American playwright, actor, writer, and film director Luis Valdez will present a discussion at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Nov. 5.
'The Power of Zero: Fifty Years of Teatro Campesino,' will be presented by Valdez in the Obershaw Dining Hall, from 4-5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Parking on campus is $6 per vehicle.
Regarded as the father of Chicano theater in the United States and best known for his play “Zoot Suit” and the movie “La Bamba,” Valdez created the Teatro Campesino genre in the mid-1960s to entertain and educate migrant farmworkers. The short plays intertwined humor with social and political commentary to lift the morale of farmworkers.
Valdez will be working with the CSUSB group of Acto Latino Teatro Universitario students and their adviser, Bibiana Díaz-Rodríguez, assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Literatures. He is also scheduled to meet with CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales.
Terry Smith, professor and chair of the CSUSB Theatre Arts Department, called Valdez 'a god of U.S. theatre who has had great impact on our society, through the use of theatre.'
Valdez is also a recipient of the Peabody Award, the Aguila Azteca Award, and is a two-time Golden Globe nominee.
For more information regarding 'The Power of Zero' presentation, contact the Department of World Languages at (909) 537-5847. For information about CSUSB, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007.