Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino - Research Paper Example

?American Dream: Equality and Justice for All Introduction Valdez’s contribution to the relatively pleasing condition and status of the Latino community at present is well-presented in his theatrical works, and in his legacy of a devout Chicano for a righteous cause. This research paper traces back the life of Luis Valdez and specifically will highlight his contribution to the American education system through his theater company, El Teatro Campesino. It will also discuss the education system in the past and discern how the education system has become at present. Lastly, there is a portion intended to discuss briefly about the United Farm Workers, and its contribution to the awakening of the Chicanos’ consciousness. Luis Valdez and the American Education System Valdez was raised in a family of farmworkers who were migrants in the lands of caucasian Americans. He grew up in Delano, California and was exposed to farm work at a young age. He was well educated, despite the fact that his parents were in frequent travels. He finished college and went on to see labor unions and their struggles in a stranger country (Elam Jr. 3). In 1965, he started to participate in a strike organized by a union of farmers called the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee (Elam Jr. 3). He was an apprentice then at the San Francisco Mime Troupe when he convinced leaders of the labor union to create a theater company of their own (Elam Jr. 3). He was successful in convincing UFWOC leaders and staged various plays that expressed the sentiments of the union as well as a cultural expression of Chicanos as a minority group. Themes of the play involved struggles of Mexican farmers, meager income in farm work, among others (Elam Jr. 3). In 1965, Valdez founded El Teatro Campesino, which was worldly-renowned (Huerta 69). Actors who were part of his newly-organized theater group were farmers, who were eager to expose the injustices they suffered in the fields while actively urging other farmers to join their cause, too (Huerta 69). Two years later, Valdez’s theater group abandoned the common portrayal of agricultural issues and began to explore other issues concerning the Chicanos or the Mexicans (Huerta 70). Valdez separated from the union because of the need to improve his craft in terms of standards in an effective theater play. El Teatro Campesino still graced farmers’ invitations to perform during union strikes, but also did portrayals of other worthy issues such as the American educational system and the status of the Chicanos in the particular sector (Huerta 70). The Education System. Valdez created plays that depict his criticisms against the American educational system. No Saco Nada de la Escuela or He Didn’t Get Anything from School depicts how the education system forced the Americans’ dominant culture into the minds of cultural minorities such as the Chicanos (Valdez 66). Through that play, Valdez was able to convey his message of his opposition against the imposition of the English language as a medium of instruction in class, while discrimination against non-English speakers continued (Valdez 70-71). Murillo, Jr. et al. described language as a symbol of one’s identity; it is the “blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow” (19). Thus, Valdez believed that it is not an easy transition for students who were born and raised with the Spanish language as the mother tongue (66). Moreover, No Saco Nada de la Escuela portrayed how Valdez sees the American education system as a venue for bullying, and the toleration of it among Latino students. English was portrayed as the key to communication, the eradication of discrimination, and the perfect way to pass. Latinos in the Education System: 1950s to 1970s During the 1950s up until the 1960s, only few Mexican students successfully finished high school (I. Lopez 16-17), especially in schools located in Los Angeles. According to Lopez, the quality of education can be considered as the “barest” (16). Most of the school buildings were dilapidated, a tragic picture of the past education system, particularly concerning the minorities. Moreover, the overpopulation of Mexican and other mestizo students caused the destruction of the schools’ classrooms, walls, and comfort rooms (I. Lopez 17). Aside from the physical problem of the American education system in the 1950s and 1960s, racial discrimination plagued the system. Organizations involving parents and associations of students were led and dominated by whites (I. Lopez 17). Teachers as well were populated by caucasian Americans; three percent of the entire population of teachers constituted Latino last names, while more than one percent were school administrators (I. Lopez 17). I. Lopez also detailed how racial discrimination committed by North American teachers relegated students of Spanish and Mexican descent into being “mentally handicapped” given the fact that they cannot speak English at all (17). Mexican middle-class saw this abuse and dominance to unfortunate Latino students and started to organize talks that will address the existing problem. They wanted social change badly, and so they began community organizing seeking for educational reforms especially in the Los Angeles suburbs. Come 1960s, the Mexican population turned “radicals,” especially the youth who wanted to enact “social change” (I. Lopez 18). Mexican youths established UMAS or the United Mexican American Students in Los Angeles, and later on conducted conferences in California to assert their pride for their race and language. Even high school students grew aware of the abuses they experienced and went on to establish Young Citizens for Community Action (YCCA) (I. Lopez 18). Unlike UMAS, YCCA abandoned peaceful means, and organized mass demonstration and protests. Later in 1968, however, UMAS was convinced to join the cause of the YCCA, and participated in “mass walkouts” (I. Lopez 20). Mass demonstrations and walkouts proved to be action-packed due to the heightened security and increased police visibility within the perimeters of schools, not to mention the arrests of those who were seen protesting. Woo reported that the Los Angeles walkout constituted more than a thousand high school students that had paved way for more protests aiming for reforms in the education system (par. 1). Most especially, the students wanted to have a bilingual system of education, so that Mexicans and other Latinos could benefit the real essence of education. While some educators perceived the mass demonstration as a contribution to the pressing problem, most people would say that it was a symbol of “youth awakening” and a consciousness of their political rights and how to fight for them (I. Lopez 23). They’ve seen the Mexican youths as active individuals in forwarding a greater cause for reforms in the education system, most of which involves a two-way culture approach in discussing their subjects, bilingual system of education, courses that are related to their culture, among others (Woo, par. 3). Latinos in the Education System: Present times Twenty years after the mass walkouts and demonstrations, Woo (par. 6) documented the walkout staged by Latino professionals in 1988. They believed and noticed that the social change they painstakingly tried to get was futile. The 1968 problems in the education system continue (Woo par. 6). They enumerated some problems such as increased dropout rates, not enough rooms for an overcrowded number of students, and discrimination (Woo par. 7-8). M. P. Lopez and G. R. Lopez also noted that twenty years after the United States Supreme Court legitimized the granting of “free education” to Latino students, backward system of education still persists (15). The case Plyler v Doe was constantly reviewed as basis for the United States’ promise of an accessible and bias-free education system for the cultural minorities particularly the Latinos (M. P. Lopez and G. R. Lopez 18). Yet, the granting of free education to children of migrant Latinos faced legal impediments as a federal court in California “invalidated” the provision regarding free public education (M. P. Lopez and G. R. Lopez 29). Both researchers concede to the fact that still, inequality in the education system is evident up to the present times. In her book Over the Ivy Walls: The Educational Mobility of Low-Income Chicanos, Gandara notes that students who were in the verge of dropping out came from financially poor families and inadequate skills of the English language, who were mostly Latinos (1). As a result, this group has low representation in secondary and tertiary education (Gandara 1). Moreover, she claims that the issue whether Chicanos benefit an improving or deteriorating education system is yet to be contested because there are enumerable criteria for assessing their reception of the American education system. Murillo, Jr. et al. reported that various improvements were seen in the 21st century in terms of the education of Latinos (20). From 1974-2001, the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs was established, and in 2001, was changed to the Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students under the Bush administration (Murillo, Jr. et al. 20). Still, discriminatory propositions, such as the Proposition 227 strictly obliged teachers to speak English only among students who are not proficient in the language. The Public Policy Institute of California published a research brief in 2002 which states that Mexican Americans improved economically as of 2000. The report conducted a study on how family income affects significantly the chances of a Latino to pursue a higher education. The report pointed out that the higher the income of a Mexican American family, the higher the chances of earning a degree. The recent trend is likewise observed to cause the economic improvements in the lives of these Latinos because obtaining a higher degree would mean higher chances of landing a high-paying job. The