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A CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL VALDEZ

A founding member of Teatro Campesino. Henry Reyna in the movie Zoot Suit, for which he also wrote the music. Producer of La Bamba. Songwriter: Primavera; Brown-Eyed Children of the Sun. Linda Ronstadt and Canciones de Mi Padre. Playwright. Actor. Musician.

The list of Daniel Valdez’s accomplishments reads like a dictionary of Chicano Culture. He's done it all: Movement theater to Hollywood productions; sentimental love ballads to re-imagining Mexican mariachi classics; edgy drama to slapstick comedy. Valdez has provided more than thirty years of political entertainment. In many ways he is an artistic conscience for the Latino generation that came of age at the beginning of the farm worker union organizing movement in the mid-sixties, matured through the antiwar struggles, and that continues to push a progressive agenda.

His latest endeavor is Ollin – an art performance piece that had its world debut in Denver on February 21 at El Centro Su Teatro (last show is March 29.) I had the chance to speak with Daniel for a few minutes during his hectic schedule while he was in town for the premiere. It was supposed to be an interview, but anyone who has ever talked with Daniel knows that the Q&A format isn’t big enough for what happens when Daniel gets going. Here is my impression of a few of the things he touched on when I began the conversation with the simple query, “What’s Ollin about?”

Ollin refers to the Fifth Sun – we are still in the time of the Fifth Sun of the Mayan prophecies. Ollin actually means “movement.” The piece is about the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. Valdez sees that episode as a “cosmic clash” – he referred to a “big bang” theory of history between the Spanish and Indio.

The story is told through the perspective of Cortez, and the audience learns his ambitions and his struggles. His story is contrasted with that of Moctezuma, the Indio King. Moctezuma was aware of the prophecies and he looked at the conquest as fate; it had been predicted by Quetzalcoatl. The piece also gives us Malinche, forced to be in the middle, she has the third point of view. Valdez suggests that “she saved lives” by her involvement and influence. She was the bridge between the other two, the symbolic mother of the first mestizo.

The narrative starts 800 years before the conquest, with Quetzalcoatl. Ironically, Cortez arrived on the day that Quetzalcoatl had predicted his own return. Many Indios thought Cortez was Quetzalcoatl because of the prediction, but only 300 Spaniards conquered 500,000 natives, so something else was going on – “destiny.” Valdez imagines Moctezuma as believing that the conquest was destiny, fate, inevitable. And the numerous tribes that were unhappy with the Aztecs – the smoldering dissension - added to the clash. There was no way to avoid what eventually happened.

The piece started as a radio show back in the 1980s for National Public Radio. Valdez wanted to bring “light and understanding” to the conquest. He wrote what he thought would be a 2-3 page poem but that ended up being 22-23 pages, the beginning of the narrative for the current piece. He realized then that he needed to expand his vision for the poem.

Valdez told me that Ollin is more of an art performance piece than a play. It incorporates dance, music, and spoken word, and is presented in a poetic format. He calculates that eighty percent of the piece is music, with several pre-Colombian dance episodes. The play is primarily in English with some Spanish and Nahuatl.

Kids can understand the history. Valdez's intent is to bring “clarity to the conquest." Teachers at an early performance told Daniel they liked it and that they thought it would be excellent for children.

This is Daniel Valdez's third collaboration with Tony Garcia, Artistic Executive Director of El Centro Su Teatro, and the Su Teatro company.

As for future plans, Valdez said that he would love to take Ollin on the road, if the opportunity presents itself. Meanwhile, here in Colorado, he is scheduled to get involved with a project to produce an oratorio about the history of Pueblo, Colorado, a unique community with a long and proud Chicano working-class presence.

At the end, after he finally took a breath, he encouraged people to bring their kids to the performance; he insisted that the piece is family oriented; that it is a fun play; and that it can bring generations together. It should be "shared by a family."

He concluded, with a laugh, “Ollin is a poor man’s version of Cirque du Soleil.”

Ollin
Written and Directed by Daniel Valdez
February 21 – March 29, 2008

Major players: Bobby LeFebre, Jesse Ogas, Felicia Gallegos Pettis, Valarie Castillo, Lara Gallegos

Otros:
Joaquin Liebert, David Carrasco, Anthony Saiz, Jose Guerrero, Natalia Romo

Musicos:
Tony Silva (Musical Director), Angel Mendez Soto, Robert Gale, Rogelio Ransoli

El Centro Su Teatro
4725 High Street
Denver
303-296-0219

OTHER THEATER NOTES

Lydia
Written by Octavio Solis
Directed by Juliette Carrilo
The Ricketson Theater, Denver Center for the Performing Arts
January 18 - March 1


This superb play highlights a mini Golden Age of Latino Theater in Denver. Since the beginning of the year, Denver audiences have been treated to Las Chicas Del 3.5" Floppies (Luis Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio); a special reading of Sunsets and Margaritas by José Cruz González; Ollin (Daniel Valdez); José Mercado directing Comedy of Errors; and the world premiere of Lydia. We could get spoiled and expect this all the time. Which will happen if the audience is there. Support these events, gente.

