La Estancia: “The Stay”
In the summer of 2010, I traveled to South Baja with Laura Vitale, Rita Smith, Rick Darge, and Fletcher Allision to film a documentary on the lives of migrant farm workers.
The goal was to hear their stories, and communicate them to you. 
Many Mexican migrant farm workers travel from south Mexico up to the Baja Peninsula, hoping for a better life. Many of them begin to work in the fields, and choose to live in the migrant worker camps, often times having no other options.
Some of the camps are very accommodating, others are not. Some of the workers are able to make enough of a living to obtain their own home, etc. Others never seem to break free from the worker camp, and they become part of a system that keeps them working, but leads to a very challenging life in many cases.
Often older children (10-12 years old) are left at home to care for 4-5 younger siblings, while both parents work in the fields. When a child is old enough to work, (12-14 year old and younger) the next oldest sibling becomes the babysitter. Many of the the kids don’t go to school, and the cycle of working hard manual labor jobs repeats itself from parents to children.
One of the ministries of Capilla Calvario de Vizcaino ( the church we planted and support) is to pick up families and bring them to church. We have a school bus, and we pick the families up and bring them to church. The migrant workers do not own cars, and they are happy to be able to attend church, and be a part of something uplifting and edifying.
Another ministry of CCV and La Posada, Vizcaino (the missions base) is to feed needy families and provide for their physical needs. ”Project Rice & Beans” is a ministry out of Cornerstone Napa which has helped feed many families. The needs in South Baja are endless.
We are pleased to present this short video documentary as a way to share the plight of many Mexican migrant farm workers who are simply trying to eke out a living under some very tough conditions.
We are also pleased to announce that “La Estancia” has been included in the 2011 Napa Valley Film Festival. Information can be found on the La Estancia website, listed below.
Gracias por todo, y que dios te bendiga….Bill Walden
http://www.laestanciafilm.com/index.html
