Olivos moves mountains in tourism documentary

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The mountains of South America are in Raimundo Olivos’ blood. Born and raised in Chile, Olivos and his three sisters and two brothers were always encouraged to head for the hills, and the family would go camping, horseback riding and mountaineering. 

Later, as a young adult, he would pursue a career as a climber, split boarder and professional mountaineer, and now he’s using all that experience, and his Master of Arts in Tourism Management studies at Royal Roads University, to make a documentary film series, Andes Indómito.  

Indominable Andes (the English translation) consists of 10 episodes that focus on mountain exploration and sustainability in the Andes Mountain Range from Colombia to Patagonia.  

While each part of the documentary series involves a journey into territories most people never see, Olivos’ own journey to Victoria, BC and Royal Roads began when he left behind an early university education in business in favour of studies in tourism. 

One episode examines Chile’s Cochamó Valley, a famous location among climbers, while another looks at the Inca empire, focusing in part on the Chasqui, the empire’s messengers who historically delivered information or small packets over hundreds of kilometres. The episode follows Chasqui, who speak the Indigenous language Quecha, as they run the ancient routes, gaining hundreds, even thousands of metres of elevation. 

The goal, Olivos says, is to have viewers learn the history of a destination, become intrigued with the territory and possibly visit, which could have great economic impact on local communities. 

Olivos conceived the series and served as a producer, leading the team for pre- and post- production and filming, and handling marketing and branding while partnering with his own athletic sponsor, Lippi Outdoor. In addition, working as a sort of sub-director, he was involved in all facets of production, often juggling three episodes in various stages of development at a time. 

He says producers are in talks to have the series shown on a major streaming service but in the meantime, episodes have been screened at several mountain film festivals after garnering hundreds of thousands of views online and appearing on a Chilean TV channel. 

“I always thought, ‘What do I have to do next?’” he says, noting his undergrad years left in him a hunger “to go deeper in the hospitality industry” that led him to RRU. 

Andes Indómito premiered November 12 in Chile. You can watch a trailer in Spanish.