Robert Rodriguez Sits Down with 'Father of Chicano Theater' & 'Zoot Suit,' 'La Bamba' Director Luis Valdez [Exclusive]
El Rey Network founder and Chairman Robert Rodriguez had the privilege of honoring the life's work of celebrated Director Luis Valdez ("La Bamba," "Zoot Suit"), a fellow Chicano filmmaker who helped shape his cinematic vision, directorial approach and reinforce his love of his Mexican-American culture.
This Sunday, March 29, Rodriguez sits down with the award-winning film and theater director, who also wears many hats as a university professor, author, activist, and political organizer in "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair," (premiering at 8 p.m. ET/8:15 p.m. PT). The insightful interview will be followed by "La Bamba," the Golden Globe-nominated film for Best Motion Picture drama in 1988, at 9 p.m. ET/9:15 p.m. PT.
In the revealing hour-long special, filmed at the historic Ricardo Montalban Theatre in Los Angeles, Rodriguez delves into Valdez's impressive career and how he became known as not only a trailblazer for social justice, performing arts and film but also the "Father of Chicano Theater."
"It was an incredible experience," Valdez told Latin Post regarding his interview with Rodriguez.
"He is obviously a Chicano filmmaker and he has established his own career. I found it like a meeting of two types of the same generation. I am older of course, but I have always admired his career and what he's accomplished. ... I was honored that he invited me to 'El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair.'"
The dynamic directorial duo also discussed Latino pioneers who have thrived in the entertainment industry, as well as the responsibility that comes along with that kind of success.
The son of migrant farmworkers, Valdez was inventive from the ground to the stage and the big screen. He did something that no one else had done -- he created live performances on the farmworkers' picket lines, which lead to writing and directing politically inspired plays. This organic platforms also lead to the founding of El Teatro Campesino ("The Farmworker's Theater").
Valdez went on to write and direct the wildly popular play "Zoot Suit" starring Edward James Olmos, which is the longest running play in Los Angeles. "Zoot Suit" was based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots.
In what most people would find extremely hard to do, Valdez, without a blink of an eye, turned down half a million dollars for the movie rights in order to direct the movie version himself, which he did in 1981. In the interview, he points out that it was "more money than my father made in his life."
"I wanted the freedom to do my own movie," he told Rodriguez. "I wanted to put my stake in the ground and say, 'I am here. This is me. This is who I am.'"
The humble and driven director's creative genius didn't stop there. Following the success of the "Zoot Suit" movie he wrote and directed the Golden Globe-nominated movie, "La Bamba," a 1987 film that follows the life and career of Chicano rock 'n' roll star Ritchie Valens. The film starred Lou Diamond Phillips, Elizabeth Peña, Esai Morales, Danielle von Zerneck and Joe Pantoliano.
"'La Bamba' was an incredible story," Valdez said. "Richie Valens needed to be acknowledged. He is one of the creators of the whole Rock n' Roll genre. He was the first Latino rocker to achieve that kind of fame and that kind of a mark in the history of Rock n' Roll."
Without any biographical books, articles or reference about Valens, Valdez researched and sought out his friends, girlfriend, Donna and family, including Valen's agent Bob King, and conducted a series of interviews on videotape.
"I was privileged to meet his family," he said. "I used those videos for my screenplay. ... It really was an intimate, family-like experience.
"After looking for them around the country, they happened to be 15 minutes away," he pointed out. "It was a story that I loved telling. It was an incredible experience."
"La Bamba" helped catapult the career of the late actress, Peña, who also starred on Rodriguez's TV series, "Matador," where she played the mother and was a maternal figure to the cast.
"I was devastated to hear that Elizabeth Peña died so young. I met her in her 20s and she was just phenomenal. She had everything -- presence, intelligence, beauty, it was incredible. She lent her spirit to the success of the film," he said.
"('La Bamba') attracted a lot of attention to her and she continued to develop. Like a lot of Latinas in the industry, they weren't ready for her. A lot of Latinas would complain about that, but in any case she left her mark, not just in 'La Bamba,' but in other pieces, like 'Lone Star' ... so many films.
"The other people Esai Morales, incredible talent. ... Lou Diamond Phillips, it was his first opportunity. These are the people who I had the privilege of working with as they were starting out their careers. ... Edward James Olmos who initiated 'Pachuco' in 'Zoot Suit.'"
During his youth, Valdez was drawn to activism and inspired by the spirit and drive of the beloved hero César E. Chávez.
"Valdez has always sought to explore through his art the triumph of the human spirit in the face of social injustice," El Rey Network adds.
The living legend has been awarded such prestigious honors as the Obie Award, the Peabody Award, and the Presidential Medal of the Arts.
"If anything I've done can speak truth to somebody, I'm grateful," Valdez told Rodriguez.
Check out a clip from "El Rey Network Presents: The Director's Chair" with Director Luis Valdez this Sunday, March 29, at 8 p.m. ET/8:15 p.m. PT.
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