The Accomplishments Of Luis Valdez

The Accomplishments of Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez is an important figure in the theater and especially in the world of Chicano theater. He was born in Delano, California on June 26, 1940. He was raised in worker camps across California with his ten brothers and sisters to parents who were migrant farm workers. At age six, he began working in the fields alongside his family. This aspect of his childhood would shape the creative and activist aspects of his life forever (Escamilla, 2002).
Valdez received a scholarship to San Jose State College in 1960. His interest in the theater blossomed right away in college and he won a playwriting contest for “The Theft,” his one-act play. His first full-length play, “The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa (1964) was produced at the end of his college career. Because he was sympathetic to the cause of

He created it to be an organizing and fundraising arm of the United Farm Workers organization (Gelb, 2002). This theater provided a vehicle for young Mexican Americans who were actively involved in causes of their people to tell the story of their history, the myths surrounding them, and their political issues (Escamilla, 2002). El Teatro Campesino travelled all around California and performed at outdoor fields, farms, college campuses, churches, theaters, and community halls, churches, and theaters – anywhere people gathered – to create an emotionally releasing experience for these marginalized citizens of the U.S. (Boffone, 2013). The actors performed in the back of flatbed trucks and dramatically told the struggles of migrant farm workers and the Chicano people. Valdez, now known as the father of Mexican theater, used these plays to tell the world about the injustices of the Chicano people (Diaz-Hurtado, 2015). Some call him the godfather of Chicano theater (Boffone,