FEATURE FILM / 1984

Costaleros

A documentary about the inner, unknown world of the brotherhoods, a universe of its own with its own laws, rules, and philosophy far removed from religion, which were (and in many ways still are) foreign to most people, especially the non-Andalusian majority in Spain. It is the only audiovisual document that captures the pivotal moment for the "people at the bottom" when professional bearers (dockworkers, day laborers, and various other wage earners) are being "pushed out" of the brotherhoods and replaced by fellow bearers. From an anthropological perspective, "Costaleros" projects peculiarities of Andalusian culture that are often misinterpreted and misunderstood from the outside.