Hell has many locations, but one site is surely the silver mine at Cerro Rico, a mountain in Bolivia that has coughed up fortunes in the last 400 years. It has also, according to the makers of “The Devil’s Miner,” taken millions of lives in that span.
This dismal spot sits 15,000 feet above sea level, but it couldn’t seem more abysmal. For the film, directors Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani decided to focus on one 14-year-old boy, Basilio Vargas, who is frequently accompanied by his 12-year-old brother Bernandino.
As the boys slave away in the mines for the equivalent of $2.50 a day, we learn about the greater cost of working there. For instance, inhaling mine dust over a period of years will destroy workers’ lungs and probably kill many before the age of 40.
Meanwhile, just to get comfortably through the days, the workers chew coca leaves. So they stay “high” not just in altitude but also in their bloodstream.
One of the most intriguing elements of this movie is the relation of religion to this world. Outside the mines, the people who live in the village around Cerro Rico are Catholics, dutifully fulfilling the expectations of that faith.
But inside the darkness of the mines, things change. Crude icons of the devil are interspersed throughout the mines, and it is suspected that miners should tender offerings (coca leaves, for instance) before the bizarre icons, in order to guarantee their safety. Again, the effectiveness of this tactic is not readily apparent, but in the dangerous conditions of the mines, superstition is more powerful than logic.
“The Devil’s Miner” is an engrossing film. It has been criticized for not providing the context behind the mine. Who is getting rich off the system, and how does the process work?
But that’s a different documentary. This one is right on the level of the men and boys working in Cerro Rico, and they don’t seem to be thinking beyond the next paycheck.
In an era when superstition seems to be making a comeback against rationality, the film shows the cost of blind faith. These miners should destroy their devils – yet fear is a powerful influence, and so is starvation.
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