Latino theatre in the United States

History and the assimilation of the Latino/Hispanic culture into America

In the early days after of Latinos and Hispanics arriving into America, many struggles were faced with the entire process of immigrating into the United States as well as learning how to adapt and in many ways assimilate into the mainstream culture that America had been creating. Puerto Rico, one of the largest Latino groups of the time, was annexed in 1898 following the Spanish–American War. Puerto Rico shortly thereafter became known as Porto Rico and English became the official language that was taught and learned by the people of Porto Rico (Puerto Rico). The previously all Catholic Puerto Rico began to become pervaded by the Protestant religion. Puerto Ricans officially became U.S. citizens in 1917, however, Puerto Ricans as well as the other Latino groups had a difficult time assimilating within the U.S. cultures and ideals. Often Latinos would question who they really were as they had the challenge of adopting certain U.S. ideals yet had to keep their culture, heritage, and traditions still alive within their lives. Through their assimilation into America, many Latinos began to speak a new language in a sense called Spanglish. It was a mixture of Spanish and English. This immigration and assimilation and the use of their own version of their language in America began to translate into the written work of Latino theatre. One of the first mainstream plays that was written about the Latino culture and immigration experience in America was The Oxcart by René Marqués. This play discussed the Puerto Ricans sense of belonging in America, and their adaptation and immigration/assimilation into America. "In reviewing all that has happened in Latina/o theater in the last thirty-plus years, it is clear that we have come a long way. However, we have all heard the old adage, "You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been." As a theater historian I am interested in our history as Latina/o theater artists; as a theater director, I am concerned with the aesthetic evolution of our cultural work and workers. But you cannot analyze or write about Latina/o theater without also sounding like a sociologist, a political scientist, an ethnographer, etc., because these are all vital discourses in the understanding of our cultures as Latinas and Latinos. I propose here an overview of the theaters of the three major Latina/o groups, the Chicanas/os, Cuban-Americans and Puerto Ricans, focusing on their theatrical evolutions."

"Each of these groups experienced historic moments when their relationships to Spain or Mexico and to the United States were altered forever. For the ancestors of the Chicanos, 1848 marks the year they actually became citizens of the territories which would eventually become a part of the United States, creating what some political scientists have called a sense of "internal colonization."1 Ironically, 1898 is the year both the Cubans and Puerto Ricans were freed from Spanish domination only to find themselves in a quasi-colonial condition with the United States. As inhabitants of a commonwealth, the island Puerto Ricans suffer a colonial destiny which, some say, extends to Puerto Ricans on the mainland, creating what Fredric Jameson has termed an "internal Third World Voice." Jameson writes: "... in the United States itself we have come to think and to speak of the emergence of internal Third World voices, as in black women's literature and Chicano literature...." thus aligning the Chicanos with the Puerto Ricans (49). The Cubans' connections to the United States ended in 1959, while the Puerto Ricans continue to live under a commonwealth status. Separation by water pervades the consciousness of both the Cuban and Puerto Rican writers, while a more metaphoric water, a river, sometimes separates the Chicanos from Mexico. History has shown that both the water that separates the three groups from home, and the fences, that are constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border are permeable, encouraging negotiations, tensions and crossings rife with drama."

Representation

Oftentimes in the representation of Latinos and/or Hispanics in theatre, stereotypes have played a large role in the representation of the characters and of the culture as a whole. Oftentimes Latinos have been portrayed as being violent, rivalrous, exotic, and not wanting to adapt. Many believe this representation to be true in the musical, "West Side Story." Many consider this to be a great example of Puerto Rican stereotypes and much future discussion on representation of Puerto Ricans and other Latinos would stem from this musical. