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Tambogrande: Mangos, Murder, MiningTambogrande: Mangos, Murder, Mining.Production and direction,Ernesto Cabellos and Stephanie Boyd; color DVD, 85 mins.,2006. Distributed by Icarus Films; www.icarusfilms.com.

As illustrated in the film, mining in a country with deep disparities like Peruentails more than technical calculations of how to extract minerals, particularly

when minerals are considered a national patrimony. This emotionally chargedactivist documentary constitutes a snapshot of contemporary social dramasassociated with the arrival of large mining companies in agricultural places. Ina context of centralized government, increased globalization of capital andmining expansion, the film shows the potential of international interconnectionsfor the empowerment of marginalized communities facing such development.Tambogrande depicts a conflictive episode in the Peruvian Andes over access tonatural resources that led to a nonviolent civil resistance mobilization and thesubsequent cancelation of a multi-million dollar mining project. In the film, localresidents dramatically and strategically fashion their claims into concernsrelevant to the nations capital, while appropriating an international discourse

of self-determination.Tambograndeis the second work from the producerdirector partnership of the

Peruvian Ernesto Cabellos and the Canadian Stephanie Boyd, after their debutwith the internationally awarded Choropampa: The Price of Gold. That first filmportrays a mercury spill disaster and protests against Yanacocha, the worldsmost productive gold mine. IfChoropampa leaves the audience with the frustra-tion of a marginalized indigenous village claiming for insufficient compensation,Tambogrande shows the escalation of local issues into the national imaginationand the potential of strategic narratives to affect global investments. In bothaccounts, local populations are portrayed as the main heroes, personified by the

legally harassed young mayor of Choropampa and the murdered Tambograndeleader, the agronomist Godofredo Garca Baca.

Tambogrande is composed of two parts, separated by the destruction of theVancouver-based Manhattan Minerals offices in Tambogrande, one monthbefore the assassination of Garca Baca in 2001. The first segment profiles the epicdevelopment of agricultural production for export (e.g., mangos and limes),thanks to a government and World Bank irrigation project in the late 1940s thattransformed the desert district of Tambogrande. The second section is devoted tothe Tambogrande Defense Fronts abandonment of formal dialogue withthe mining company and the state, and the Fronts organization of a popularreferendum with 70 percent participation, a higher percentage than in formalelections and the first of its kind, according to the film. The vote, which registered

Visual Anthropology, 23: 6567, 2010Copyright# Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0894-9468 print=1545-5920 onlineDOI: 10.1080/08949460903369034

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98 percent opposition to mining, was followed by local residents boycott of thepublic hearings sponsored by Manhattan Minerals and the government. All ofthese events culminated in the national authorities cancelation of the miningproject.

The mineral deposit (of gold, silver, copper and zinc) at the center of the conflict islocated beneath Tambogrande town. Extraction plans included creating athree-kilometer open pit and changing the course of a main river after relocatingone third of the towns population. Manhattan Minerals promised more than threehundred jobs, new houses for the relocated and community development pro-grams. Farming, Yes! Mining, No! (Agro, si!Mina, no!) was the mantra at the pro-test meetings. The conflict evokes a debate about the model for development undera mining boom, especially in terms of who benefits and who loses in the long term.

The protesters principal strategy was to frame the conflict in terms of a battlefor life and livelihood. My father . . . gave his life, his youth, to his farm, a

woman stated, to explain her participation in the fight. The conflict symbolismwas enacted through a defense of agricultural products, involving the iconic lime(limon),an essential ingredient in the emblematic national dishceviche. Withoutlime there is no ceviche (Sin limon no hay ceviche) was chanted for the nationalcampaign. Flyers and marches displayed people costumed as limes so as toappeal to a broader public.

The film was translated for screenings in Spanish asTambogrande is Worth Morethan Gold (Vale mas que oro). The issue of assessing value was locally contestedduring the dispute, raising concerns about participatory development versus for-eign economic rationality as the path for Perus national well-being. By publiclydebating the options for development of the region, local residents were also con-

testing processes of participation and democracy. The referendum was portrayedas a matter of cultural rights and self-determination in an agricultural region thatdid not desperately need mining help. One can hear the Minister of Energy andMines disagreeing with the referendum by emphasizing that democratic pro-cesses are good but they must have a minimum respect for the lawand there-fore follow a bureaucratic procedure to reject the project. The local residentsacts questioned the governmental decision-making apparatus, insisting that thereferendum should prevail.

Vividly assembling testimonies from a complex and conflictive process, cover-ing a period of five years, into a linear narrative, represents a remarkable effort.

According to the filmmakers account, people from the international media havepraised the films strong dramatic structure and the simplicity of the mes-sage through a perfectly told story which can be understood by any citizen ofthe world (www.guarango.org). There is certainly a skill to bringing a localdrama to the attention of global audiences. The plot is easy to follow along thelines of an epic rural enactment of the DavidGoliath myth. The narrators voicepassionately editorializes the material, emphasizing a celebration of democ-racy and the local residents achievements. An interested viewer will benefitby complementing the audiovisual information with readings that problematizethe complexity of arguments and issues introduced. The activist narrative,though compelling, selects for heroism at the expense of significant actors,such as nongovernmental organizations which are notably absent from the

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documentary though critical to the evolution of the conflict. Acknowledging thebroad range of competing actors, alliances and perspectives in this struggle willcertainly promote classroom discussion.

Peru is a beggar seated on a golden bench, states a popular Peruvian dictum

(attributed to the Italian naturalist Antonio Raimondi, 18241890), invoking theparadox of natural resource abundance within generalized poverty. Overall, thisfilm serves as a memorable introduction to debates on development and sover-eignty, and to disputes over natural resources in the context of severe socialinequalities and widespread impoverishment.

Vladimir R. GilGraduate Schools Environmental Development Program

Department of Social SciencesPontifica Universidad Catolica del Peru, Lima, Peru

andCenter for Environmental Research and ConservationThe Earth Institute at Columbia University

New York, NYUSA

vg2156@columbia.edu

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