Salt of the Earth is a 1954 American film drama written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. Because all three men were blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics, Salt of the Earth was one of the first independent films made outside of the Hollywood studio system.

Plot

Esperanza Quintero is a miner's wife in Zinc Town, New Mexico, a community which is essentially run and owned by Delaware Zinc, Inc. Esperanza is thirty-five years old, pregnant with her third child and emotionally dominated by her husband, Ramón Quintero. We know from her concern about her onomásticos or día de mi/su santo (a.k.a. Name Day) that it is the 12th November as that is the onomásticos of persons named Esperanza.