Cerro Rico Tierra Rica

(Cerro rico, tierra rica)
Juan Vallejo | Documentary

2012 | 87 minutes | Bolivia, Colombia, United States

The rituals of two mining communities are observed in this striking and unsparing portrait of life and work in Bolivia's altiplano. A strong denunciation of the hardships and alienation inherent in mining work while underscoring its impact on the native population.

Synopsis

The daily rituals of two mining communities are observed in this strikingly visual and unsparing portrait of life and work in Bolivia's altiplano, at an altitude of fourteen thousand feet. More than ten thousand miners still excavate the slopes and tunnels of the richest silver field in mining history, Cerro Rico (Rich Hill), an enormous conical mountain in the Andes that towers over the city of Potosí. The miners' lives offer a strong denunciation of the hardships and alienation inherent in industrial work inside the mines, underscoring the historical impact on the native population created by global demands for earth's wealth. Shot in iconic Potosí and Cerro Rico and, as a counterpart, in the Arctic-looking plains of Salar de Uyuni, where salt is extracted daily and where half of the world's lithium reserves remain untapped.

Reviews

"Breathtaking." — Cineaste

"Juan Vallejo's work is quite an achievement of cultural identity." — Robert Bell, Exclaim!

"Viewers could appreciate different point of views while Vallejo discovers and learns more about the miners and their families." — Boston's Latino Daily El Planeta

"Engrossing, provocative filmmaking... A powerful, unsparing picture of life in one small part of the world.... Both breathtaking and troubling." — E. G. Anderson, CVVMagazine.com

Citation
Main credits

Vallejo, Juan (film director)
Vallejo, Juan (film producer)
Rackham, Robert Alan (film producer)

Other credits

Cinematography, Juan Vallejo, Robert Alan Rackham; editor, Juan Vallejo, Ji Yi Kim; music, Andres Subercaseaux.


Citation
Cataloging
Keywords
mining community, Andes, Potosí, mining, Salar de Uyuni, labor, spanish, spanish language, latin america, latin american cinema, latin american film, ibero america, latin, latinx, latino, latina,,environment, environmental, environmentalism, climate, climate change, global warming, habitat, ecosystem, ecology, eco, earth, planet, water, sustainable, sustainability, deforestation, agriculture, green, green economy,indigenous peoples, indigenous people, indigenous, native, native people, native peoples, aboriginal people, aboriginal, aborigine, indigene, indigeneity, tribes, tribal, tribal people, tribal peoples,human rights, public rights, equal rights, freedom of expression, basic human rights, united nations, activism, human rights activism, human rights council, human rights commission, universal human rights, universal rights,sociology, anthropology, psychology, sociological, sociological perspectives, conflict theory, human conflicts, sociological thinking,conflict perspective, topics in sociology, sociology topics, sociology studies, social studies, people and cultures, human relations, human relationships, cultural studies, culture studies ,economics, social class, money, capital, capitalism, class, economy, prejudice, intersectionality, inequality, poverty, income gap, wage gap, class warfare, elitism, snobbery, bourgeois, poverty, upper class, middle class, lower class, nouveau riche,family, kin, fellowship, household, immediate family, extended family, multigenerational family, multigenerational household, kinfolk, family tree, genealogy, nuclear family, modern family, family tree,culture, identity, identity politics, culture wars, left wing, right wing, intersectionality, identity groups, civilization, literacy, humanism, cancel culture, online culture, cultural revolution, cultural diffusion, culture shock, popular culture, pop culture, material culture, cultural capital, cultural assimilation ,anthropologically, cultural anthropology, forensic anthropology, anthropologist, human nature, physical anthropology, ethnocentric, ethnography, functionalism, cultures, societies, human people, human society, functionalism, globalization, ideology, pragmatism, dogmatism, social change, society,labor studies, employment studies, workers rights, workers’ rights, organizing, labor unions, trade unions, unions, industry, employment law, working class, labor rights, labor equity, employment, union organizing, labor organizing, labor rights movements, employment rights movements, workers’ rights movement, workers rights movements,Bolivia,mining,Cerro Rico, Tierra Rica,cerro rico,Ritual,Cerro Rico Tierra Rica,king solomon's mines,rituals,Cerro_Rico.,Juan Vallejo,blood diamond,anthropology ritual,ixtanul,mining latin america,mines,mine chile,work globalization,latin,mine,sports latinamerica,cerro,bolivia mines,latin america mining,globalization,globalization mining,South american mining,minas bolivia,mineral,spanish,women mining,vengeance is mine,bolivian mine,Peru mining,cero rico tiera,Sergio Cabrera,mine wars,mining in ecuador,sand mining,puerto rico,cero rico,mineros,human rights,Tierra Rica,altiplano,pit mining,native populations,health rituals,costa rica,intercultural communication,mine reclamation,puerto rico Latinos studoes; "Cerro Rico Tierra Rica"; Pragda Films
Clips
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Festivals

Bolivia International Film Festival - Pukañawi Audience Award, Best Feature Documentary
Havana Film Festival
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
Independent Film Festival of Boston
North Carolina Latin American Film Festival
Planet in Focus, Toronto

DIRECTOR: Juan Vallejo

NATIONALITY: Bolivia, Colombia, United States

YEAR: 2012

GENRE: Documentary

LANGUAGE: Spanish; Quechua; Indigenous languages

COLOR / B&W: Color

GRADE LEVEL: High School, College, Adults

SUBTITLE/CC: AVAILABLE

AUDIO DESCRIPTION: NOT AVAILABLE

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