The award-winning documentary The Devil’s Miner takes us into the life of the Vargas family of Potosí, Bolivia. Since his father passed away, the eldest son, Basilio, who is only fourteen years old, is the family breadwinner. Basilio works in the mines along with his younger brother Bernardino while his sister stays home with his mother whose job it is to watch over the miners’ equipment. In the film, we witness the dangerous and unhealthy work carried out by these two boys who are among hundreds who work in the mines of the area. Basilio attends school but, having no father, it is more likely that he will continue to work in the mines into adulthood, which is a depressing prospect since even the men who work as miners acknowledge that they expect to die young due to the health risks associated with working in the mines. In the first ten minutes of watching this documentary, my viewing companion, who is not big on commentary, must have been equally impressed with the situation of these child laborers since he commented on how good children in the U.S. have it. Indeed, if your child has the advantage of education and a wealth of time for recreational activities and you would like them to see how their counterparts live in other countries, this is a great film to watch since it would probably make them grateful for their opportunities and also possibly make a big impression on their social conscience. Needless to say, if your class is studying child labor, this is also a good pick.

The film also goes into spirituality in the person of the priest who counsels the miners not to give in to the personage of El Tio, or the Devil as he is referred to in the film. He is ruler of the mines and each mine has his statue, a site where miners pay homage in order to ensure their continued safety in the mines. One of the ways that miners pay their respects is by depositing coca leaves by their mine’s Tio. I liked the fact that we see this as well as how often the boys and men chew coca leaves during breaks since it works to stave off hunger and maintain energy. I think it’s important to see the cultural uses of coca leaves since it’s often villainized due to its use in cocaine.

Besides bringing child labor in these mines to light, I liked this film because it did not just paint a dismal portrait of these young miners . It also shows how they balance their lives with quick soccer games, school and with their dancing in the miners group during carnaval. I loved their miners’ dance move but more importantly, I enjoyed watching their preparation for carnaval because you could see that despite their harsh working conditions, and despite the potential to get insulted if more schoolmates knew Basilio was a miner, the boys and miners were proud of their identity as miners.

Viewing this film probably made more of an impact on me because it coincided with the deaths of 29 miners in a coal mine explosion in West Virginia and subsequently hearing various pieces in the radio about the incident as well as personal accounts of people who live in mining towns and come from mining families. My condolences to all the families and friends touched by these tragedies here and everywhere. — And check out The Devil’s Miner website for more information, including ways to contribute to ending child labor in Bolivia.