You awoke one day then you find that the world becomes suddenly empty of about 11 million Latinos that comprise at least the area of California. This is the controversial core premise behind the film “ A Day Without aMexican”. In essence, the film appears to highlight the idea of how America at least is dependent on the workings of this often-abused sector of the society.
Directed and co-written by Sergio Arau along with Yareli Arizmendi, the movie emphasizes the stereotyping of Latinos as Mexicans in California, and presumes all of these individuals are illegitimate immigrants. Moreover, the primary message that the film seeks to convey is that many individuals in the society take for granted the contributions brought both by legal and illegal Latino immigrants who work for these people.
The range of the contributions of these Latinos covers most—if not all—of the essential endeavors in the society. From being a fruit harvester to being elite executives in a renowned place like California, Latinos play a huge role in the performance of the nation’s economy. This is one of the significant messages underlying the movie which is based on a brief film of the same director.
The content of the movie can be summarized in the idea that an unexplained event covers California. That is, people within the state cannot communicate with individuals residing outside California. This is coupled with the disappearance of all the Latinos which heightens the chaos that surrounds the people.
Particularly in California, the film depicts the central idea that nobody in the place likes or appreciates Latinos. This feeling is overturned by the sudden events in the movie, specifically the part which shows the disappearance of the Latinos.
What the film is essentially attempting to establish is this idea: that, perhaps, the only way for everybody to realize the social worth and individual importance of these Latinos is to make them feel their absence in the society. That way, the disappearance of the Latinos will force these people to do the usual things and important social roles by themselves—which is why Latinos are an important segment of California.
The movie narrates this plot by portraying the lives of four individual characters, all of whom share an integral part in their respective professions. Ateacheras well as a common housewife, Mary Jo Quintana shares the same effect of the wide disappearance of Latinos with Senator Abercrombie, Louis McClaire, and Lila Rodriguez. In general, the massive disappearance opens up their once-private lives.
As experts bring up various theories in an attempt to explain the disappearance of the Latinos, the status of the entirety of California starts to decline. The events led to the depreciation in the cleanliness of the state as garbage mounts in the streets of California and in the economic devastation of the state. This in particular sums up the idea that, indeed, Latinos have an important role in the continuance and progress not only of California but of America as a whole.
