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Date of birth
Award-winning American Playwright, director, screenwriter, and political activist Luis Valdez was born on, June 26, 1940, to migrant farmworkers Armida Valdez and Francisco Valdez in Delano, CA. -
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The Zoot Suit Riots
The play "Zoot Suits" written by Luis Valdez is based on a true event that happen on June 3, 1943. The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of violent clashes between U.S. servicemen, police officers, and Mexican American youths who wore zoot suits in Los Angeles in 1943. -
Met Cesar Chaves
Luis Valdez first met Cesar Chavez when he was six. He was among the migrant workers of Delano, California, where the United Farm Workers movement took root in nonviolent strikes and grape boycotts in the 60s and 70s. -
childhood
Luis Valdez was the second oldest of ten children. Due to his parent's jobs, he and his family had to constantly have to move to follow seasonal farm work. At the age of 6, he started to work in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, helping his parents and relatives. -
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James Lick High School
Luis Valdez's interest in theater began in grade school. He was constantly helping organize plays and host puppet shows in his garage. Since his family moved frequently he had to attend many schools as a child until his family finally settled in San Jose, CA where he attended James Lick High School there he was a part of the drama department and performed in many productions. -
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San Jose Univiersity
Upon graduating from high school he received a scholarship to attend San Jose University. He started as a mathematics and physics major. Only one year later he found himself intrigued by the campus's theatre department and switched his major to English with an emphasis on playwriting. He later graduates from the University in 1964. -
The Theft
In 1961 Luis Valdez won a playwriting contest with his one-act play The Theft. -
The Shrunken Head Of Pancho Villa
After graduating, Luis Valdez wrote his first full-length play called "The Shrunken Head Of Pancho Villa". The play is "A raucous absurdist comedy about Mexican-Americans on the verge of the Chicano Civil Rights movement of the 1960s." -
El Teatro Campesino
At age of 25 Luis Valdez founded El Teatro Campesino. El Teatro Campesino was used to unite farmworkers during the Delano Strike. The Teatro Campesino that he organized alongside Cesar Chaves and the striking farmworker was born on the picket line because according to Luis Valdez that's the only but most effective place where they could do what they needed to do which was communicate with the workers non-violently and communicate their ideas with humor and with lots of energy. -
Obie award
In 1968 Luis Valdez was awarded an Obie award. -
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Los Angeles Drama Critics Award
Luis Valdez was awarded the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award three times the first time in 1969, then in 1972, and finally in 1978. -
Marriage
Luis Valdez got married 5 years later after graduating from University to Guadalupe Trujillo and had three children that were named Anahuac, Kinan, and Lakin. -
Zoot Suit
Zoot Suit was originally published in 1978 but it wasn't until 1981 that it was filmed and directed by Luis Valdez. -
La Bamba
La Bamba was directed by Luis Valdez in 1987. -
honorary doctoate
Luis Valdez was granted an honorary doctorate by San Jose State in 1988. -
Aguila Azteca Award
Luis Valdez received the prestigious Aguila Aztec Award. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Mexican government on citizens of other countries. -
National National Medal Of Arts
Luis Valdez was awarded the National Medal by President then Barack Obama. -
His Goal
Luis Valdez's goal for writing all these plays was not only to zone in on Mexican American theatre but highlighted the very real struggles Chicano people had every day as human beings. through theatre and art, he was able to reach out to a vast audience to reinforce that discrimination, racism, and war were very real in our country. -
Godfather of Latino Theater
As of today, Luis Valdez is considered the godfather of Latino theater because he founded El Teatro Campesino, which was the first Chicano theater company in the United stated. -
Fun Fact
When Luis Valdez went to Cuba with the student delegation of protest of travel ban he met Che Guevara. One of the things he said that Che Guevara told him is that he advised him to go back to the United States and work within the country and so he took his words to heart to use the arts to organize and to help change life for a lot of people that were in bad shape. -
Reference Page
https://tdps.berkeley.edu/luis-valdez https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/chicanoamericantheatre/?page_id=45 https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/luis-valdez https://howlround.com/honoring-luis-valdez#:~:text=Also%20attending%20was%20Luis'%20wife,friend%20and%20brother%20Phil%20Esparza. https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/english-literature/american-drama/luis-valdez/ https://youtu.be/8qWNjXjHxo8