After the Zoot Suit: an interview with Mike Gomez, actor and activist.
Description:
The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Host Armando Gutierrez interviews Mike Gomez, one of the actors in "Zoot Suit," about Chicanos in Hollywood and the play Zoot Suit. Gomez first describes how he got started acting in Dallas, Texas at the Dallas Theatre Company and his move to first Austin and then Los Angeles in search of more acting opportunities. Although he was not committed to playing only Chicano roles, he explains that he did feel the lack of heroes for Latino audiences and found himself drawn to minority theatre in inner city LA. His latest role is in Luis Valdez' play Zoot Suit, which is based on both the Sleepy Lagoon trial and the Zoot Suit riots. The 1942 trials found 17 Chicano youths guilty for the murder of Jose Diaz on circumstantial evidence alone and despite the judges clear prejudices. Gomez explains that the trial was largely affected by the widespread nativism generated in the early days of World War II. At the time, the press vilified Mexican-Americans and pachuco culture. Gomez then retells the circumstance leading up to the trial and the Zoot Suit Riots, during which Marines and Sailors beat up anyone who looked Mexican. Gomez explains that the play portrays characters who are composites of the actual defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial. He describes the advertising efforts that have sought to reach both Anglo and Chicano audiences. He concludes by briefly discussing the current state of Latinos in Hollywood and the lack of representation both on screen and behind the scenes. Keywords: 38th Street Gang, Anglo Audiences, Anthony Quinn, Ballet Folklorico, Bilingual Advertising, Boulevard Nights, Broadway, California, Carrascolendas, Charles Fricke, Chicano Theatre, Chicanos in Hollywood, Cholos, Dallas Theatre Center, Dallas, Texas, Downey Gang, Gangs, Hollywood, Hollywood representations of Latinos, Inner City Cultural Center, Japanese American Internment, Joe Castro, Jose Diaz, Latinos in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police Department, Luis Valdez, Marines, Media Bias, Minority Theatre, Nativism, Navy Armory, New York, New York City, Nosotros Theatre, Origins of the Chicano Movement, Pachucos, Sailors, San Quentin, Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial, Sub-employment, Teatro Campesino, The Chicano Movement, The Mark Taper Forum, Winter Garden Theatre, World War II, Zoot Suit Riots. Broadcast date: 1979-01-28.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Gutiérrez, Armando (host), and Gómez, Mike (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
1/20/1979
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin
sound recordings, grabaciones sonoras, radio programs, programas de radio, and Audio
Extent:
24 minutes, 35 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Mexican Americans in popular culture, Zoot Suit Riots (Los Angeles, California : 1943), Race relations, Sensationalism in journalism, and Sleepy Lagoon Trial, Los Angeles, Calif., 1942-1943
Time Period Covered:
1940-1949 and 1970-1979
Place Name:
Dallas (Tex.), Texas, Los Angeles (Calif.), California, and New York (N.Y.)