A documentary that is both poignant and powerful, Discovering Dominga tells the remarkable story of a 29 year-old Iowa housewife who returns to her Guatemalan birthplace on an odyssey of self-discovery. But her journey to reconnect with her roots takes an unexpected turn that changes her life forever.

Denese Becker was born “Dominga” in a remote Maya village. At the age of nine, during the Guatemalan civil war, her village was destroyed and her parents killed in one of the most horrific massacres carried out by Guatemalan forces. Adopted at age eleven by an American couple in Iowa, Dominga became Denese, with a new name and a new identity. She married an Iowa native, had children, and tried to put aside confusing nightmares about her childhood memories. In returning to Guatemala, Denese discovers the terrible truth about the political crimes committed by the U.S.-backed government there—crimes that the United Nations later declared were “acts of genocide.” The once shy housewife takes the brave decision to join her Maya community in their quest for justice, despite continued political violence against those who advocate for human rights in today’s Guatemala. As Denese struggles to reconcile her two identities as an immigrant American and a Guatemalan, she comes to understand that she is part of both cultures. But in the process, her relationship to her American family is forever altered.

Top of page