Onda Latina

The KUT Longhorn Radio Network Presents: Mexican American Experience Collection

Audio recordings including interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns in the series "The Mexican American Experience" and "A esta hora conversamos" from the Longhorn Radio Network, 1976-1982.

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PROGRAM INFO

Title:
Chicano Theater
Program #
1982-20
Theme:
Culture

Series:
Theater
Host:
Linda Fregoso
Guest:
Jorge Huerta
Date:
Mar 26, 1982

Chicano Theater

Dr. Jorge Huerta, a professor of drama, discusses the development of Chicano theatre. Host Linda Fregoso first describes the history of Latino theatre, from the post-Conquest religious plays, to the vaudeville era, and then the Chicano Theatre of the 1960s. Huerta then explains the early theatrical work of Luis Valdez and his actos, which clearly delineated the good characters (often farm workers) from the bad (the growers). He explains that while other minority groups had theatre traditions, Chicanos theatre was unique because of its language and because of it lack of repertoire. Many of the productions were based on improvisation.

Chicano Theatre often dealt with the subject of self-identity and Huerta discusses the differences between the term Mexicans, Mexican-American and Chicano. He then talks about the Chicano Movement’s interest in its indigenous roots and its impact on Chicano theatre. Valdez was particularly invested in using his plays to educate Chicanos about their spiritual roots and Huerta talks about the spiritual implications of his play “La Carpa de los Rasquachis” which blended Mayan and Christian cosmographies.

Huerta then talks about the development of Chicano theatres. He explains that there are different types, such as Chicano community theatre and Chicano theatre companies, and talks the particularities of each. He notes that to be successful, Chicano theatres must reach out to a broad audience.

KEYWORDS

Actos
African Americans
Agitprop
Assimilation
Audiences
Aztecs
“No Saco Nada de Escuela”
Black Theater
Chicano Indigenous Heritage
Chicano Literature
Chicano Movement
Chicano Theatre
Chicano Theatre: Themes and Forms
Chicanos in Higher Education
Commedia dell'arte
Community Theatre
Corky Gonzalez
Cuba
Drama
Education
El Salvador
Expatriates
Farm Workers
Feminist Theatre
Fidel Castro
Gay Theatre
Huitzilopochtli
Human Sacrifice
I am Joaquin
Improvisation
Jorge Huerta
La Carpa de los Rasquachis
Latinos
Liz Ramirez
Los Angeles
Luis Valdez
Marxism
Maya
Media Representations of Chicanos
Middle Class
Missionaries
Myths
Nomenclature
Panama
Pensamiento Serpentino
Pochos
Popol Vuh
Quetzalcoatl
Raisin in the Sun
Ray Dunbar
Religion
Religious Plays
San Francisco
San Juan Baptista
Self-Identity
Skits
Socially Conscious Art
Spirituality
Stereotypes
Teatro de Esperanza
Teatro de los Pobres
Tent Theatre
Uncle Tom
Unions
University of California Los Angeles
Vaudeville
Virgin de Guadalupe
Zoot
 

Center for Mexican American Studies | Department of History | The Benson Latin American Collection

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