The Project
Voces del Teatro: An Oral History of Latinx Theatre in Modern Los Angeles (Late 1960s to Present) is a series of video and audio interviews with the key elder theatremakers who established and developed this genre over the past 50 years. This groundbreaking effort marks the first formal attempt to chronicle this important theatrical genre. Beginning with the Chicano Movement and the advent of the Civil Rights era, Voces del Teatro is not only a story of theatre, but a testament to the power of the arts to empower social and political change.
As of 2022, there are over 20 theatre companies in Los Angeles dedicated to creating content for the Latinx community in English, Spanish and bilingual formats. For over 50 years, Latinx theatres have been producing high-quality, challenging work that speaks to our collective humanity and is a living record of the Latino experience in Los Angeles. This city is home to the largest and most prolific Latinx theatre scene in the U.S. However, the pandemic, which forced many smaller Latinx companies to close their doors, demonstrated how fragile this artistic effort is, and how imperative it is to preserve it from erasure.
Hopefully, this effort will inspire formal scholarship and continued archival efforts from social historians, theatre practitioners and the community of Los Angeles as a whole.
Carla Valentine
Alejandra Flores
Luis Alfaro
The Journey - Thanks to grants from California Humanities and the Eastside Arts Initiative, and to our ongoing fiscal sponsor, Grupo de Teatro SINERGIA, we have been able to undertake this valuable endeavor. Thanks also to our initial advisors and scholars, Jorge Huerta, Professor Emeritus, U.C.S.D., Dr. Daphnie Sicre, Patricia Garza, Armando Huipe and Edward Padilla.
Phase One - For our initial phase in 2021, we recorded 20 audio and video oral history interviews consisting of 10 artistic directors from the oldest Latinx theatre companies and 10 veteran performers/directors.
The selection of our first 20 Interviewees posed a challenge. Our team made their selections based on length and breadth of career, unique mission, and age of subjects. Key factors were theatremakers who had made a significant contribution to Latinx theatre, either in Latinx-initiated independent productions or via designated Latinx theaters in Los Angeles.
Phase One culminated in a free public viewing/panel discussion with respected Latinx theatremakers, scholars and journalists who provided key social, political and artistic context for our material.
Phase One Highlight Reel
Following the first 20 interviews, we held our inaugural virtual event - a panel discussion with an audience Q&A, featuring theatre director Juliette Carrillo, U.C.S.D. Professor Emeritus Dr. Jorge Huerta, actress and director Denise Blasor, professor of history and Chicano studies at U.C.L.A., Dr. Eric Avila and editor of the San Fernando Valley Sun, Diana Martinez.
Phase One Inaugural Event & Panel Discussion - 2021
Phase Two - In 2022, we continued recording an additional 20 interviews with costume, lighting and set designers, choreographers and directors, as well as elder performers.
Phase Two culminated in a free public viewing/panel discussion with respected Latinx theatremakers and scholars who provided key social, political and artistic context for our material.
Phase 2 Highlight Reel
Following the next 20 interviews, we held another virtual event - a panel discussion with an audience Q&A - featuring L.A. based writer, filmmaker and actor Marissa Chibas, arts advocate and cultural worker Tomás J. Benitez and Dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California Irvine Dr. Tiffany Ana López.
Phase 2 - Event & Panel Discussion - 2022
L.A. as Subject Archives at Risk Committee (AARC) - 2022
In 2022, Voces became part of a pilot project of the L.A. as Subject Archives at Risk Committee (AARC), under the mentorship of Mallory Fournier and Julie Yamashita, focused on providing support and resources for at-risk archives. Through their assistance, LTA/LA was able to develop and execute a concrete plan to assure the preservation and development of our archive.
Society of California Archivists General Meeting 2023 - Sacramento
This year’s focus was on community archives, and Voces del Teatro was invited to present a history of Los Angeles Latinx theatre. The story of our archiving efforts was shared with librarians, archivists, historians and scholars throughout California.
Partnership with California State University Los Angeles
In 2023, LTA/LA began an official partnership with the Special Collections and Archives of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at California State University Los Angeles, who will act as a repository for the oral histories. The project will be overseen by Azalea Camacho, head of Special Collections.
“Cal State LA is proud to be the home of the Voces del Teatro Oral History Archive as it will provide a great resource to our students and overall campus community on Los Angeles theatre history. We are also very excited to establish a collaborative partnership with Latinx Theatre Alliance/Los Angeles to continue to document, preserve, and highlight these stories through primary source instruction and public programming.”
- Azalea Camacho, head of Special Collections and Archives for the University Library
"The Voces del Teatro Oral History Archive is an important archive capturing the Latinx theatre of Los Angeles from the 1960s to today. It is both a regional and national treasure."
- José Cruz González, Playwright, Professor Emeritus of Theatre, Cal State LA
A Living Archive
Moving forward, the Latinx Theatre Alliance/Los Angeles Collection will encompass both the Voces del Teatro Oral History Archive as well as independent collections relating to Latinx theatre in Los Angeles, making this institution home to the only such collection in the country.