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"The nature of Chicanismo calls for a revolutionary turn in the arts as well as in society.
Chicano theater . . . must be popular, subject to no other critics except the pueblo itself;
but it must also educate the pueblo toward an appreciation of social change, on and off the stage."
- Luis Valdez from Actos: El Teatro Campesino, published in Aztlán by Cucaracha Press, 1971 |
Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino began their theatrical journey during the
Farmworkers Movement in Delano, California in 1965. The group worked collectively to develop the acto,
a type of skit, which utilized stock characters and humor to educate and mobolize the people:
"In a sense the acto is Chicano theater." El Teatro utilized the acto to: "Inspire the audience ot social action.
Illuminate specific points about social problems. Satirize the opposition. Show or hint at a solution.
Express what people are feeling." In 1967 El Teatro moved beyond the Farmworkers Movement in order to
develop their theater so that it could reach a broader audience, be a more effective social weapon.
quotes from Actos: El Teatro Campesino by Luis Valdez and El Teatro
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