Lydia has an excellent cast: Carlo Albán, Christian Barillas, Stephanie Beatriz, Ricardo Gutierrez, Catalina Maynard, René Millán, Onahoua Rodriguez - not a lightweight in the bunch, all with extensive experience although several are making their Denver Center debut. Under the precise direction of Carrilo, Soliz's story of family warfare rips the audience and movingly exposes the characters' fears, ambitions, and mistakes. The program summarizes the story this way:

"Ceci Flores introduces her family: her father Claudio, a Mexican immigrant working as a cook in El Paso; her mother Rosa, whose dream brought her family to the U.S.; her tough-acting elder brother René; and her more serious younger brother Misha. Ceci herself has brain damage, and although the audience understands her, she cannot communicate with her family or anyone else -- until the new maid Lydia arrives, fresh from Mexico. Ceci's cousin Alvaro has recently returned from Vietnam; his appearance, along with Lydia's knack for interpreting Ceci, dredges up secrets from the past and reveals the desires that could bring the family together or tear them apart."

This is heavy, as they used to say. It's encouraging to see such a broad range of themes and formats in these plays. The courage displayed by the writers as they confront controversial and sensitive topics should inspire us all. The pen continues to be a powerful force to beat back society's demons.

Finally - Feliz Cumpleaños to Rudy Ch. Garcia. This is a big one, dude. Time to drag out all the bromides about age. Here's one to get you started; it's schmaltz but I think you respect the source:

It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams.

Gabriel García Márquez



Later.

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GLORIA VELÁSQUEZ SCHOLARSHIP
The Johnstown (CO) Breeze features an article about one of our favorite people, Gloria Velásquez, poet, novelist, professor, activist, and how the memories she carries about her brother have resulted in an attempt to help young people get into college. Here are the first few paragraphs of the story. At the end is info about how you can help the effort.

By Matt Lubich
The Johnstown Breeze

He remains forever just a kid. Frozen in the amber of grief over a life lost too soon. After nearly four decades, eyes now framed with wrinkles have to squint when they look back to recall when he was alive, but even today, tears still come when they do.

But perhaps, his memory will help send another minority young man or woman off to college, rather than to war.

Writer and former Johnstown resident Gloria Velásquez is trying to establish a scholarship at Roosevelt High School in memory of her brother, John Robert Velásquez, who was killed in the spring of 1968 in Vietnam. He was the first, and it is believed only, casualty from the community in that war.

Velásquez, a noted Chicana writer and poet, and a professor of modern languages and literature at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., started the scholarship a while back, but it hasn’t been awarded for several years.

“I had started it, and then it sort of died out,” she said. “I tried to revive it last year, but it didn’t work out, so now I’m trying to get it going again faithfully every year.

“It’s only $500, but it’s coming out of my pocket,” Velásquez said. “I just want to get someone excited about the idea of going to college. Like the encouragement I got from some people. I want to see someone who has the potential maybe get a door opened for them and know that they can also achieve an education.”

Velásquez wants the scholarship awarded to an African American or Latino/Chicano student at Roosevelt.

Read the rest of the story here.

If you’d like to help Gloria Velásquez with the scholarship for her brother, you can call her at 1-805-781-9735. Students or parents interested in the scholarship can call RHS Counselor Lydia Nava at 970-587-6130.

OKLAHOMA SERIES FEATURES BLESS ME, ULTIMA

NewsOK.com reports that a series of lectures on the book Bless Me, Ultima will be sponsored by the Honors College of The University of Oklahoma. The lecture series is a prelude to a reading initiative on the book by the Pioneer Library System. The panels are scheduled from now until April 15. The novel, by Rudolfo Anaya, was selected by library officials as this year's Big Read book.

The series titles and dates are:
•Major themes in Bless Me, Ultima, 3 to 4:15 p.m. Feb. 7.
•Curanderismo: Southwest Natural Healing, 3 to 4:15 p.m. Feb. 14.
•Chicano/Latino Music: Talk and Demonstration with Christina Audas, 3 to 4:15 p.m. April 1.
•Panel Discussion: Chicano/Latino Music, 3 to 4:15 p.m. April 3.
•Trends in Contemporary Chicano/ Literature with Armando Celayo Tuesday, 3 to 4:15 p.m. April 15.

