Valley of Tears

In Raymondville, TX, relations between Mexican-Americans and Anglo-Americans follow a course that twists as much as the nearby Rio Grande. In Valley of Tears, filmmaker Hart Perry (cinematographer on Harlan County, USA) sketches several of these conflicts, which have roiled the town once known as the onion capital of the world. In 1979, migrant workers harvesting onions were not able to earn a living wage, so they invited the Texas Farm Workers Union to lead a strike. Period footage illustrates the subsequent polarization of the town, as workers squared off against ranchers (effectively, Hispanics against whites), while interviews with subjects on both sides of the fight help fill in the details. The landowners, thanks to help from both the government and local police, were able to break the strike, but the Hispanic community maintained its momentum of political activism, bringing the issue to the schools, where 90% of the students were Hispanic. Challenging the white powerbase, the Hispanic community sponsored its own candidate for the school board, and although the effort failed, the community achieved an unprecedented level of civic engagement. As the town reaches a fragile détente, Juan Guerra—the embattled Willacy County District Attorney from the late ‘90s to the present—offers his hopeful vision of Hispanics and whites working together. An interesting micro-history of a small town's troubles that seems particularly relevant in light of the contemporary national debate about migrant workers, Valley of Tears is recommended. Aud: C, P. (J. Wadland)