Salt of the Earth (1954).
Today I am presenting my paper at Class and Diversity: WCSA 2024 Conference". It is my fourth participation in the annual conference of Working-Class Studies Association. I have been a member since 2017. The title of my paper is “Our Lady of Struggle: Marian Devotion and Organized Labor in Salt of the Earth (1954).” Here is the abstract:
Salt of the Earth (1954) is viewed as one of the major examples of working-class cinema in the United States, yet its portrayal of the deep connection between the plight and struggle of Latino workers and Catholicism has not been developed in critical discussions of the film. This paper aims to address this aspect of the film. "Salt of the earth" is a phrase taken from the Gospel of Matthew 5:13 when Jesus mentions the “saltiness” of his disciples who are called to be living proof of God’s love. The film depicts the 15-month-long miners’ strike in New Mexico against the Empire Zinc Company for the racial discrimination of Latino workers in pay, safety standards, and poor conditions of company housing. The Catholic faith is an integral part of these workers’ culture and their family’s everyday life. Esperanza Quintero (Rosaura Revueltas) is the main character and the story’s narrator, a miner’s wife who has to challenge sexism in her milieu. Christianity is a source of strength for the struggle of both miners and women. Mary in particular is a receptacle of human longings and also an emancipatory religious figure. The film aligns Esperanza with the Black Virgin of Guadalupe. In this sense, Esperanza (hope in Spanish) relates to the Virgin as a mirror, echoing the words of the Magnificat: indigenous, unsubmissive, mysterious, and sexualized. She confronts her thoughts and weaknesses and finds hope without detaching herself from the pressing matters of motherhood and the condition of working-class women.
