1978_10 The Daily Collegian October 1978

              EDITOR S NOTE Ihe following
stories were written by four La Voz de
Aztlan staff reporters after going to Los
Angeles to see Zoot Suit Each person
was affected differently after seeing
the play, but all agreed that it was one
of the better experiences in their lives,
something they would not lorget for a
very long time What follows are per
sonal accounts contributed by the four
offering insight into what the play was
about, who it was about, and the circumstances surrounding the action
Actors Encourage
Chicano Writing Talent
By PEDRO RAMIREZ
Usually, if someone attends a play at
any theatrical house in the United
States, the theme of the play does not
center on Chicanos There have been a
lew Chicano plays written and nci ( hi
cano play has been premiered in a
rii.iicir   theater  house    except  lor   /out
Portrayal of Woman
wotf due to his uniform and some-
useless to society Luis Valdez cap
>s the true essence of the pachuco
th |oey he portrays him as a funny
v person who has a lot of emotion,
acts tough and knows it and en-
the respect he recieves, due to his
h image Valdez depicts Joey as a
not   some   crazy   scoundrel,"
ss described in the
lahst A person who
cation through the
or him The pachuco
pride in what he is and seeks self-
tication because he rebells again
l,..rimv Mace, a native New Yorker
id I ommy Roberts an Anglo pachuco
i the play says he never heard of
achucos "I heard about auditions for
ie plav and it was there that pachuc-
ino was introduced to me. I had to
miiay a person who I never heard otA
ml had tci speak a whole new different
mguage Calo." said Mace
Mace says thai Luis Valdez depicts
•he pachuco or Chicano in a unique
•ay He lets you know the real pro
lems that Chicanos go through. 'I was
jised m New York, with the Puerto
nans, so the problems are similar.'
Mace adds. 'I got a better perspective on what Chicano Life was. I got to
get a look at the Family structure and
._, with problems. I was in-
oduced to menudo and many other
Mexican dishes Most importantly, I
ot   to   know   what   pachucos   were
-tor. you would think that
ward ot pachucos and knew
irvis m general, but he hadl
iroves that many people in
society are never told who
hicanos are in this system
media and literature have
Chicanos misleadingry but
th /oot Suit and many other
thai   Chicanos   are   going   to
Characters Are Symbolic of Chlcanas
BY MARGARITA MARTINEZ
* the target of the crazed       when Oella ia released from reform school a
gent.e
The diverse rote* they play In Zoot Suit are symbolic of all Ct-canas.
During the zoot suit riots, women as well at
w-siftfys- ga_*__ C*^BHflg Ib i gg amQttte          	
It is only fitting that In tha play, Zoot Suit, woman play the courageous, Intall!- tolls Henry she loves' him, but is not willing to be stepped on.
sntlal rote* they have played tt-ougfxxrt our history. she give* Hanry the ultimatum ol chooelny her or allco. As s'ie
aponse, I feel what the mutt be feeling: suspense and fear of his
Delia's relief, ha chootat her.
. ... ..e plav Is DeiorasReyna Alloa Btoorrrfleld, It the "other woman*. Her relationship with the
Henry'smother. She could bath* woman w* all know and love, our motner. She to be a special one (or Henry She loom I -lenry but she has to be   '
helpetoaolldlfytitofarr-ly.Snahu-1_,_r~lapartrf sticking It out until tha victory
prison. We can Identify with tha anguish she feels because our own mothers have Lupe Reyna, Henry's sister, can also be anyone of us. In her I car
felt this pain either for our brothsrswhan they wore In trouble with the poiloe or for me. In on* particular scene, on a Saturday night she Is g*ttlng ready
■xjrsetves when we left horn* either to attend college, to be married or whatever father reprimand* her for wearing her skirt too short. In defense. I
reason. She was a strong and courageous woman when she suffered. I cried, for In that Henry Is wearlno a zoot suit. Her father like many of our
her, I saw my own mother. 'but he's a man*. I' m aura *»' ve alt heard that Una at one time or i
Another character we can more closely identify with was Delia Barrios, Henry *t aver, our parents, being who they are, we have to quietly go along with
girlfriend. She plays the role of a woman In leva. At first the appears subeervlent say.
and the kind of woman almost every man awaits for: devoted and beautiful. Whan Tha other woman In tha play can be our frtendt, our sisters, or even
Henrygoe*oMtoprt*on*heUdeapfyhiirt.Shatoaarttoarato-rawi^^ IJtoanyorie •**-», th*y-*Joyl»^ter*n^
thing hinders her drive to waft faithfully for Henry w ue raiM-U. Hanty, typfc-f 6f the boys Some ml.ht see them as cholas, rjar^ucasc^even-cfse-^PfT^ltirta*.'
many men, falls for Anglo Alice BloomfWd, the executive e«*o-et_i7 of the defense the press billed them. But In them I saw the revolutlo.i_o zeal and
eorri--Uttao,-iott»WnldfigofD-4la'ssa_riflc_if(rhl-n. Chlcan_ti-«vawhanflflMlrvjfortomathlngth--yballavaln.
