Teatro chicano

Un secreto que da voces

Abstract

Chicano theater is virtually unknown in Mexico. In contrast to the U.S., where it ushered in a new era (although limited to a short period and specific sectors), here in Mexico it has remained a secret except to independent theater buffs, in spite of the fact that both Chicano and Mexican theater companies have performed Chicano plays all around the country. This manifestation of what has been called the "Wandering Mexican"—those whose racial and ethnic roots lie south of the Rio Grande, though themselves U.S.-born—is the only art that put political motives above esthetic ones from its very beginning. In fact, Chicano theater is not politicized art but rather a mode of performance created to serve the political ends of the Chicano movement of the 1960s. It was not actually invented by the exemplary playwright Luis Valdez, actor, director and creator of the best known company of the Chicano theater movement, El Teatro Campesino. Valdez does, however, fully deserve the credit for reclaiming the theatrical tradition of his Mexican and Spanish forebears and integrating it into 1960s avant-garde theater forms.