The events will be in the Nancy Mergler Library of the Honors College in David L. Boren Hall, 1300 Asp Avenue, Oklahoma City.


NOVELIST EDUARDO LAGO SPEAKS AT SETON HALL
WORLD PREMIERE FOR OCTAVIO SOLIS PLAY
Our friend, John Kuebler, has a review of the play Lydia, by Octavio Solis, at Cairn Magazine, which you can find at this link.

John writes: "Solis, well known for his brooding and intense human dramas did not scare away Denver Center Theatre Company Artistic Director Kent Thompson, who commissioned Lydia from Solis a little more than a year ago. The play is enjoying its world premiere as part of the DCTC’s 3rd Colorado New Play Summit.

“ 'I think it’s part of our culture as Mexicans,” Solis said. “I’m attracted to death in a weird way.' ”

The Denver Center summarizes the play this way: "A Mexican immigrant family is mired in grief, rage and guilt over a daughter tragically disabled on the eve of her quinceanera (15th birthday). When the undocumented Lydia arrives in El Paso from Mexico to work as a maid for the Flores family, her nearly miraculous bond with the brain-damaged girl elates, then angers and finally destroys the troubled family – and Lydia herself. Lyrical, dark, shocking and magical – this meditation on family and cultural identity in the 1970s is a brilliant new play from an award-winning writer."

Read John's piece then rush out to see the play -- it is getting nothing but great reviews.

Catch Lydia at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Ricketson Theatre, January 18 – March 1. And visit www.denvercenter.org for more information.


SUNSETS AND MARGARITAS
Speaking of the Denver Center, I happened upon this note at the DCPA's website: on February 25 at 2pm in The Jones Theatre, a special reading of Sunsets and Margaritas by José Cruz González. "González is the author of September Shoes, presented by the Theatre Company during the 2005/06 season. He was commissioned by the Theatre Company to write Sunsets and Margaritas based on interviews with members of Colorado’s Latino community." It looks like tickets to the reading are free, if any are still available. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts: 1101 13^th St., Denver, CO, 80204
Administration: 303.893.4000 • Tickets: 303.893.4100; 1.800.641.1222 or TTY: 303.893.9582

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
The following news release crossed my desk recently; learn more at this site.

Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present Worlds Collide: Spirit, Soul & Body, an evening of spoken word and visual art, on Monday, Feb. 25, in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave., Bloomington, IN.

The event will feature a gallery opening of paintings, photography and sculptures by some of Indiana's finest visual artists.

The gallery opening will be followed by refreshments and spoken word performances by the Philadelphia-based Asian American duo Yellow Rage, Tomás Riley and IU Professor Emeritus James E. Mumford.

The gallery opening begins at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. Spoken-word performances begin at 7 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Yellow Rage
Yellow Rage's Michelle Myers and Catzie Vilayphonh made their first appearance together as Black Hair, Brown Eyes, Yellow Rage in December 2000 at the Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Slam in Philadelphia, where they made the semi-finals. Since then, they have performed on Simmons' Def Poetry Jam show on HBO, as well as at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, the APIA Spoken Word Summit and the New York International Fringe Festival. Their first CD, Black Hair, Brown Eyes, Yellow Rage, Vol. 1, is now available.

Tomás Riley
Riley is a poet, writer, educator and a veteran of the influential Chicano spoken-word collective The Taco Shop Poets (TSP). With TSP, he has appeared in the HBO documentary, Americanos: Latino Life in the United States and the PBS dramatic series American Family. He was profiled in Hector Galán's ITVS documentary series on Latina/o arts, Visiones. His spoken-word CD Message From the New Forreal debuted in 2003. He also performed on Chorizo Tonguefire and a jazz/word collaboration with Chicano artist-activist icons Jose Montoya and Raul R. Salinas titled Intersections.

His written work has been anthologized in Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam (Three Rivers Press, 2001), The Taco Shop Poets Anthology: Chorizo Tonguefire (Chorizo Tonguefire Press, 2000), Pacific Review and various journals and literary publications. Most recently his first solo collection of poetry, Mahcic, was published by Calaca Press in 2005.

James E. Mumford
Mumford is the former director of IU's African American Choral Ensemble. Although his career has included vocal performances with with Doris Dore's Opera Theater, the Baltimore Civic Opera and on Broadway as "Jim" in Porgy and Bess and "Audrey" (the plant) in Little Shop of Horrors, this will be his public debut as a spoken-word artist.

That's it for this week -- from Johnstown, Colorado to Seton Hall, New Jersey, and a few points in-between. Cultura is thriving.

Later.

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