The Devil's Miner Analysis

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The documentary The Devil’s Miner, by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani, follows the lives of the mining community in the Cerro Rico mountain in Potosí, Bolivia. Cerro Rico played an important role on the strength of the Spanish Empire. The mountain, and many others like it, was rich with silver deposits. The city become one of the most populous cities. However, today, the city has become a very difficult place to live in. With much of the resources exploited during the colonial period, and much of the population moving to other parts of the country, the mountain is relatively empty. For those that live around the mountain, their only option of survival is to work in the mines. Throughout the film, we get glimpse of the impacts left behind by the Spaniards. One of the impacts is explicatively seen in regards to religious practices. We are able to see result of transculturation, which the interaction between two or more cultures that works to create a new culture (Chasteen, 2001, pg. 71). The film shows the Spaniards’ attempt of maintaining dominance as well as the ability of the native population to integrate their new cultural experience with their own. …show more content…
Due to the dangerous conditions, they were working in, the workers revolted. As a way of deterring other potential up rises, they created a deity, El Tío. According to the Spaniards, El Tío is God of the mountain, who protects the miners but also could cause destruction. His statutes are placed in the entrance of each mine as a reminder. As means of offerings, the miners leave behind alcohol, tobacco and cocoa leaves in order to receive protection and give thanks for the productive days. This worked in the favour of the Spaniards because it controlled rebellious activities as well as reinforced their expansion of Christianity as salvation (Chasteen, 2001,

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