report also stated that Mexican Americans, both from the first and second generation, “have an average of about four years more schooling” and 35 percent higher wages “than do Mexican immigrants” (Public Policy Institute of California 2). In a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center (qtd. in J. F. Lopez, par. 5), the number of Latinos who have higher educational attainment increased. In fact, pre-kindergarten up to 12th grade students now constitute 23.9 percent among the overall number of American students in 2011, while 76.3 percent of Latinos from 18 to 24 years of age who enrolled in college have now reached to two million, while one-fourth of the total two-year college enrollees are Hispanics. To top it all, Latinos are now the largest minority among large universities. J. F. Lopez stated that the Latino group is now characterized as highly educated and influential especially during elections (par. 11). Debates on Multiculturalism The United States is diverse, that it does not only house multiculturalism but multiple multiculturalisms (Rubin and Verheul 8). While it enjoys being branded as the most powerful country in the world, it has a fair share of internal problems concerning its being a melting pot. Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson argue that in understanding multiculturalism, it means giving attention to the teaching of histories that would paint a clear understanding of racial and cultural differences of people in the United States (120). Teaching cultural diversities to students of diverse background also entails a careful analysis and understanding of the past and the present realities experienced by cultural minority groups (Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson 120). Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson also dismissed the idea that there should be a dominant culture to be followed (121). The question now rests on whose standard is to be followed, thereby creating a picture of dominance and submissiveness, and even rejection of one’s own culture in order to assimilate with the imposed national culture. The idea imposed during the time of Woodrow Wilson that America does not exist and function as a group is largely an irony of what is the reality. Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson assert that America exists in groups, and not as a whole, but that does not mean it is divided. The essence of multiculturalism is a respect towards others’ culture and beliefs and acknowledging that there is a dominant culture among caucasian Americans that equally deserves respect. Tolerating differences is the essence of being a democratic country because freedom starts from one’s own recognition of his or her identity. Race is part of one’s identity, and it is impossible to take that away from the person. Still part of the book written by Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson, another argument surfaced that multiculturalism is classified as either bad or good (118). It is premised on the generally accepted notion that all men are created equal, and that the United States is a “government of laws, and not of men” (Berry, Reynoso, and Anderson 118). Moreover, education plays a very important role in instilling truth and accuracy in retelling historical facts to multicultural student population. The goal of education, accordingly, is to eliminate falsehoods in ones previously held beliefs about race and origin. History authors and teachers must be responsible in their interpretation of the nation's history, so that students understand clearly their identity. Luis Moreno and El Teatro Campesino From 1973-1990, El Teatro Campesino has been very active in the theater arena, and its success was highly credited from the performers themselves. Luis Moreno, a man born in California, played guitar and occasionally sang when he was still studying. His inclusion to El Teatro Campesino was largely due to his acquaintance with Daniel Valdez, Luis Valdez’s brother. He joined the theater company in 1973 until 1990 and was very active both during their actual theatrical performance and from the preparation. He was never attracted to El Teatro at first, but Valdez’s love for sensible cause in favor of the Chicanos made him interested of the group and its music. Moreno took participation not only in acting but also in creating music for El Teatro. He created the musical score of La Virgen Del Tepeyac in 1986 as part of the theater company’s album in the same year (El Teatro Campesino Archives 156). Moreno was still able to see the transformation and improvements of the theater company, which in 1985, advocated for the “growth of popular theater” (Castro 223). Moreno took active part in the transformation of the group into becoming “dynamic,” innovative, creative, and motivational (Castro 223). He was present until the evolution and growth of the group, both “aesthetically” and “commercially” (Castro 223). Later on, Moreno became one of those who expanded El Teatro Campesino though the young