Chicano Theatre free essay sample

The transition of the meaning Chicano has varied throughout the decades, but it still holds its politically charged roots strong. The inspiration of Chicano Theatre comes from the Chicano Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. This was a time where the Vietnam War played a great part in the United States, where Mexican-Americans were trying to fight racism, inequality, separation between their own races and move toward a better way of life. Notably one of the more famous movements during this era was that of the United Farm Workers (UFW) fighting for La Causa (the cause) which was ignited by the revolutionist Cesar Chavez. The whole Chicano movement ignited interest in America about the Mexican-American culture and led to much more equal rights towards the race as a whole. With this movement came a form of theatre to recapture the decades of struggle and convey it to an audience who might not have had the opportunity to get a real life perspective of living in poverty and fighting for equality. We will write a custom essay sample on Chicano Theatre or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Chicano Theatre does just that, it recaptures the essence of the struggle including La Causa, strikes, life in the barrio (low income residence), and everyday life of the Chicano activist. The introduction of Chicano Theatre has mostly been attributed towards one man, Luis Valdez. Valdezs credits include, founder artistic director of the internationally renowned El Teatro Campesino, council member of the National Endowment of the Arts, and founding member of the California Arts Council. His awards include, Presidential Medal of the Arts, the prestigious Aguila Azteca Award, Governors Award of the California Arts Council. Best known works: Zoot Suit, La Bamba, and Corridos, winner of the George Peabody Award. He continues to work and mentor a new generation of theatre artists at El Teatro Campesino Playhouse (El Teatro Campesino 2009). Another head figure in Chicano Theatre is Jorge Huerta (PhD, University of California Santa Barbara) PhD Faculty. Huerta holds the Chancellors Associates Endowed Chair III. He is a leading authority on contemporary Chicana/o and US Latina/o Theatre as well as a professional director. Jorge Huerta has also directed in theatres across the country, including the San Diego Repertory, Seattle’s Group Theatre, Washington D. C. s Gala Hispanic Theatre, La Compania de Teatro de Albuquerque and New Yorks Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre(UCSD 2009). Some of the leading Chicano Theatre groups include Teatro Vision (San Jose, Ca), El Centro Su Teatro (Denver, Co), and of course El Teatro Campesino (San Juan Bautista, Ca). Some of the more popular plays in Chicano Theatre include La Posada, La Gran Carpa de los Rasquachis and Bernabe. There have been many noteworth y actors in the genre including Diane Rodriguez, Valenzuela Gutierrez, Socorro Valdez, Jose Delgade and Andres Valenzuela Gutierrez. There were a plethora of choices of writing this assignment, all of which would have been great to research and learn about. The reason that compelled me to further my education with Chicano Theatre is for the reason that I felt that I would be able to relate with it. I believe that this was the intention of Valdez, who put together this genre in hopes of connecting to people who were not necessarily around to see the everyday struggle of the Chicano people. My assumptions were right in regards to the material that would be covered and the overall production of Chicano Theatre. I felt that the biggest part of the theatre would be to reveal major milestones in the culture, to celebrate independence and equality and to promote and spread the word to different generations and races about how the world has evolved over time. Through this perspective I have found much interest in this particular genre of theatre. In fact, I enjoyed researching the theatre and related topics so much that I found myself often digressing away from one point and diving into another topic dealing with the culture. Needless to say I spent a great deal of hours learning about the culture in whole, and I can appreciate the work that goes into their production. I am grateful to have such a great opportunity to watch live performances locally; living in California gives all of us residents’ opportunity to witness in person these events because this is the birthplace of Chicano Theatre. I share great pleasure in the fact that not only is this form of art so close to home; it is also in its beginning stages, which leaves a lot of room for change, interpretation and documentation. Although I wasn’t around when it first started in the 1960’s, their key figures are still around and that shows that there should still be big things to come in the future for Chicano Theatre. References Dictionary: http://www. thefreedictionary. com/Chicano El Teatro Campesino http://www. elteatrocampesino. com/about_luis. html University of California San Diego: http://theatre. ucsd. edu/people/faculty/JorgeHuerta/