Luis Valdez

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Luis Valdez (born June 26, 1940 in Delano , California ) is an American playwright , writer , producer and film director. Due to his Mexican ancestry, his literary works are attributed to Chicano literature .

biography

Luis Valdez comes from Mexican migrant workers who earned their living as harvest workers. He graduated at the James Lick High School in San Jose and studied, through a scholarship for mathematics and physics , at the private San Jose State University . He later graduated in English in 1964 . After graduating, he temporarily joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe and then returned to Delano. To support the United Farm Workers' strike , Valdez founded the theater company El Teatro Campesino . For two years, the Teatro on the edge of the fields performed its agitation pieces to encourage the strikers and win over those who doubted. All of the actors were migrant workers themselves. Valdez acted as the writer and director of the plays.

Luis Valdez is a founding member of California State University, Monterey Bay , which is part of the California State University system.

Filmography (selection)

Honors and prizes (selection)

Writings and interviews

  • Luis Valdez: Zoot Suit and Other Plays , Players Press (1992) ISBN 1-5588-5048-1
  • Interview with Luis Valdez about El Teatro Campesino in: Theater heute 9/1972

Secondary literature

  • Dieter Herms: The contemporary literature of the Chicanos (1959-1988). Frankfurt am Main: Vervuert 1990
  • H. Rischbieter: Game forms of political theater. About the Teatro Campesino in California and the Bread and Puppet Theater in New York. In: Theater heute , 9th year 1968, issue 4

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Valdez, Luis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American playwright, writer, and producer
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Delano , California