Real de Catorce Hollywood descends on Mexican mining town Fernando Lopez Martinez rides up one of Real de Catorce's hilly streets. Blue tarps and vehicles mark the heavily guarded street where a film crew is working on the film "The Mexican."

The town was virtually abandoned until about twenty years ago, when its ruins were rediscovered, in part by European and American beatniks, hippies, tourists and adventurers.

Life in the town is usually quiet, and is dependent on religious and adventure tourism.

It's charm and allure lured an American film crew, including actors Brad Pitt, Gene Hackman and Julia Roberts, to its adobe ruins and cobblestoned streets during the months of April and May, where work on the upcoming film "The Mexican" was completed.

The filmmakers offered to contribute to the town's infrastructure by paying for water pipes, cellular phone towers and extra phone lines. In addition, some of the townspeople were used as extras and laborers.

At right, a woman tries to sells gorditas from her street stand while a movie crew truck attempts to get by. Below at left, children in Real de Catorce play on the roof of their family's home, by an empty cistern, which holds the family's water. Below at right, a man who appears to be actor Gene Hackman chats with locals hired to be on the labor crew for the film "The Mexican."