Zoot Suit
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First play by a Chicano/Chicanx writer and director; opened in 1978 at the Mark Taper Forum in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Premiered on Broadway in New York City in 1979. Based on true historical events in the 1940's
Henry Reyna — main character primarily based on Henry Leyvas, the real-life leader of the 38th Street Gang. He is a Pachuco defending his innocence in the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial
El Pachuco — incarnates the spirit of pride, defiance and “cool” in Pachuco and Pachuca youth. His character is invisible to everyone but Henry. He performs three major functions: 1) Henry’s alter-ego, 2) master of ceremonies and 3) embodiment of ancient Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca, god of night Della Barrios — Henry Reyna’s girlfriend based on Dora Baca, the real-life girlfriend of Henry Leyvas. Alice Bloomfield — a reporter and activist who speaks out against the unlawfulness of the 38th Street Gang’s conviction. Throughout the play she works to gain an acquittal of the charges. Her character is based on Alice McGrath, a renowned activist leader of Jewish descent and member of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee. George Shearer — a principal lawyer involved in the legal defense of the 38th Street Gang. He is based on George E. Shipley, an attorney of Arab American descent, part of the defense team that represented Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang. The Press — a character that symbolizes the collusion of the Los Angeles press in the negative depiction of Mexican American youth during the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. This character also portrays the prosecuting attorney who argues for the conviction of the 38th Street Gang. Story Themes
Zoot Suit Riots AND 38th Street Gang Maps
Zoot Suit Riots were a series of violent clashes during which mobs of U.S. servicemen, off-duty police officers and civilians brawled with young Latinos and other minorities in various parts of Los Angeles during the Summer of 1943. The violence was more about racial tension than fashion.
38th Street Gang territory, seen below, was founded in the 1920's in the South Los Angeles / Boyle Heights area and is portrayed in the play, Zoot Suit
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Glossary
Chicano/Chicana/Chicanx Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities. Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States. Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth. Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing *Sources: https://research.pomona.edu/zootsuit/en/glossary/#sleepy https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/zoot-suit-riots |