Mexican Discrimination and Health Hazards in Monica Perales' Smeltertown

Equality
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Monica Perales in her book Smeltertown: making and remembering a southwest border community, makes some intriguing points. The book is a vivid description of the Mexicans lives at the border town. Using her ability to transport the readers to the town and time, Perales craftily brings to life that the Mexicans lived. She vividly describes the sceneries their activities, struggles and the triumphs that the people had amidst all their pain and suffering. She describes the social meaning created by a people that sought after.  The community was able to make the best out of what they had at the time. "The community culture forged by Esmeltianos served as a mechanism for survival, allowing them to mitigate the power of the company that touched every aspect of their lives. The smelter literally loomed over Smeltertown's residents. Traditions modes of resistance including labor and community organizing allowed Esmeltianos to demand benefits and services from the company and the city, and figure prominently in the story of Smeltertown (Perales & William, 2010). But more often, residents found daily means of making life livable and, through their community rituals and institutions, retained a sense of control over their lives in a setting where the company ultimately held the upper hand." As such it is easy to see the way the author brings out the ability of the community to turn around their situation and make a better life for themselves, despite the fact that they were under immense pressure from the struggles they faced. The smelting company had some immense influence in their lives as it affected almost all areas of their lives, as they labored for the company to make a living for themselves. The author skillfully brings out the discrimination, health hazards and a host of poor working conditions that the Mexicans had to deal with.
The Mexican community according to the author found ways to make sure that they constructed vibrant culture by giving meaning to their struggles and lives. Most of the workers at the smelting plants were ethnic Mexicans, who worked as machinists and sometime some would get the chance to be foremen (Perales & William, 2010). The women mostly spent time cleaning and cooking. Living conditions were deplorable from the houses to the pavements outside the homes. This was as a result of the poor pay that the Mexicans made at the smelting plants. The author also skillfully reconstructs the life of her grandfather, who was a worked as a smelter. The grandfather had been a smelter worker and managed to earn his living working for four decades at the smelting plant. In the book, her grandfather was a hardworking man who after a day's work would them wash away the oil and grime and put on a clean set of clothes, then he would bring home the dirty uniform for them to be washed. The routines were a strong element of the smelters' lives which helped them make sense of their lives and more importantly their struggles. The theme of struggle and finding meaning in life is a common element that affects people even today. For those living under the poverty line, they have to make sense of their lives by attaching meaning to their daily struggles. It is not ea...