La Vuelta

This documentary by Cuban filmmaker Ariagna Fajardo features interviews with men and women who produce bricks manually by hand, along with scenes of them at work. This piece is in Spanish with no subtitles.

00:00Copy video clip URL Opening credits over a dusty landscape, smoke clouds, and sounds of a fire burning.

00:45Copy video clip URL Men work the land, shoveling dirt into trailers pulled by oxen. They are also shown filling up huge drums of water, and producing mud by stomping in it with their bare feet. The mud is placed in a circular trough, where a man “churns” the mud by manually walking around the yard, pushing a handle made from the branch of a tree.

04:23Copy video clip URL Several people briefly comment on the experience of their work. Some call it a “tradition,” another says that it’s “like a family.”

05:14Copy video clip URL Scenes of men producing mud bricks by hand. They scoop the mud by hand and place it in a template, scraping off the excess with their hands, then setting them out to dry in the sun.

05:50Copy video clip URL More sound bytes from workers. They comment on how it’s very physical and difficult.

06:14Copy video clip URL A woman speaks about her work, saying that she does it to eat, and that’s why she keeps working. This is followed by scenes of her doing the work, as well.

06:38Copy video clip URL More scenes of the brick production, including collecting and stacking the bricks.

07:20Copy video clip URL More interviews of workers describing the difficulties of their work.

08:00Copy video clip URL More scenes of the work being done.

09:25Copy video clip URL Footage of a rain storm on the brick factory.

10:15Copy video clip URL The workers describe how the rainy season affects their work, from destroying the bricks to preventing them from being able to work, to slowing demand for the bricks, as well.

10:50Copy video clip URL More scenes of work following the rain.

12:06Copy video clip URL Woman explains that she does this “to eat. To live.”

12:25Copy video clip URL A few of the men create a large fire in a contained space, presumably to serve as a kiln to bake the bricks.

13:50Copy video clip URL The woman returns to say that the meaning beyond being able to eat and live herself is to provide homes for people.

14:23Copy video clip URL More scenes of the work.

15:37Copy video clip URL A woman explains that she is grateful to be able to do this work. The woman in the straw hat comes in to emphatically say that she if she didn’t have this work tomorrow, she would cry. She passionately says that it’s a great sacrifice, but she likes it and it is life-giving for her. A man says that he likes his work as well. The woman in the straw hat returns to say that this work takes a lot of love and sacrifice.

16:45Copy video clip URL Reverse image of opening sequence, beginning with the smoke in the air and finishing with the dry, dusty ground.

17:10Copy video clip URL Closing credits hand written on wet bricks.

18:40Copy video clip URL End of video.