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Luis is born in Delano, California on June 26th, 1940. He was born to Armeda and Francisco Valdez, migrant workers from Mexico.
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This program is made known as the Mexican Farm Labor Supply Program and the Mexican Labor Agreement, bringing in migrant Mexican workers
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Luis joined his parents in the fields at the age of six. Following this parents and the seasonal work, he attended many schools until the family finally settled down in San Jose, California.
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Luis was unable to stay in one school very long, as his family followed the work across California. One day, he forgot his paper lunch bag at school and went back to retrieve it. His teacher had torn it to create paper-mache masks for a play, and the transformation fascinated young Luis. Enthralled, he auditioned for the production but had to move a week before they opened.
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Daniel Valdez is born to the Valdez family in 1949. Daniel grew up to be involved in Luis' endeavors, as well.
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Following his interest in theatre, Luis held puppet shows in his garage throughout grammar school. He recalls them being mostly about fairy tales. Not having had the chance to perform that play before he moved, it left a void he says he's poured himself into in an attempt to fill it ever since, even now.
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A despicable, derogatorily named 4-year initiative to deport as many undocumented workers back to Mexico, ending in the deportation of 3.8 million migrant workers.
The term 'Wetback' is used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a Mexican who enters the U.S. illegally. It is racist and cruel. -
In high school, he participated in many plays and was part of the Speech and Drama department. He recalls being a 'serious student'. He graduated from San Jose's James Lick High School, and went on to attend San Jose State University on a math and physics scholarship.
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'The Theft' is a one act play that Luis won a play-writing contest with during college.
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'The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa' is Luis' first full length play, which was produced and debuted at San Jose State University.
It follows the story of a stereotyped Hispanic family of a drunk father, overworked mother, pregnant daughter, delinquent youngest son, and a militaristic eldest son. Aaand a disembodied head. -
Luis joined this troupe for a few months after his graduation from SJSU, learning about guerrilla theatre, agitpop theatre, and Italian comedia dell'arte. These influenced his eventual development of the basic Chicano theatre art form, the one-act presentational acto.
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Enlisted in Cesar Chavez's mission, Luis and a group of students formed El Teatro Campesino, a troupe that conducted 15-minute acts of theatre to inform the migrant workers so they could organize a union. Using these plays, they informed both workers and public, lifting the workers' spirits simultaneously.
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He married Guadalupe on August 23rd, 1969.
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'Zoot Suit' is a play that later was adapted into film. Directed by Luis and with music by his brother, Daniel, 'Zoot Suit' is a historical telling of the Sleepy Lagoon Trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. It is the first Chicano play to be done on Broadway.
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At the Cartagena Film Festival, Luis was awarded the Best Picture Award for his production, 'Zoot Suit'.
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'La Bamba' is one of Luis' more well-known mainstream productions. It details the life of Chicano Rock'n'Roll artist, Ritchie Valens. It was selected for cultural preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017, having been deemed culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.
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The under-representation of Latinas in the corporate, nonprofit, and political arena is addressed by the National Hispanic Leadership Institute.
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In 1987, he won the George Peabody Award for Exellence in Television for his PBS production, 'Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution.'
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With the help of officials from the Hispanic Academy of the Arts and Sciences and Nosotros, Luis started the Latinos Writers Group. This was to improve the treatment, opportunities, and pay of Latino Hollywood writers.
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In 2015, Luis was awarded the National Medal of Arts. It is the highest honor given to artists by the US government.
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Luis' latest play, Valley of the Heart, debuted October 30th, 2018 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. It regales a story between a Mexican family and a Japanese family who's American-born children have fallen in love and now face trials when the attack on Pearl Harbor separates them.
