A DEFENDER OF HIS PEOPLE (57 minutes) The Indian village of Tepoztlan, just south of Mexico City, is a major tourist destination, the New Age capital of Mexico, a popular stopover on the backpacker trail, and a site for second homes of wealthy Mexico City residents. In spite of all these pressures, Tepoztlan has kept its own special identity. Both the town's main tourist destination and its identity stem from the pyramid above the town, sacred to the god/hero El Tepozteco. Though the locals, or "tepoztecos", are officially Christian, as one of them says, "When we are in trouble, we call on El Tepozteco, because he is our warrior spirit. But when it is time to go to heaven, we turn to the Almighty." In 1995, a multinational corporation announced a huge development, with a golf course 700 luxury homes, an industrial park, and a shopping center. Rather than face this threat to their identity, the tepoztecos barricaded the town and fought the project to a standstill. At the forefront of this "Golf Club War" was El Tepozteco. Many say he personally led the defense of the barricades, even driving away a federal SWAT team. Certainly his spirit, and his legend, served as a rallying cry for his people and helped them successfully defy the combined might of a multinational corporation and the Mexican state. Today, as for thousands of years, El Tepozteco has given his people the strength to take what they like from the invaders while holding fast to their identity as the children of a living god. ebc Written by Bruce "Pacho" Lane