Luis Miguel Valdez (born June 26, 1940) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor. Regarded as the father of Chicano film and theater, Valdez is best known for his play '' Zoot Suit'', his movie '' La Bamba'', and his creation of

El Teatro Campesino El Teatro Campesino (Spanish for "The Farmworker's Theater") is a Chicano theatre company in California. Performing in both English and Spanish, El Teatro Campesino was founded in 1965 as the cultural arm of the United Farm Workers and the Chicano M ...

. A pioneer in the

Chicano Movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States inspired by prior acts of resistance among people of Mexican descent, especially of Pachucos in the 1940s and 1950s, and the Black ...

, Valdez broadened the scope of theatre and arts of the Chicano community.

Biography

Early life

Valdez was born in

Delano, California Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located north-northwest of Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. It is Kern County's second-largest city after Ba ...

, to

migrant farm worker A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

parents from Mexico, Armeda and Francisco Valdez. The second of 10 children in his family, Valdez began to work the fields at the age of 6. One of his brothers is actor

Daniel Valdez Daniel Valdez (born April 27, 1949) is an American actor, musician, composer, and activist. He is best known for his work as musical director of the films '' Zoot Suit'' (1981) and '' La Bamba'' (1987). Early life Daniel Valdez was born to Francis ...

. Throughout his childhood, the family moved from harvest to harvest around the central valleys of California. Due to this peripatetic existence, he attended many different schools before the family finally settled in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

Education

Valdez began school in Stratford, California. His interest in theatre began in the first grade. Throughout grammar school, Valdez organized plays at school and put on puppet shows in his garage, which, he recalls, were usually about fairy tales.Beth Bagby; Luis Valde

"El Teatro Campesino Interviews with Luis Valdez" In high school, Valdez was part of the Speech and Drama department and acted in several plays. He described himself as "a very serious student." Valdez graduated from

James Lick High School James Lick High School is a public high school in San Jose, California, US, located in the Alum Rock district of East San Jose. The school is part of the East Side Union High School District. History James Lick High School opened in 1950 at ...

in San Jose and went on to attend

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

(SJSU) on a scholarship for

math Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. During his second year of college, he switched his major to English. While in college, Valdez won a playwriting contest with his one-act play ''The Theft'' in 1961. Two years later, in 1963, Valdez's first full-length play, ''The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa,'' was produced by the drama department and debuted at SJSU.

Early career: El Teatro Campesino

After graduation, Valdez spent the next few months with The

San Francisco Mime Troupe The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original ...

, where he was introduced to

agitprop theatre A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas i ...

guerrilla theatre Guerrilla theatre, generally rendered "guerrilla theater" in the US, is a form of guerrilla communication originated in 1965 by the San Francisco Mime Troupe, who, in spirit of the Che Guevara writings from which the term '' guerrilla'' is taken, e ...

, and Italian

commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

. These two techniques greatly influenced Valdez's development of the basic structure of Chicano theatre: the one-act presentational ''acto'' (act). In 1965, Valdez returned to Delano, where he enlisted in Cesar Chavez's mission to organize farm workers into a comprehensive union. Valdez brought together farm workers and students to form ''

'', a farm worker's theater troupe. El Teatro was known for touring migrant camps with their actos, one-act plays, which were usually around fifteen minutes long. The plays were used to educate and inform not only the farm workers, but also the public. Valdez believed that humor was a major asset to his plays in El Teatro Campesino as it was a tool to lift the morale of strikers. Social and political

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

were intertwined within the humor to accomplish the goals of El Teatro Campesino. Original plays of El Teatro were based on the experiences of farm workers, but by 1967 their subject matter expanded to other aspects of Chicano culture; ''

Los Vendidos ''Los Vendidos'' (Spanish for ''The Sold Ones'' or ''The Sellouts'') is a one-act play by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez, a founding member of El Teatro Campesino. He wrote it in 1967, and it was first performed at the Brown Beret junta in Elysi ...

'', for example, discusses various Chicano stereotypes. Although Valdez left El Teatro in 1967, his legacy lived on. Thanks in large part to Valdez and El Teatro Campesino, the 1970s saw an explosion of Chicano theater. Theater groups sprang up with surprising speed on college campuses and in communities throughout the United States. What began as a farm workers' theater in the migrant camps of Delano flooded into a national Chicano theater movement.

Later career

In 1967, Valdez established a Chicano cultural center in

Del Rey, California Del Rey (Spanish for "of the King") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 1,639 at the 2010 census, up from 950 at the 2000 census. Del Rey is located south-southwest of Sanger, at an ...

. In 1969 he moved both theater and cultural center to

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, where they remained for two years. During this time, he made the short film ''

I Am Joaquin ''I Am Joaquin'' (also known as Yo soy Joaquin), by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and translated by Juanita Dominguez, is a famous epic poem associated with the Chicano movement of the 1960s in the United States. In ''I am Joaquin'', Joaquin (the narra ...

'' based on the legendary poem by

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzáles Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales (June 18, 1928 – April 12, 2005) was a Mexican Americans, Mexican-American Boxer (boxing), boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist. He was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado. T ...

