hoping for a better future. Today, many recent immigrants from Germany live in Independencia next to the descendants of German emigrants. As different as the inhabitants seem, there are similarities between old traditions and strange worldviews: the residents share a dream of personal freedom in a globalized world. In Independencia, Max Arens investigates to what extent the residents still identify with their home culture. What is their relationship to the broken German identity like?