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I really liked the play 'Dos Caras del Patroncito' I thought it was pretty funny how the Patron and Farm worker switch roles. And how the Patron switches his perspective on how he treats his workers. At the beginning he is against better working conditions and Cesar Chavez and the Huelgas thinking that it’s a bunch of communist free loaders whining but he figures out that it’s just basic human rights. But by then it’s too late. I also liked (disliked) how the Patron ended up being a Mexican himself and ended up being taken away by Charlie screaming about injustice.
ReplyDeleteFor the notes on Chicano Theater I liked how the focus was on La Raza and enjoyed reading the chapter on Actors and how the purpose of Chicano theater is to inspire social action. Which connects to the play about the Patron as it brings up the Chicano movement and bettering the working conditions of migrant workers.
-Naidelyn Ramos
I like what Luis Valdez had to say about the Mexican Theater. Chicano theater, as Valdez puts it, is as “beautiful, raquachi, human, cosmic, broad, deep, tragic, comic, as the life of La Raza itself. He talks about how our culture is filled with stories worth telling and showing. Our struggles and fights can have a positive impact on Chicano Theater. Luis Valdez urges Chicanos to get involved in the arts because we need to showcase ourselves and the culture we come from.
ReplyDeleteLas Dos Caras Del Patroncito was a very interesting play. It brings to light the struggles Mexicans had a time not so long ago. The play opens with a farmworker who talks to the audience about himself. The Patroncito walks into the stage. The Farmworker and the Patroncito engage in conversation. There is a point the play where the Patroncito is explaining to the farmworker how he shouldn’t be complaining about his pay/way of life because he has it “made”. I like this moment because it shows how landowners would give less pay to their workers and not a good healthy way of living and still think they are giving them enough for their services. The switching of the roles was also very intriguing and entertaining.
-Juan Gloria
The teatro Chicano is an extremely important device for not only entertainment, but through the entertainment can bring up subject matter that needs to be discussed and dealt with on the streets and at city hall. Working conditions, health care access, and schooling for children of Chicano families are all vital issues that need to be deliberated. The teatro also points out how times are changing and that the people should embrace these changes. Real changes in government are spurred on by the teatro only to be further related during city hall meetings. This is why I really enjoyed reading 'Dos Caras Del Patroncito'. The play was a satire that was dealing with a serious labor situation in Delano, Ca. The humor brings in the attention of the people while the script and action is relatable to the Chicano people. The main objective of the play is to spur on a feeling of protest by the Chicano workers who are enduring extreme hardship not only during the grape harvests, but throughout every level of society. Cesar Chavez made his name during these protests that he took all over the country in favor of Chicano's rights. Now there are streets and boulevard's name after him along side of MLK. If there wasn't a teatro Chicano maybe the task in front of Chavez might have been more difficult in getting his message across.
ReplyDeleteSpiro Zagouris
From the notes I very much enjoyed the way Valdez chose to include Spanish slang and words. It truly cemented the notion of La Raza that he emphasized throughout the chapter. Chicanismo for Valdez is more than just an art form. Its a way to record the essence of el pueblo, that is, the chicanx community, in history. He is using chicano theater as a tool to promote social change that will expand across "several generations." I was very intrigued by the notion of Guerrilla theater that Valdez brings to attention and how it extends past the chicano sphere into other social justice protests.
ReplyDeleteIn The Actos, I enjoyed the authenticity by which Valdez describes chicano theather. "Crude, vital, beautiful, powerful actos," he writes, and the name itself stems from a lack of superiority. The opposite even. The guidelines were interesting to read on and I found the play stood as a good example of what Valdez classifies as an Acto. It was funny to read and see acted out and it seemed so simple but the dark themes underneath provide a good mode of reference to those struggling with writing a theme play.
-Sandra Martinez
I enjoyed reading “Dos Caras del Patroncito”. What stood out in the play was how the humor was put into the characters. When Patroncito says “Who the hell do they think planted all them vines with his own bare hands? Working from sun up to sunset! Shoving vine shoots into the ground!”, we expect that it was Patroncito talking about himself but he says all the hard work was done by his grandfather. There’s also the humor in how Patroncito tells the farmworker all about his troubles of having a ton of money and having to spend it on luxurious things that he wants. He goes on about taxes and that the farmworker is lucky for his living conditions. Then after telling him all that the real surprise and humorous part of the play is when the role reversal begins. The farmworker acts as the Patroncito and now Patroncito begins to realize the horrible conditions his farmworkers are living in. In the notes and Actos, I enjoyed how Valdez sees theatre as a way to help people understand Chicano culture. It was really interesting to read about the evolution of how Chicano theatre has gone through, and how it can have a huge impact through the stories they could tell.
ReplyDelete-Ruben Quintero
In the beginning of “Notes on Chicano Theater” I was sort of taken aback since it was saying how great Chicanho theater is and how “American” theater is not allowing the production as a whole to reach its full potential. I'm also taken aback by how much spanish it involves, I mean I know it's about Chican theater but I didn't expect this much Spanish. On page 8 it says, “The people must act in reality, not on stage… in order to achieve real change.” I'm a little bit confused on the point that is being made here. I really liked how the author was talking about Chiacno theater, he sounds so proud and ready to do whatever it takes to allow Chicano theatre to flourish, its inspirational. In “The Actos” there is also a lot of spanish and it seems like Luis Valdez did this on purpose. On page 13 it says, “... because Chicanos in general want to identify themselves as a group.” This gave me the feeling that Chicanos are a closed knit community and want others, who don't speak Spanish, to know that they are different.
