TITA

The injustice and stigma surrounding domestic labor conditions in Mexico City are such that it is difficult to avoid adopting a paternalistic position which risks being no less self-indulgent than that of those who advocate in favor of an oppressive class system. Tita (Martha Toledo) prompts us to confront our own assumptions, misconceptions and positioning around the issue. She shows us how to look beyond the implications of the terms “la sirvienta” (the servant), “la criada” (the help), “la muchacha” (the hired girl). With contagious exuberance, she invites us to shift our gaze and bear witness to the implications of being Tita, a twenty-year-old woman recently migrated to the city from Álvaro Obregón, a fishing village in Oaxaca. A woman whose fierce independence and optimism are the means by which she will make true her dreams and aspirations.