minds of theater enthusiasts through their teaching profession. Analysis of El Teatro Campesino's Zoot Suit Jorge Huerta provided an analysis of the Chicano play Zoot Suit written by Luis Valdez and staged in March 29, 1979 (69). Huerta observes that Valdez “abandoned” the “rasquache” nature of a regular theater play intended for people because he ventured into enhancing it aesthetically by making it in “professional standards” (Huerta 70). In its theater installment in 1979, Zoot Suit was all praises from various theater critics from well-respected news organizations (Huerta 74). However, Valdez had become so obsessed with making professional theater that his plays seemed to be a transformation to a “commodity theater” (Huerta 75). Huerta argued that Valdez had forgotten his earlier concepts of a Chicano theater, creating a picture of “non-Chicanos” playing as heroes by “saving youths from prison” (Huerta 75). Nevertheless, Valdez’s contribution to Latino theater has been unprecedented, and his ideologies helped awakened the hearts and minds of slumber Chicano souls. United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers is a labor union organized by Cesar Chavez in 1962 (Shaw 1). Chavez instilled a progressive and critical thinking to Chicano farmers whose rights have been abused and deprived. While a lot of labor unions were created in 1960s and 1970s, it was the UFW that united Chicanos both young and old into their “righteous cause” (Shaw 2). Home to a large population of Chicano farmers, Delano became a starting point for Chavez to launch a death march aimed at acknowledging the rights of Latino laborers. UFW became a nationwide organization, and alongside Valdez’s theater, UFW was one of the significant instruments in attaining Chicanos’ deserved rights and privileges. Conclusion Valdez’s theater and UFW contributed much in the attainment of the much-needed rights of Chicanos. It just proves that sincere efforts to attain goals will not be wasted. Valdez and his theater influence generated a much needed educational reform, as well as UFW paved way for an organized and unified Chicano community in the midst of cultural dominance. Despite some traces of poverty and relatively incompetent education system in some Chicano communities at present, an article written by Woo proved that the Chicano culture has achieved a successful milestone in their second and new home. Works Cited Berry, Mary Frances, Cruz Reynoso, and Carl A. Anderson. Racial and Ethnic Tensions in American Communities: Poverty, Inequality, and Discrimination- A National Perspective. Washington, DC: DIANE Publishing, 1992. Print. Castro, Rafaela. Chicano Folklore: A Guide to Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican-Americans. California: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. El Teatro Campesino Archives. Santa Barbara: University of California, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Elam, Harry Jr. Taking it to the Streets: The Social Protest Theater of Luis Valdez and Amiri Baraka. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press. Print. Gandara, Patricia. Over the Ivy Walls: The Educational Mobility of Low-Income Chicanos. Albany: State University of New York, 1995. Print. Huerta, Jorge A. “Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit: A New Direction for Chicano Theatre?” Latin American Theatre Review 13.3 (1980): 69-76. Web. 7 Nov. 2012. . Lopez, Ian Haney. Racism on Trial: The Chicano Fight for Justice. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2003. Print. Lopez, Jose Fernando. “A Matter of Time: Latino Demographics Present Long Term Problem for GOP.” Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 7 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Lopez, Maria Pabon, and Gerardo R. Lopez. Persistent Inequality: Contemporary Realities in the Education of Undocumented Latina/o Students. New York: Routledge, 2001. Print. Murillo, Jr. Enrique G., Sofia A. Villenas, Ruth Trinidad Galvan, Juan Sanchez Munoz, Corinne Martinez, and Margarita Machado-Casas, eds. Handbook of Latinos and Education: Theory, Research and Practice. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print. Public Policy Institute of California. The Economic Progress of Mexican Americans. San Francisco, California: Public Policy Institute of California, May 2002. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Rubin, Derek, and Jaap Verheul, eds. American Multiculturalism After 9/11: Translantic Perspectives. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009. Print. Shaw, Randy. Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW, and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. California: University of California Press, 2008. Print. Valdez, Luis. Luis Valdez Early Works. California: Arte Publico Press, 1994. Print. Woo, Elaine. “‘60s Blowouts’”: Leaders of Latino School Protest See Little Change.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 1988. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. . Read More