“A Day Without a Mexican” is a movie released in 2004. It was cowritten by Yarieli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero, and directed by Segio Arau. It is a satirical, surrealistic look at what would happen if all of the Mexicans disappeared one day from California.
It seems apropos today with the controversy regarding aliens from Hispanic countries. We are dependent on this labor. We need a way to work together to solve the problem. We really can’t function without them.
In the movie, a dense fog descends on the entire border of California and the Mexicans suddenly vanish.
Some of the scenes are stereotypically funny.
A leaf blower is spinning in space, the worker has vanished.
A restaurant owner comes into his restaurant and there are no workers. Dishes are piled high in his kitchen. The man has to wash his own dishes.
A low rider is hopping down the street without a driver.
Another lead character is in a drive-through line to get his breakfast burrito when the attendant disappears. Cars are suddenly without their Mexican drivers in the line, a complete traffic jam.
There is a riot at a car wash.
An owner of an orange grove at the height of harvest suddenly has no one to pick the crop.
There are other crops that aren’t harvested. People start hoarding fresh vegetables.
A black market develops. Drug dealers start selling tomatoes.
The disappearance doesn’t affect just the average workers.
One of the characters is a TV news anchor of Mexican birth and he disappears. Other professionals are suddenly gone.
Of course housekeepers are gone, and the nannies. The upper middle class has to make their kids’ lunches and drive them to school.
The border patrol has nothing to do so they begin PR campaigns begging them to come back.
Yes, this movie is a piece of political satire, but during this Hispanic Heritage Month, it is worth a look, and a laugh, and maybe some thoughtful contemplation.
The full length movie can be found free of charge on YouTube.
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