AMERICAN PACHUCO

There’s a moment in American culture when the people left out of the story start telling it themselves — through music, theater, humor, and defiance.

AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ begins that story on a flatbed truck, in the fields, with El Teatro Campesino performing for farmworkers. From there it moves to Broadway with Zoot Suit, to movie theaters with La Bamba, and now to this Sundance-winning documentary from director David Alvarado.

Valdez is widely regarded as the father of Chicano film and playwriting — a pioneer who helped bring Chicano stories into the center of American theater and cinema.

But this isn’t just the story of an artist. It’s the story of a country being asked to expand its imagination: who gets to be seen, who gets to belong, and whose stories make it into the American canon.

Join us for a conversation with David Alvarado about AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.

An auteur emerges from America’s underclass: from migrant farmworker to revolutionary artist, Luis Valdez changed American culture. In the 1960s, his El Teatro Campesino performed on flatbed trucks and helped mobilize workers to win the first farmworker union contract. His ZOOT SUIT was the first Chicano play on Broadway. Despite critical rejection that killed the show, he persevered, creating LA BAMBA—a breakout blockbuster that authentically depicted Mexican-American life to the world. Now in its 60th year, El Teatro continues to be a beacon for Latino/a creators. This is the story of an artist who gave voice to the overlooked and opened pathways for generations.