Synopsis of Esperanza

by Professor Robert Skloot, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Time: the 1950's
Place: Zinctown, New Mexico, USA

Act One

Scene 1. The women of Zinctown discuss their life of hardship and the racism they endure as they go about their harsh domestic chores. They are mocked by Barton (the Foreman) and Alexander (the Superintendent). Esperanza Quintero, pregnant and exhausted, laments the treatment her young daughter Estela receives at school. Her song of courage is interrupted by a near-accident at the unsafe mine where the men work. Esperanza and Ramón argue over the bad working conditions both suffer and the best way to improve their lives. In Ramón's dismissive attitude we see the first evidence of their unhappiness.

Scene 2. At the cantina, the miners consider striking. Ramón is reminded he has forgotten Esperanza's Saint's Day.

Scene 3. The community gathers in celebration of Esperanza. In a private moment, Esperanza and Ramón sing to their unborn child: "We wait for you, we welcome you, we live for you."

Scene 4. An explosion injures another miner, and Ramón is accused of being responsible. He defends himself against Barton's accusations and recalls that his family were ranchers on the land before the Anglos arrived. "This is where I come from. This is my land," he sings. Angered by the bosses' insults, the miners cry "Huelga! Huelga! We're on strike!" and shut the mine down.

Scene 5. The Sheriff threatens violence against the miners and Alexander tries to break the strike by dividing the men. Ramón is arrested for assaulting a scab (Salvador), beaten, and taken to jail. Esperanza gives birth to a baby boy.

Scene 6. At the Union hall, the miners hear that defying an injunction against picketing will result in their arrest. But if they stop picketing, they will lose the strike. The women propose that they do the picketing and by a vote of the community they are authorized to do so. Ramón is furious with Esperanza and the other women for usurping the men's place, but the cry goes up: "Unidos son!" ("We are united!") Esperanza defies Ramón and the chorus of women and men proclaims the justice of "the great cause."

Act 1 | Act 2