Lights! Camera! Action!

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month this week, the spotlight is on Luis Valdez, a famous director and screenwriter. 

As part of history, he has gotten lost. Valdez was born and raised in southern California. During his early life, he was very involved in the theatre and the Chicano Movement.  

When he was 25 years old, he worked with Cesar Chavez. He was an active member of the Chicano Movement, a political movement in the United States during the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s that advocated for workers’ rights.  Valdez did much within the Chicano movement, notably creating the El Teatro Campesino, a farm workers’ theater group.  This group did a lot to inform other farmers and the general public about the hardships workers within farming communities faced. These shows were generally about 15 minutes long. 

From this, Valdez began his career as a screenwriter and full-time director. Throughout his life, Valdez changed the film industry as we know it today by constantly giving representation to Latino communities that were being left behind. In 1979,”Zoot Suit” would become the first Chicano production to premiere on Broadway, changing the theatre world forever.