Sunset

I took this picture, I hope that's okay.

On first glance this image looks like a typical sunset in the countryside of Guatemala. The colors are all reddish, reflecting the changing light from the sun. The lighting gives the image a home-y, happy feel.

However, knowing the meaning of the other elements in the picture changes the mood of this image entirely. Looking closer, one will notice the field in the foreground that is in burnt heaps scattered across the ground. immediately behind the smoldering heaps there is a line of trucks carrying sugar cane. The smoke is visible in the middle-left of the image, showing that a fire was recently put out. The colors come to represent oppression.

For me, this image represents the exploitation of the earth in this country. Guatemala is abundant in natural resources and has always been known for its fertile ground. For this reason, Sugar cane production is one of the biggest uses of the land. This requires thousands of people to perform back-creaking labor for hours on end. Many of them have to participate in the burning of the fields, which prepares the sugar cane for harvest, a process that is extremely dangerous. The trucks represent the exploitation of the country's natural resources, the land and the people.