Polirics
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The
candidates
address
the issues
affecting
Latinos
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SYLVIA MENDozA
Jn the backof a flatbedtruck,theTeatro
wasbornin 1965.FounderLuis
I Campesino
IValdez. whosework includesZoot Suitandla
Bamba,continuesmakinghis markas
a playwright,professor,producer,
anddirector,pavingthe way,opening doors,andgiving hopeto a new
generationof Latinosin the arts.His
latestplay,TheMummifiedDeer
opensin Octoberat the SanDiegoRepertory
Theater.
IIISPANIC: Have you remainedtrue to your
vision over the years?
LUIS VALDEZz Certainly.As a playwrightin
1965,I madea choiceto join CdsarCh6vezin the
grapestrike ratherthan go to New York. I was very
angryat the growers,at the injustices.[I was]
angryfor my people.The huelgagaveme a place
to reconnect.
The ChicanoMovementgaveme a
meansto exist,a placewhereI couldbreathe.I
decidedto be an explainerof my peopleto my
own peoplefirst. Whoevercouldtap into that was
frne with me.The universalities
would emerge.
Tbe teatrobecamea very importantsourceof
entertainment
andsocialcommentary.
It wasthe
heartof what I wantedto do-use the theaterto
createsocialchangeandkeepthe integrity.
II: You had to lay the groundwork.
84
L
LV: The floor is the floor. You're going to be
walked on. I accept that. It's important that people
understandwhat was involved in the history of
Chicano theater.Every actor who ever participated
in the teatro did not eet paid for his work. In
some instanceswe got jailed, in some
instanceswe got our asseskicked, but we
did tour acrossthe country. If I'd been a
Jewish playwright, I could have stepped
into a communityanddiscoveredeverything alreadyin place,free to exploremy background,andfind peoplereadyto supportwhatI
was.As a Chicanoplaywright,I foundan empti
ness.I found a void. I founda vacuum.At one
point therewasonly me.At theNosotrosbanquet
in 1978,RicardoMontalb6nsaid,"I wantto inroonly playducea Chicanoplaywright----our
wright"-(laughs) andthat wastrue.Sufficeit to
saythat all we've gonethroughimprovedthe basic
elementsof creatingtheaterin the Hispaniccommunity.TherearetrainedyoungLatinosnow at all
levelsin thearts.
Ht TheMummift.edDeer is the frrst play you've
written in fourteen years.Why?
LV: Thereweretoo manyholesto fill. I haven't
beenableto be a full academic,a full Hollywood
type,a full playwright.I weara lot ofhats.
OccasionallyI wearonefor a while. That'swhy
it's takenfourteenyearsfor me to write another
PHOTOGRAPHYBY SPLASH STUDIOS
I
play. I'm also a historical revisionist.American history has yet to
be written. It's wrong. It's detrimentaland
prejudicial againsteverybody who is not white and European.Zfte
MummiJiedDeer clarifies more. I've written some monstrous
roles for Latinas and Latinos. It's about the Yaqui Indians-not
the Aztecs or Mayans.Yaqui soldiersaccompaniedDon Juan de
Oflate to settlethe stateof New Mexico. Josdde Gftlvez, viceroy
of New Spain, sentYaqui Indians to def'endthe mouth of the
Mississippiagainstthe British Navy in 1777-78-the winter of
Valley Forge-at the requestof GeneralGeorgeWashington,
which they did successfully.Which is to say,Mexican Indians
fought in the American Revolutionarywar. Why has that little fact
nevercome out? I'm bringingit out. This is historicalfact.
H: How was working in Hollywood in the interim trefore
this new project?
LV: I don't considermyself to be "Hollywood." I'm a
writer so I stay home and write, but I neededto
promote my projects.My major writing efforts have
been to break through in televisionand film, where
our greatestexposurecan be. But I get theseyoung
twenty-somethingsthat come from the East Coast
knowin-qnothing about Latinos and they're reading
the script! They don't understandit. It's trustrating.
H: How do you keepgoingdespitemixedreviewsof
your work?
LV: I've beenaffirmedby peoplein my field.Why
care about a reviewer who doesnot understandMexicans to begin with? Who
does not understandblack people?
Who doesnot understandthe
world? They have this narrow
focus of middle-classlife. To
have someonetell me: "I'm
not interpretingthe
Mexican-Anrerican
experience."What givesthem
the right?I've seensnobbery, ignorance,and
frankly, a lot of misunderstandingin telms of my
work. History will
absolveme in due time.
H: How's that?
LV: The best proof is
that my work is still consideredcurrent.Zooa
Salr, [which was staged]
in Chicago this year,was
as fresh as this morning's
newspaper.I'm talking
about an event that happened60 yearsago and
twenty yearssince it hit
Broadway.It's breakingice
at the Goodman Theater.
Latinos are coming to this
main theaterfor the first time.
The shock of it is that something like Zoot Suithasn't
been repeated.That's the
86
shock.Producersshouldback us up. There'smoney to be made.If
they are not going to make the money, I will.
H: What do you hope for from the younger generation of
Latinos?
LV: To get the most successful-meaning the most highly paidLatino entertainerswho have had great breaks in their careerto
support their own people and culture by reinvesting a little
discretionarymoney into new projects.We need to take advantage of entrepreneurialopportunities,produce ourselves,promote
ourselves.
H: Are your sons still involved with the Teatro Campesino?
LV: The Teatro Campesino is still going great guns. My
sonswere bom into the business.They love it. What's
great is they run the gamut; they're filmmakers,
videographers,
actors,writers, and directors,and so
are their cousinsand their friends.We've anchored
it in family becauseit is throughfamily that you get
a senseof continuity.Fortunately,this generation
has a socialconscience.At the DemocraticNational
Convention, they performed on a flatbed truck, but
the police broke up the rally. So they're on the same
frontlines that were there 35 years ago. They have the
courage to be there, to know what they need to do.
H: Are you at peacewith whereyou are at?
LV: Verymuch,but I'm still active.I turned
60 this year.It's a little daunting
becauseI still have a lot of thinss I
want to say.When the Creator
inspiresme, I hear the voices of
my charactersand feel the truth
of what I'm writing. I think
that l'm finally. finally.getting
to a point where I can function as a playwright, and
peoplewill come to seethe
works for what they have to
say.The spiritual aspectof
my life is the foundation
of everything.We have
to betterthings for ourselves,for thosewho
come with us and
behind us. I carry my
parents and grandparents in me and hope my
children somedaycarry
me. Through all the
lumps and all the praisesit's not me that matters
finally-it's the continuity.
This younger generation
cannot drop the flag. H
Svrvtn MeNooze is a freelance writer based in Elfin
Forest, California. She is the
author of two Latino+hemed
romance novelsfor Encanto.
HISPANIC. OCTOBER 2OOO