VIENEN POR EL ORO, VIENEN POR TODO (THEY COME FOR THE GOLD, THEY COME FOR IT ALL)

“Gold, a child that is born of nature’s desire.” The inhabitants of Esquel in the Argentine Patagonia find themselves faced with an existential decision. A Canadian global corporation has gained the rights to the excavation of gold and silver in their disused mines. That means wages for an area afflicted by 50 percent unemployment. The price for it however is extreme ground-water loss and contamination from poisonous cyanide. In a referendum Esquel’s population decides against the precious metal and opts for a sustainable future. Alchemists have always sought gold. What has mattered in this process since time immemorial though is an “inner transformation.”