ReplyDelete“Las Dos Caras del Patroncito” is very ironic. Throughout the play, you can see the obvious separation between whites and Mexicans, and in the end the roles are switched which I thought was very interesting. What I didn't understand was how the Patroncito looked like a Mexican when he took off the mask. Was Luis Valdez implying that the mask is just moving from Mexican to Mexican?
-Rebecca Muniz
I had really liked how real it got in "Dos Caras del Patroncito" in terms of the working and living conditions of the farmworker, or Cesar Chavez and others in the same boat as him. I can honestly say though it made me so uncomfortable reading just how demeaning the patroncito was to the farmworker. Sure, it got comedic when we finally get the chance to take a glimpse at their roles being reversed but I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just seeing the dialogue between the two. It felt just dehumanizing to listen to/read. It's almost as if I wasn't meant to be reading it which intrigued me even more. I think that’s what made me want to keep reading although it felt painful. When the roles reversed at the end that’s when I got to enjoy it more because it was kind of me getting to enjoy the patroncito getting a taste of his own medicine. I was able to find a connection from Valdez when he talks about actos highlighting specific points in social problems and that’s what I felt the play we read did. It really dug into what Chavez and his fellow workers were feeling. I did have a question about what exactly the title implies? I know their roles do reverse, but when I think about "the two faces of the boss" I think of someone who is two faced.
ReplyDelete-Faith Ortiz
My old boss was a supervisor at several theaters in Houston and he even helped found Talento Bilingue De Houston. He had mentioned something before about “actos.” I didn’t know what he was talking about at the time. I really want to send this to my boss and see if he has performed this because I think he might have. I thought the way that Valdez is sort of treating theater like “all the world is a stage” was interesting. He even compared protests to theater. I thought that it was interesting how he talked about even that not being in “reality.” In a way, he is saying that “actos” are even more real since they are “a true expression of … reality.”
ReplyDeleteI thought the play was good. I don’t usually like really overly political art. I think that it often loses it’s realness since reality does not always happen to bend in the favor of one’s political beliefs all the time. However, I thought this play was pretty good in that it didn’t go full leftist propaganda. (Not that I don’t love “Imagine” but when everyone is playing the same chords it gets a little frickin’ old.) I believe it showed an accurate representation of farm workers at the time.
- Ricardo Martinez Jr
When Valdez notes how Chicano theatre is/must be revolutionary in reality instated of the typical "CHICANO POWER", i started to reminisce of all chicano related stories I have read previously. They all have a simialr theme srrunoding these type of stories. I never sat down to think about how each of these chicano stories can easily be real stories that someone actually experienced.The reality that chicano theatre sets intslef in is something that people enjoy watching because most of these stories deal with hardship and adversity that many people go through. "Las Dos Caras" showcases characters that materialize their hatred and lash put their anger at their master. This is something that alot of us think about in out lives. We wish that we can just overpower our masters so we can get higher in life. And i live that because it talks about the "reality" Valdez talks about.
ReplyDelete-Abel Arredondo
I really enjoyed reading “Dos Caras del Patroncito” the humor is what really made enjoy the whole play. I looked for the humor because the truth of the underlining story was very sad about the living conditions and work conditions of being a farm work. It was heart breaking to see the world as it once was. The play was beautifully written that showed how it really was during that time.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the notes on Chicano Theater I found it crazy that they focused on La Raza and how it is there to help inspire the Chicano actors. I never really thought about writing about my culture to be honest my writing is much whitewashed because it what I know it to be. But reading these works encouraged me to think outside of my little bubble can be proud of where I come from.
When reading Dos Caras I loved how the Patron always wore a pig mask so that he would not be identified. I also liked when the people were out protesting against immigrants working and the boss hated the protestors. I also liked how he described that the workers had nothing to pay while he payed everything that the patron had. He also told the farmworker that having money only brought you issues and that it was best to have very little than all the money. I liked when the tables turned on the Patron. When he was trying to let the farmworker see how difficult it was to have money and have people working for him. The thing I liked the best was when the Patron took off his mask and the farmworker saw that the Patron looked like a Mexican just like him, so he took advantage of the situation. The worker then put on the pig mask and took the role of the boss and made Charlie the security guard take the boss which now was the worker away. I really liked this part because he made the boss see how he was treating his workers. The boss while being taken away finally understood what the protestors where against and joined them in their protest. The worker did not stay with all the bosses belonging only his cigar.
ReplyDelete-Valeria Garcia
I have to say, I really enjoyed reading the play of the Two faces of the Patroncito. There was a lot of thinks that could be seen there, symbols, the agenda of the play, and it was all executed so well. I love how at the end the Patron understands what Cesar Chavez was striving for when he takes the place as the farmworker. I do wonder, though, what the intention was for making the Patron a Mexican. I wonder what message could it have been trying to convey that underneath the pig mask, there was a man who looked just like any other Mexican, but he was able to hide it under the mask. Yet even the character had no idea he looked just like any other Mexican. It’s an interesting way to go and it worked well in the play. Chicano theater, understandably so, works their agenda, their movement, in the plays, and gives a strong message. Like with the Patroncito and the farmworker focusing on the aspect of the underpaid employee because of it’s race, there are several issues that I’m sure have been focused on with Chicano theater. I think it’s great. There needs to be more said about the issues, and why not put in a play?
ReplyDelete-Kimberly Villanueva