Contrary to popular belief, Latinos aren’t stealing tax
dollars, and they’re not hurting the state’s
future.
Many Californians live under the delusion that undocumented
Latinos exploit state resources. According to legislative
leaders such as former Gov. Pete Wilson, undocumented Latinos
should be denied equal healthcare and education. But Sergio
Arau’s comedy “A Day Without a Mexican” shows how
California would collapse without Latinos. Arau contends Latino
labor is the backbone of our economy, which happens to be the sixth
largest in the world.
Arau’s film depicts California in chaos. He creates a
scenario where the state’s Latino population has
mysteriously disappeared, and, though reasons for this loss remain
unclear, people across the state suffer harsh consequences. From
understaffed schools to failing agricultural businesses,
California’s infrastructure quickly falls apart. Even the
restaurants are empty ““ nobody’s preparing or serving
the food. Cleaning ladies and nannies have disappeared. Prominent
artists, scientists and intellectuals are gone, as well. Even Major
League Baseball suffers losses.
The film is set up as a comedy, but it’s also a
documentary. Now and then the audience is reminded of statistics
such as “20 percent of kindergarten through sixth grade
teachers are Hispanic” and “60 percent of the
construction/labor workforce is Latino.” Without the
contributions of Latinos, the state would suffer major economic
consequences.
So, what’s Arau trying to say? The film’s main
purpose is to show all Californians that Latinos help ““ not
hurt ““ the state. In fact, the filmmaker and his wife, Yareli
Arizmendi, began writing the script in 1994, the year California
voters enacted Proposition 187.
Proposition 187, supported by Wilson and a campaign called Save
Our State, attempted to strip undocumented immigrants of health
care, public education and welfare services. It also required
public social services to report the immigration statuses of all
persons to state and federal officials.
So, one day back in 1994, Arizmendi turned to her husband while
discussing Wilson’s policies and said, “What California
needs is a day without a Mexican.”
California needs to see what a “Mexicanless”
economy would mean because our state’s population is not
cognizant of the efforts of Latinos. The proof is in the
polling. Not only did Proposition 187 make the ballot, but it won
over the state. Described in the official ballot argument as
“the first giant stride in ultimately ending the illegal
alien invasion,” it resonated with the 60 percent of
California voters who felt that undocumented persons reaped free
and unearned benefits
In fact, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger voted in favor of
Proposition 187. The governor ““ whose campaign adviser was
none other than Wilson ““ supported the proposition because
immigrants should follow the laws, not break them.
“A Day Without a Mexican” affirms
the contributions of Hispanic presence in California. Often,
in the media, the contrary occurs. Many people believe Latinos
simply put American citizens out of work, fill up the state prisons
and destroy the credibility of the state’s K-12 school
system. Meanwhile, controversial issues like bilingual education
and affirmative action still play a strong role in the
state’s politics, as well as the availability of driver
licenses and health care for undocumented persons. Many of the 11
million Latinos in California ““ one third of the entire
population ““ haven’t been viewed as equals. Instead,
they’ve been seen as a burden to the state’s culture
and economy.
Arau and Arizmendi saw a problem with Proposition 187 10 years
ago ““ and they still do today. Fortunately, the measure
didn’t hold. It was attacked in several lawsuits, including
one by the American Civil Liberties Union, and federal courts
determined it to be unconstitutional. Still, Proposition
187’s success with voters sent a clear message throughout the
state: California’s millions of undocumented immigrants, an
overwhelming percentage from Mexico and Latin America, aren’t
welcome in the Golden State.
The film isn’t a panacea or even an answer, but it’s
a first step toward achieving public awareness. Even more,
it’s an encouraging one. The film’s billboard
advertisements in Southern California have proved shocking to many
viewers. In English, taglines read “On May 14, there will be
no Mexicans in California.” Some people, not understanding
the concept behind the film, interpreted the advertisements as
warnings of mass deportations. But, in Spanish, advertisements read
“En Catorce de Mayo, Los Gringos Van A Llorar (“On May
14, the Gringos are Going To Cry”). Though very different
messages, the bold advertisements demand attention and establish
discussion and curiosity in both communities.
Without Latinos, California would be in trouble ““ deep
trouble. The result would be chaos and economic
catastrophe. In “A Day Without a Mexican,” the
character Lila asks, “How do you make a population visible?
You take it away?” So, Arau and Arizmendi have done just
that. For a day, they took away the California we know so well. The
effect was as dramatic as they intended.
Fried is a first-year history student. E-mail her at
ifried@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.