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.
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AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ
chronicles how writer/playwright/director Luis Valdez illuminated the Mexican American experience on stage and screen and transformed the American cultural landscape. Born in Delano, California in 1940, Valdez wrote his first plays in grammar school, had his first play produced when he was a student at San Jose State University, and created El Teatro Campesino alongside the United Farm Workers, helping to inspire a broader Chicano theater movement.
Following a sold-out run of his landmark play “ZOOT SUIT” in Los Angeles (1978), Valdez became the first Chicano director to have a play presented on Broadway when it made its New York premiere in 1979. The hit film “LA BAMBA” (1987), written and directed by Valdez, was also a cultural phenomenon and the first Hollywood blockbuster to focus on a Hispanic family’s experience. The film adaptations of “ZOOT SUIT” and “LA BAMBA” were both sFROM THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
Acclaimed playwright and director Luis Valdez recognized early on the profound impact of seeing one’s own humanity reflected onstage and on screen. He used theater to ignite change while working alongside farmworkers and Cesar Chavez, and he made films that amplified Chicano experiences. His work expanded audiences, bringing in people who had rarely seen their stories told before. Now, director David Alvarado reveals the fuel behind his legendary career.
Alvarado brings us close to Valdez, charting his career milestones and enduring cultural influence. He employs vibrant stylistic choices, using split screens, remarkable archival footage rescued from decay, and a pachuco narrator who tells it like it is by interjecting candid commentary throughout. Alvarado ensures Luis Valdez’s contributions are unmistakable and that his message — “America is Chicano” — resonates proudly, which feels especially vital for today.elected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.
“I was 21 when I heard Luis Valdez speak, and it rearranged what I thought was possible for my life,” said director Alvarado. “Twenty years later, putting his story on the big screen is the best way I know to pay that forward. This film is about who gets to be American, and a movie theater is one of the last rooms in this country where strangers still sit together in a room and experience something new and something wonderful. Everybody in that room belongs.”
“Luis Valdez built El Teatro Campesino on the back of a flatbed truck, performing for farmworkers in the towns where this film will now play,”Alvarado said. “Booking theaters in Salinas, Fresno, and Bakersfield mattered to us as much as booking the Film Forum in New York City. Luis has spent 60 years proving that Chicanos aren’t on the margins of the American story. We are the American story.”
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The theatrical rollout will start as follows:
July 17 – New York – Film Forum
July 24 – Los Angeles – Laemmle Theaters, AMC Theaters,Maya Cinemas, Alamo Drafthouse and more
July 31 – San Francisco – Opens at Roxie Theater, Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, Rialto Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, plus Alamo Mountain View and Valley Fair in the South Bay/San Jose Area
Director David Alvarado and Luis Valdez will join in-person conversations at each of the opening weekends in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
In total to date, over 20 cities across the U.S. are planning theatrical releases of the film including Santa Barbara, San Diego, North Hollywood, Norwalk, Oxnard, Orange, Ontario, Long Beach, Salinas, Bakersfield, Pittsburg CA, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Chicago, Tucson and more. Theatrical bookings are being handled by mTuckman media.