Americans
At My House
0
-raeioc
La]uraorsome long haired
I Qtlltmto, mark: chick offering
Us the world so she rt>uld write
Her thesis.
But my dismal world was so
much brighter! My past was
the old barn across ths canal
a.iimade la comrade de ml grama.
Chicano Play Goal:
Re-identification of Pachuco
l he pachuco stands center stage in
ihe prestlgiuos Mark Taper Forum
theater located in downtown Lot Angeles He runs his fingers slowly over
his pencil thin moustache and then tilts
his stylish hat over one eyebrow as he
••ves his audience with a defiant gaze
Former Fresrlan and CSUF professor
i uis Valdez beams silently to himself
as he watches his creation come to life
on stage Valdez is the author and director of the Zoot Suit
Thirty-five years ago, the pachuco
was not standing on a stage recreating
his life to middle and upper-class audiences but was alive and living in the
streets of downtown Los Angeles.
last year, Valdez was asked to write
a play for the theater and he immediately began work on his 10-year-old idea
of a theatrical performance on the
pachuco The play Zoot Suit then
emerged as the first chicano play by a
Chicano writer to perform at such a
professional level of theater.
Valdez is founder and director of El
Teatro Campesino, a Chicano theater
group which was first recognized for
their performances stressing the
causes of the farmworkers. Four members from El Teatro are currently involved in Zoot Suit.
'We (El Teatro) wanted to work on a
new level of theater, even though our
roots are In the barrio,' Valdez said.
'For 13 years we ■'-formed h» the
barrio and with Zoot Suit we had.the
opportunity to work at this new level of
professionalism.'
According to Valdez, the spirit of
Zoot Suit was to make a professional
production using professional actors
and dancers. Alt the talent used in the
play was not Chicano,
'There Isn't any level In American
Society that we, as Chicanos, don't belong in. We are in a process of growth
and we should expand to other levels of
performance,' Valdez asserted.
With the opportunity to direct and
write a malar theatrical production,
Valdez chose to focus on the pachuco of
the barrios.
Zoot Suit is based on the Sleepy
Lagoon Murder Case of 1943 and the
Zoot Suit Riots of the 1940' s   The play
Daniel Valdez. Luis' brother, plays
scripts, letters and newspapers of the
period.
The Sleepy Lagoon case was a mass
murder trial in Los Angeles In 1943 In
which 17 Chicano youths were convicted of the murder of another Chicano
youth. These convictions ultimatly led
to increased tension between the barrios and the rest of Los Angeles which
followed with the infamous Zoot Suit
Riots.
Chicano youth wearing a Zoot Suit
were called Zoot Suiters and groups of
white service men started a 'clean up'
campaign to get these so-called Zoot
Suiters off of the street.
The Lo* Angeles City Council went
so far as to proclaim anyone found
wearing a Zoot Suit would be arrested
and jailed for thirty days.
'I chose to write about Sleepy La-
Zoot Suit. He actios Luis's feelings
about the Chicano and pachuco Image.
According to Daniel, Zoot Suit allows
the audience to 'come inside Chicano
reality.'
'The play goes through a re-identifi-
cation of the pachuco image,' Daniel
said. There is a distinct pride in Chicano culture and identity and this shows
m the play.*
According to Daniel, the pachuco is
viewed by society as un-American
-This is wrong,* he said, 'when the
pachuco is more American than apple
pie Itself."
Daniel said Zoot Suit has accomplished Its goal of bringing out the reality
that the pachuco is still alive 'He
is still living m the streets of r
barrio in the country,''*
,-tfjesaid.
« express
views on Zoot Suit being a world premiere In a prestigious setting as the
Mark Taper Forum, and see that as
the country got a negative image of the
35 years ago. It
have been around for quite some time,*
Valdezsaid.
Valdez claims Zoot Suit has hit a sore
Valdez is currently looking forward
a furl-seal* production of Zoot Suit on
is a ru
dl
view of the pachuco.
•Most people didn't think of th*
pachuco. Many Anglos are hearing him
for the first Mm*,* Valdez said. There
believe that Chicanos should register
on this forum,' Luis said. 'It's also
encouraging that three art • lot of
producers in Hollywood that are interested in doing the film of Zoot Suit. *