THE DEVIL’S MINER Latin Cinema Series

This powerful documentary follows 14-yeor-old Basilio as he risks his life to support his family in the mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia. The mines, known as “the mountains that eat men,” hove killed eight million people since the Spanish conquistadors began extracting silver. Through young Basilio’s eyes, we meet a world of pious Catholic miners who sever their ties with God upon entering the mines and turn their worship the Devil. Basilio and his younger brother, while chewing coca leaves to keep them alert, make sacrifices to a statue of the Devil in the mines, hoping it will bring them protection as well as let them earn enough money to continue the new school year. Basilio knows that without an education there is no hope to escape his fate at the mines where the average life expectancy is 35 to 40.

This claustrophobic but elegantly filmed documentary tells Basilios’ dark abysmal tale without sentimentality, while clearly showing us his struggle to survive and find a better life.