Rosa de Lejos and the Downtrodden Poor

Well, members of Old Chatham Meeting won’t be seeing Rosa de Lejos, a Spanish-language DVD which I recently purchased from eBay. It is an 80’s film, based on the wildly popular Argentinian telenovela of the same name.
         
Rosa is a naïve young woman who comes to Buenos Aires to work and support her family. She lives “lejos,” far away from that family and is herself far away from understanding Buenos Aires and the elite class that employs the working poor. But Rosa falls in love with Roberto, a medical student from that elite. Unfortunately, Roberto sees himself as “above” Rosa and abandons her when he learns that Rosa is carrying his child.  
         
An embittered Rosa vows to better herself and find a place in the high society that Roberto lives in. Esteban, a schoolteacher, shows her how to read and write. He then educates her in the language and culture of the upper class; and Rosa—beginning as a simple seamstress—ascends to being a world-class modista, or fashion designer. Now rich and privileged, she falls in love with Esteban and, presumably, lives happily ever after.
         
This idea of a lowly, poor person rising to the upper class is a common theme in Latin American telenovelas or soap operas.  For example, the telenovela Marimar revolves around the love story of Marimar, a poor, barefoot girl who lives in a beach hut, and Sergio, a rich soccer player who marries her to spite his father. When Sergio rejects her, Marimar eventually transforms herself into a sophisticated and successful woman, seeking revenge on all those who have wronged her. She is so changed that Sergio and his family do not even recognize her, not comprehending that a muchacha from the lower class could enter into high society.
         
But can the poor actually rise to the middle or upper class? Taking the case of such people in the United States, I would have to say—generally— “No.” I’m reminded of what I heard in Walmart just yesterday after a couple had finished buying groceries. “Do we have enough money left for gas,” was the girl’s question. Well, if you don’t have enough money for gas, or if the car isn’t running, or if there’s no one to take care of a sick child, how will you get to work?

Maybe you have Medicaid for the sick child, but the rest of the family doesn’t have health insurance or real access to the health care system—unless an emergency room visit counts as a substitute for continual, quality health care. And how will you ever have the time and money for an education that would lift you out of poverty?
Moreover, the lack of money leads to stress and—often—family fights that sometimes turn violent and psychologically scar the children of the family, who then perpetuate a cycle of violence resulting from poor interpersonal coping skills. Whether in the United States or Latin America, the dream of rising to a middle-class or upper-class life is—for the poor—a pipe dream, a fantasy, a temporary escape facilitated by TV soap operas, TV game shows,  or lotto tickets.

It's said that you can’t solve social problems by throwing money at them; but universal, free early childcare and education together with a universal, free college education would put a dent in the problem. Add in universal health care for everyone in the U.S. and freedom from food insecurity, and you’ve cracked open the iron barrier of poverty. Finish all this up with guaranteed housing and the teaching of tolerance and anti-discrimination in the schools, and you’ve demolished the barriers to advancement in life for those of the downtrodden, under-class.
Otherwise, the poor are reduced to watching TV shows like Rosa de Lejos or The $100,000 Pyramid.

~ Richard Russell