In the Land of Plenty 1999
Distributed by Filmakers Library, 124 East 40th St., New York, NY 10016; 212-898-4980
Produced by Starfish Productions
Directed by Susana Aiken and Carlos Aparicio
VHS, color, 62 min.
Adult
Multicultural Studies
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Jean Dickson, Lockwood Library, The University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkThis documentary depicts the everyday life of undocumented Mexican strawberry pickers in California, focusing on the extended Garcia family, and Fernando Garcia in particular. Garcia, an articulate middle-aged man, visits his poverty-stricken village in Oaxaca, and returns through Tijuana back to Watsonville, California, accompanied by a young woman from his hometown who also emigrates to support her mother and younger sisters. The film shows highlights of their journey, as well as the squalid conditions in which many of the farmworkers live. United Farmworkers Union spokespeople explain the toxic chemical spraying, the lack of health insurance, and the exploitation faced by the strawberry pickers, but the focus is primarily on the workers and their lives. Almost all of the dialogue is in Spanish, with English subtitles. Appropriate, lively ranchero music accompanies this un-varnished picture of farmworkers’ lives.
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