In our second installment in our new “Green & Red Arts and Culture Series” we talked about the book and movie *The Milagro Beanfield War.” While is a heartwarming story of a regular guy taking on the system, there are significant political messages there too.
Listen in: https://bit.ly/3U3UbmT
The people of Milagro, New Mexico had to deal with outside “developers” coming in to their community take control of politics, the land, and even the war. The character Joe Mondragon then kicked a sluice gate to water his beans and invoked the wrath of local businessmen and politicians. Locally Joe became a hero and the development company put him in its crosshairs.
The book, by John Nichols, and the movie directed by Robert Redford examine issues like land use, water rights, local organization efforts, community organizing, Latin culture, and more.
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Loved the podcast on Milagro Beanfield War. The music was a key element to the charm of this movie and would have been worth a mention.