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Luis Valdez was born on June 26, 1940 in Delano, CA. He is the second of ten children, to parents Armeda and Francisco Valdez who were migrant farm workers from Mexico. His birth name is Luis Miguel Valdez. -
Luis Valdez’s play “Zoot Suit” portrayed the riots that took place in 1943 in California. Zoot Suits were prohibited to wear, but bootleggers made them anyway and Mexican American youths wore them. Wearing them was considered
un-American and that aggravated the racial tension occurring. From June 3 to the 8th , off-duty police officers and US servicemen harassed and beat the Latinos youths and other minorities. -
Luis Valdez first met Cesar Chavez when he was six years old. He was among the migrants working in Delano, CA. That's where the United Farm Workers movement began. They had nonviolent strikes and grape boycotts during the 60's and 70's. -
Luis Valdez attended San Jose State University where he began his studies in mathematics and physics. A year later he changed his major to English with an emphasis in playwriting.
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Luis Valdez won a playwriting contest while he was in college. It was a one-act play called The Theft.
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At San Jose State University, he produced his first play called "The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa."
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At the age of 25, in 1965, Luis Valdez founded the El Teatro Campesino ("The Farm Workers' Theater"). The Chicano theater, is the nation's longest running theater. -
Luis Valdez formed El Teatro Campesino to assist in the cause of the Delano grape strike and boycott. The strike and boycott were done to get better pay and working conditions for the migrant farm workers.
I remember in my youth my parents talking about this and not purchasing the products to assist in the cause. -
In August of 1966 the Filipinos and Mexicans united to form "United Farm Workers" which was a nonviolent protest to improve housing, wages, education and legal protection of migrant farm workers. -
Luis Valdez directed three films which were selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. They are "I Am Joaquin" (1969), "Zoot Suit" (1981) and "La Bamba"(1987). They were considered culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
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Founded by Luis Valdez, El Teatro Campesino wins the Obie Award Obie Award in New York and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award in 1969. Also, in 1972,1978 another L.A. Drama Critics Award.
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Luis Valdez married Guadalupe Trujillo on August 23, 1969 and he had three children with her named Anahuac, Kinan, Lakin. -
Luis Valdez was set apart from the contemporaries, because he was dedicated to the role of the arts in peoples lives. The following quote was said about him in the "San Jose Mercury News, "If you want to understand modern Latino theater, you have to know that Luis was the start."
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Luis Valdez Wrote and Directed Zoot Suit. It played at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. -
Luis Valdez's brother worked with him both in movies and on stage, Zoot Suit and La Bamba in 1981 and 1987.
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My dad worked through the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix taking the love of God and Our Blessed Mother to the immigrant farm workers in the fields. Because my family was involved in activist activities, they were able to bring Cesar Chavez to our home to speak with the South Phoenix community. -
He wrote and directed "La Bamba" which was released July 24, 1987. It is a film about Ritchie Valens life and musical career. -
Luis Valdez was a dancer in Canciones De Mi Padre. It played at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City. LInda Ronstadt was a vocalist in the show.
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Luis Valdez received the Aguila Azteca Award (Golden Eagle Award) in 1994. The Mexican government bestows this highest honor for citizens of other countries for outstanding services given to Mexico or mankind. -
Luis Valdez was approached by California State University, Monterey Bay president Peter Smith and Provost Steve Arvizu to create a theater department. A quote by Phil Esparza says, "(Luis Valdez) coined the term ‘Teledramatic Arts & Technology,’” Esparza said. “It was the fusion of theatre, film, television, radio, multimedia, cyberspace.”
— Phil Esparza" -
In 2015, Luis Valdez was a National Medal of Arts Recipient. He brought Chicano culture to America Drama as a playwright, actor and director. -
Because of Luis Valdez's ground-breaking plays, he has become to be known as "Father of Chicano Theater". -
Some memberships that Luis Valdez is a member of are: California Arts Council, Writers Guild of America, Society of State Directors and Choreographers.
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“Chicano American Theatre: The Revolution.” Chicano American Theatre The Revolution, https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/chicanoamericantheatre/?page_id=45. “Luis Valdez.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Valdez. Mitchell, Charles. “Chapter 1 / Mapping Reality.” Theatrical Worlds: Beta Version, Orange Grove Texts Plus, an Imprint of the University Press of Florida, Gainseville, FL, 2014.
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“Workers United: The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/workers-united-the-delano-grape-strike-and-boycott.htm.
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“Luis Valdez.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0883609/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm. Zoot Suit Riots: Causes, Facts & Photos - History - History. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/zoot-suit-riots. “." Contemporary Hispanic Biography. . Encyclopedia.com. 20 Mar. 2023 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 23 Mar. 2023, https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/luis-valdez.
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Froyd, Susan. “Luis Valdez on Cesar Chavez, El Teatro Campesino and the Christmas Play La Pastorela.” Westword, 6 Dec. 2013, https://www.westword.com/arts/luis-valdez-on-cesar-chavez-el-teatro-campesino-and-the-christmas-play-la-pastorela-5797733. “Delano Grape Strike.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delano_grape_strike.