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Happy Friday

Have your binder out

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Agenda:

  1. Journal Write
  2. Zoot Suit Intro
    1. Anticipation Guide

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Journal Write: La Plaza

  • After listening to the NPR story on La Plaza, analyze Dolores Huerta’s quote: “Our lucha, our struggle, is not over.” Interpret the quote. Why is it significant? How can it be applied to life today? Explain.
  • The article describes LA as an “ongoing story of multicul[ture].” Do you agree or disagree? Explain. What does LA mean to you?

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Zoot Suit

Take notes

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Luis Valdez

  • Born in 1940
  • Best known for Zoot Suit, La Bamba
  • El Teatro Campesino
  • Pioneer in the Chicano Movement
    • Broadened scope of theatre & arts in the Chicano community
    • Worked with Cesar Chavez & California farm worker’s rights

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Luis Valdez - Zoot Suit play

  • Historical fiction
    • Based on the Sleepy Lagoon Murder trial & Zoot Suit riots
  • Debuted in 1979
  • First Chicano play on Broadway
  • Tells the story of Henry Reyna & the 38th Street Gang, who were tried for the Sleepy Lagoon Murder in LA.

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Luis Valdez

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Historical Context

  • Post-WWII & Japanese Internment
    • Racial tensions in the U.S. is at an all time high
  • Sleepy Lagoon Murders
    • 1942
    • Jose Diaz was at a birthday party in Downey, CA. He was found unconscious and dying on a road the previous night and had a fracture at the base of his skull.
    • Police arrested 17 Mexican-American youths as suspects. Despite insufficient evidence, the men were charged, held without bail, on charges of murder. Trial ended in ‘43 & men were sent to prison.
    • Lead to…
      • Discrimination against Zoot Suiters
      • Precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots

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José Díaz �22 years old, �Farmworker

Defendants

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Henry Leyvas�(Reyna)�Protagonist �Of the play

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Leader of the �38th st. gang

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Zoot Suits�“A killer coat with a drape shape, reet pleats, & shoulders padded like a lunatic’s cell.”�-Malcom X

  • High waisted pants, wide-legged, tight cuffed, pegged trousers, long coat
  • Mexican, African, Italian, Filipino Americans during 1940s
  • Popular in urban communities of color
  • Symbol of freedom, self-determination, & rebelliousness during obedient, patriotic WWII times

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Zoot Suit Riots, 1943 - Los Angeles

  • Series of racist attacks in 1943 between Mexican American youths & white American servicemen
  • American servicemen attacked the youths feeling outfits were unpatriotic & flamboyant

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Zoot Suits

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Zoot Suit Unit - Guiding Questions

  • How is teatro (political theater) used to critique, understand and interpret history?
  • How are historical events shaped, changed, and told over time?
  • What is the significance of the Zoot Suit riots and pachuco/a culture in relationship to the modern Chicano experience in Los Angeles and the United States?

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