Embedded Files
"What does milagro mean?"
"Miracle."
This Hispanic town of Milagro, New Mexico faces conflicts with their water systems the moment Anglo development appears in the form of the company owned by Devine. The usage of names interested me in this film because the main character is Joe Mondragon and the business man is named Ladd Devine. It sets up a nice foil with Joe’s name being relatively “simple” for a first name while Ladd’s surname is Devine, which sounds like “divine.” I think this establishes a clear sense of perceived hierarchy right off the bat when they arrive in town.
The utilization of cultural ideals is played with a lot in this film. For instance, the purpose of Devine’s company and their construction process is to undoubtably attract wealthy people to the town of Milagro. They want to establish a “proper town” and drive the natives of the area out so they can live within the capitalistic ideals of the white and privileged in America. This is a stark contrast compared to Joe’s community, which share the ecosystem they live in with each other and don’t seek the materialistic ideals of Devine’s corporation, which has been fed into by the individualized perspective of Americans traditionally. Thus, Joe reclaims the water “owned” by Devine and begins a war between the Milagro community and the corporation.
The reactions of these people differ as well, as Devine’s company sees the community as a bunch of rebels that need to return to their place by seizing control of their water supply while the Milagro community think Joe’s action of taking the water as necessary to preserve what is culturally their own. The emotional attachment is stronger in Milagro’s group because they see it as a need for survival while the Devine corporation sees it as a means for profit.
The thematic presence of water itself is culturally tuned and pivotal to the film because it is utilized differently depending on who it belongs to. The Milagro community value water more intrinsically then the white men, utilizing it to feed the crops that have fed their own for generations and is traditionally the most important factor within their agriculture. They don’t devalue it because they retaliate the moment that resource is threatened. Meanwhile, Devine’s corporation sees it more for its capital use which is suggested first when they “buy the rights” to the water and use the area to build structures unnecessary to the land or for survival. The golf course, for instance, is used merely to attract more consumers. The strength of their uses differs drastically as they exist within different realms of significance (but not necessarily importance because the Anglo representatives think taking the water is very important).
This film shows that water is definitely a resource that different communities will fight for because of its varied use. Historically, Anglo and Hispanic populations have clashed for the use of water in the past and this film is reminiscent of those historical events within contemporary time. However, in relation to tradition between the two in both film and history, the Hispanic populations see water more so as a shared resource among their community members that is integral to growth, prosperity, and survival rather than the contemporary white view of water as property. The winning side of this film perhaps suggests that we should value water more than we do because it is important as a facet of culture that underlies our own nourishment and relationship with those around us.
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