El realismo social como medio artístico para expresar la realidad del jornalero de las plantaciones de banano

Abstract

This research project deals with the working conditions to which banana workers are exposed, this situation is not exclusive to a specific point, Ecuador being one of the main banana exporting countries has very large banana plantations that have a large staff working in their areas as is the case of the so-called cuadrilleros, who are the last rung on the ladder of workers, expendable for agribusinessmen. This problem is important because it violates the labor rights of human beings, who are protected by human rights and a series of laws that have been created in order to protect workers, The majority of day laborers are poor people with no academic studies, so they resort to jobs that do not require experience in any other area and that is precisely where the problem occurs, the owners of large banana plantations use intermediaries to hire their staff in what is called labor outsourcing, which terribly affects the employee. This abuse by the employer seriously affects the living conditions of the day laborer, who in many cases has this work as his only income, the environment in which they work is also inappropriate because they do not have safety measures to protect them from pesticides and leave them vulnerable to a series of diseases that not only affects the individual but the whole family, Not having health insurance or a better paid salary, many do not choose not to go to the doctor, which further increases their condition, as well as with the rising prices of the basic food basket, they practically become slaves for a small salary that does not cover food, education and health expenses. Since time immemorial man has manifested through graphic expressions his reality, with the passage of time and the different stages of the history of art realism has gained much importance from being a record of a portrait or a country scene to focus more on the reality of man, in that sense social realism arises to give its place to the proletariat to evidence social inequality, the outrages to the important events of history as the popular uprisings seeking equal status. At present, social realism is still used as a means to portray situations in which the people are transgressed. This degree project aims to echo the situation of these workers, so the artistic proposal is born with the purpose of reflecting the reality of this community, the work shows the simplicity, vulnerability and subjugation to which the banana workers are considered by many workers unimportant, humiliated and discriminated. The artistic proposal focused on a social scope arises from the need to give voice to those who do not have a means to express the thirst for justice and equity to which every human being has the right.