"My flowers bloom early in the morning"

• 00:12:15 Maria Candelaria:  I have my flowers to offer

• 00:12:20 Citizen 1: Did you hear that?

• 00:12:22 Citizen 2: Is it Maria Candelaria's voice? 

• 00:12:25 Citizen 1: It sure is.

• 00:12:27 Citizen 2: How dare she sell flowers? Let's stop her.

• 00:12:53 Maria Candelaria: My flowers bloom early in the morning.

(Maria Candelaria, Emilio Fernandez, 00:12:15)

          Maria Candelaria is the story of a beautiful young woman hated for her mother's sin. Although Maria is a picture of chastity, the distinction between mother and daughter is lost on the neighbors. Maria lives in isolation and poverty because the locals refuse to interact with her. When she tries to sell her flowers, Maria sings this song: "My flowers bloom early in the morning."

           The morning is a common symbol in literature. It is a beginning, the start of life, and an end to the dark of night. In Modern Man In Search Of A Soul, Carl Jung compares the stages of a day to the life of an individual, using the sun to symbolize man’s consciousness. The morning is when men embrace the world, seeks to expand their horizons by rising higher and higher--it symbolizes the starting point to growth, achievement, and acceptance. Also significant is the morning sunrise beginning in the East, symbolizing a new beginning, the birth of a new day. The morning also represents revelation often of morning (i.e. the "dawning" of an idea), a reprieve from the darkness of ignorance.

            Maria Candelaria's song to the villagers of, "My flowers bloom early in the morning," is not insignificant. Unlike Maria, who may be said to have bloomed "late at night" as a product of her mother's sin, her flowers bloom early in the morning. They are a product of a different stage in time--one of light and inspiration. Her flowers bloomed at the dawn of a new beginning. Not only does her song distinguish the flowers as separate from her mother's world, but it also designates the flowers as a symbol of her hope. Maria offers the townspeople her flowers--if they accept the flowers born of the morning, maybe they will reevaluate her origins as well. If she can sell the flowers, she can get out of isolation and poverty. Her rebirth into society depends on the villagers--accepting her flowers may signal the dawn of a new beginning for Maria.