(it was later inducted into the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

in 2010 and preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in 2017). While in Fresno, Valdez taught at

Fresno State College California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

and created TENAZ, the national Chicano theater organization, which was composed of many with theatre groups throughout the Southwest. Valdez moved the theater a final time in 1971, to San Juan Bautista, south of San Francisco. Combined now with the cultural center, it was called El Centro Campesino Cultural, and it became a fully professional production company. In 1973, he published his poem ''

Pensamiento Serpentino ''Pensamiento Serpentino'' (''Serpentine Thought'') is a poem by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez originally published by Cucaracha Publications, which was part of El Teatro Campesino, in 1973. The poem famously draws on philosophical concepts held ...

'', which drew on

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

and

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

philosophical concepts and argued that Indigenous ways of knowing were essential to the spiritual and material liberation of Chicana/os. The poem was later used in the highly successful Mexican American Studies Department Programs at Tucson Unified School District. In 1989, Valdez and officials from the Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences and Nosotros formed the Latino Writers Group to improve opportunities and pay for Latino writers in Hollywood. Luis Valdez is a founding faculty member and director (c. 1994) of the

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and ...

Teledramatic Arts and Technology Department. He is credited with assisting in the development of a university program that prepares students in the entertainment industry:

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, writing, sound,

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

, and the like. His recent play ''Valley of the Heart'', debuted October 30, 2018, at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He resides in San Juan Bautista, CA. He was awarded the

National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...

in 2015.

''Zoot Suit'' (play and film)

Valdez's first work that brought him attention to larger audiences was the play '' Zoot Suit'' which ran in 1978 at the

in Los Angeles and played for forty-six weeks to more than 40,000 people. With ''Zoot Suit,'' Valdez became the first Chicano director to have a play presented on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1979. In 1981, it was made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. In ''Zoot Suit'', Valdez weaves a story involving the real-life events of the

Sleepy Lagoon murder The "Sleepy Lagoon murder" was the name that Los Angeles newspapers used to describe the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered unconscious and dying near a swimming hole (known as the Sleepy Lagoon) with two stab wounds and a b ...

trial—when a group of young Mexican-Americans were wrongfully charged with murder—and the

Zoot Suit riots The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots that took place from June 3–8, 1943 in Los Angeles, California, United States, involving American servicemen stationed in Southern California and young Latino and Mexican American city residen ...

. In 2019, the film ''Zoot Suit'' was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

for preservation in the

for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

''La Bamba''

The film that brought Valdez his "breakthrough into mainstream America" was '' La Bamba'' which debuted in 1987. The film, about

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...

, a popular Chicano 1950s

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

er, "was an overwhelming box office success" according to ''BookRags.'' It was inducted into the

in 2017.

Filmography

* '' Coco'' (2017), voice actor * ''

Cruz Reynoso Cruz Reynoso (May 2, 1931 – May 7, 2021) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist. Reynoso was the first Chicano Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, serving from 1982 to 1987. He also served on the California Third D ...

: Sowing the Seeds of Justice'' (2000), narrator * ''Ballad of a Soldier'' (2000), actor. * ''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...

'' (1994), writer and director. Valdez also had a small role as '' Presidente''

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...

. * ''La Pastorela'' (1991 ''

Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise theatrical performances such as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is pr ...

''), writer and director. * ''Los mineros'' (1991), narrator. * ''Fort Figueroa'' (1988 '' CBS Summer Playhouse''), director. * ''Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution'' (1987), writer and director. * '' La Bamba'' (1987), writer and director. * '' Zoot Suit'' (1981), writer and director. * ''

Which Way Is Up? ''Which Way is Up?'' is a 1977 American comedy film starring Richard Pryor and directed by Michael Schultz. It is a remake of the 1972 Italian comedy film ''The Seduction of Mimi''. Richard Pryor plays three roles: an orange picker who has two wom ...

'' (1977), actor. * ''El corrido: Ballad of a Farmworker'' (1976 ''Visions'' television series), writer, director, and actor. * ''Fighting for Our Lives'' (1975 documentary), writer. * ''

'' (1972), writer and staging * ''

'' (1969), documentary short film "Bandido!" (film) Story of Tiburcio Vasquez who resisted incursion of Yankees into California 1840s to 1875, writer, director and narrator. Shown on PBS.

Honors and awards (not exhaustive)

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominations ''Zoot Suit'' ( Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy) and ''La Bamba'' ( Best Motion Picture – Drama *

Cartagena Film Festival The Cartagena Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena de Indias), or FICCI, is a film festival held in Cartagena, Colombia, which focuses mainly on the promotion of Colombian television series, Latin American films and short ...

, Best Picture Award, ''Zoot Suit,'' 1982,

Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for excellence in television in 1987, ''Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution'' for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

* California Governor's Award, March 1990 * Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, 1992. *

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's ''Aguila Azteca'' Award, 1994 * 2007 USA (

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

) Rockefeller Fellow * Los Vendidos * No Saco Nada de la Escuela (1969) * No Saco Nada de la Escuela Loco (1970) * Honorary Degree from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

* The National (U.S. Presidential) Medal of Arts (2015)Presidential Medal of Arts Official Website
/ref>

References

Further information

External links

* *
Luís Valdez Papers
are held at the alifornia Ethnic and Multicultural Archivesin the UC Santa Barbara Library
Teatro Campesino Archives
are held at the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives in the UC Santa Barbara Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Luis 1940 births Living people People from Delano, California 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American film directors of Mexican descent American writers of Mexican descent Male actors from San Jose, California San Jose State University alumni Hispanic and Latino American dramatists and playwrights California State University, Monterey Bay faculty Film directors from California Writers from San Jose, California People from San Juan Bautista, California American Book Award winners United States National Medal of Arts recipients American male actors of Mexican descent