La Ultima Cena

Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s film, La Ultima Cena, tells the story of a sugar cane farm’s owner recreating The Last Supper with twelve of his African slaves.  This film gives a glimpse to the rights of slaves in the Americas.  They were treated just as machinery and equipment are today.  The idea of “run it until it quits, and then get another one” applies to the African slave population of the Americas justly.  If more output was needed, then it was purchased and employed.  In La Ultima Cena, the count intends to purchase a new horizontal sugar mill, which will increase the farm’s output.  When the sugar mill “manager” mentions that more raw sugar cane is needed to match the new mill’s production, the count simply mentions that he can always buy more slaves. 

La Ultima Cena touches on the topic of slaves attaining freedom.  Kirsten Schultz’ essay addresses the introduction of freed slaves into society.  During this time, citizens held debates over the citizenship of slaves, stating that a slave seeking citizenship and the right to vote should possess a trade skill or occupation (Schultz).  Similarly, in Alea’s film, the elderly slave, Pascual is joyful when he receives his freedom, but soon sours.  He comes to realize that the only life he knows is slavery, and his freedom carries with it, poverty and despair.  The hope for a future life outside of slavery caused despair for many slaves.  It was only compounded by those behind the whip.

John Mraz makes a distinction among those in power on these farms.  “The owners were usually absent, and mayorales were commonly white and sadistic…”  This is a truth in La Ultima Cena.    La Ultima Cena is a story of a slave-owner turned savior who, very tongue-in-cheek, treats his slaves to a foot washing and a large meal.  The count’s behavior contrasts that of Don Manuel, as well as historical Cubans.  In the film, Don Manuel is ruthless in the performance of his sugar cane fields.  Whether it is to meet the demand of the sugar mill or a general lack of concern for his labor force, Don Manuel disobeys the priest’s request and the count’s orders and wakes the slaves for another day of work.  Don Manuel ignores his boss’ command concerning Pascual’s freedom, dismissing it as a drunken mistake.  This move would seem to be foolish, but slaves were regarded as dispensable and replaceable.  Any laws concerning slaves was ridiculed and ignored (Mraz).  The count initiated the hunt and murder of the twelve slaves involved in the dinner, seeming to banish all emotional ties and assuming the role of the deceased Don Manuel.  Historical accounts suggest a slave in Cuba had precedent to repel his/her treatment.  Slaves’ rights and legal protection of those rights were very common in Cuba and other Iberian colonies (de la Fuente).  These rights are not to the level of rights citizens in the U.S. are given, but they were simple matters of survival and treatment.  In John Mraz’ article, he agrees with the punishment of the slaves during and after the rebellion.  

Week 1 The Mission

The Mission, released in 1986, tells a story of Jesuit missionaries sharing the gospel with an indigenous tribe, the Guarani. A group of Guaranís, in an effort to escape forced labor, flee to the highlands of a plateau in the area where Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet.  In director Roland Joffe’s movie, Father Gabriel is inspired by the Guarani within his community and their love for music and seeks out the Guarani of the plateau in order to spread the word of the Lord and bring culture to the natives.  Historically, Iberian culture impacted groups such as the Guarani both spiritually and economically.  The Guarani were self-sufficient, but their lifestyle was not made easy by slave traders.  The missions set up by the Jesuits, such as San Carlos in the movie, provided a sanctuary for the Guarani.  In The Mission, the Jesuits brought with them only the gospel and love for their fellow man.  Their induction into indigenous culture proved to be quite simple.

With a simple oboe song, Father Gabriel is able to avoid the Guarani’s wrath, which sent a Jesuit colleague of his to his death.  In a second act of kindness to the Guarani, Father Gabriel orders Rodrigo Mendoza, a Spanish mercenary, to leave the Guarani alone, further making this of a loosely historical film, but solidifying a character arc and a prime conflict.  Nevertheless, this conflict between the Jesuits and Indian hunters is quite grounded.  Tribes like the Guarani did seek refuge from oppressors in these missions.  Protected by the Catholic Church, a mission protected Indians from forced labor, but work was still in demand.  The Mission deviates from historical accounts pertaining to economic production in indigenous communities.  The Guaraní’s’ religious affairs were no less simple.

                In The Mission, the Guarani, in their perfect world, appear to accept Christianity wholly and quickly.  This is the film’s largest inaccuracy.  The Guarani believed in magical spirit powers, and their clergy consisted of native religious practitioners, or shamans.  In some cases, their religious leaders taught against Jesuits, encouraging the Guarani to leave the missions and flee.  Historically, Jesuits employed persuasion and rewards to gain Guarani followers.  The indigenous people were in need of iron tools to improve their agriculture, which the Jesuits were glad to provide.  In The Mission, the Jesuits almost immersed themselves into the Guarani culture, contrary to the historical opposite, providing little to no improvements to the indigenous way of life.  Only in the final battle scene did we see European warfare employed by the Guarani.  As seen in the movie, real missions did subject their residents to economic regulation.  At San Carlos, the Guarani gave back ninety percent of what they earned, and at San Miguel, their earnings were split evenly among everyone.

                In the end, the introduction of European religion and technology to the indigenous people of Latin America brought with it both success and substantially more conflict.  The constant change of power across the Atlantic impacted life in the highlands of South America and caused many indigenous people to lose both their homes and their lives.  Director Rolland Joffe’s film, The Mission, accurately emphasizes the impact of Europeans on the indigenous, but erroneously depicts the difficulty involved in mixing two opposite cultures.