Teatro Campesino

But

I remember that sort of joy that Dolores also brought to the movement, and that was the same joy we found in Teatro Campesino, the same joy that song, mariachi, and poetry gives us that uplift.

So there was the...

There was the hardcore negotiation, the hardcore strategy of Cesar, but then there was also this other part of the movement that was of risa, of laughter, joy, humor.

I remember that sort of joy that Dolores also brought to the movement.

And that was the same joy we found in Teatro Campesino, the same joy that song, mariachi, and poetry gives us that uplift.

So there was the hardcore negotiation, the hardcore strategy of Cesar, but then there was also this other part of the movement that was of, risa of laughter uh joy humor dolores had a great laugh man and she she loved to laugh she loved to come to culture class shows she she she really was a proponent and an advocate of of the arts but of of people of color who who were art makers you know she really fought for us man and that was um You know, whether you were a filmmaker like Peter Bratt, our friend Peter and Benjamin Bratt in San Francisco, or you were a printmaker like Darceya, she was an advocate.

Sorry for that.

And even as of this year, so she passed away at 96 years old, she was still hitting the pavement and showing up to events and speaking and advocating and pushing legislation.

And she was just at the premiere for American Pachuco, which we covered here on the podcast about the legacy of Luis Valdez, who started El Teatro Campesino.

And, you know, so in that film, we learned that she was also part of the birth of Chicano theater and cinema, because she provided a stage for Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino to take off and to write and to perform.

And she was at Vidiot's on the red carpet.

and conducting interviews, and this was just a few months ago.

We're on TV.

We did a residency at Teatro Campesino with Luis Valdez.

You know, we did it for a while out of college, and it was great.

But I can't tell you how many times somebody in the crowd, especially if you're performing for a Mecha or something, I'm a proud member of Mecha, San Diego State.

His teaching is connected to the history of the artists who came before him, and his approach to new work is deeply connected to questions of culture, identity, and who gets to see themselves represented on stage.

In our conversation, we talk about his journey into directing, the influence of Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino, the evolution of Latinx theater, and what it means to direct classics while still making them feel like they belong to the present.

We talk about devising, mentorship, activism, and the responsibility of training the artists who will come next.

And underneath all of that is a question I find myself returning to again and again on this podcast.

What did Latinx Theatre Commons teach you about community, and since you mentioned that word, that directing or playwriting or just, or what had been happening didn't or couldn't before?

Well, you know, I, I was...

Interesting you say you've only known me as a playwright 'cause I was actually an actor, a stage manager, and then a director and, and that path kind of occurred when I started coming up and studying theater and working with El Teatro Campesino in the, you know, just a year or two out of high school and, and then into the early years of college.

What...