La niña [English translation]

From early in the morning, the girl prays

That her day won't be so long

And with the light of daybreak,

She gets herself ready for the day's work.

She closes her eyes so that she won't see herself,

For the mirror reveals

That her work is bringing about her ruin

And her saint is not paying attention,

Every day, every minute he is resting

On that foam of her miseries,

Fingernails and flesh, sweat and effort,

All of her persistence, every one of her dreams

Gone away but remaining somehow in her recollections

And in the memory of her yearnings.

Ay! Black tresses, sad little face, Rosa María,

You live your days and nights looking for an escape.

Come Sunday this hell of yours might open into your happiness.

May the maquiladora one day be only a memory

And may the harvest one day be your own.

One day it will come to pass.

May your bosses one day be redeemed

And may humility one day be restored to pride

And may you one day be recognized as equal to the others.

One day it will come to pass.

• Artist:Lila Downs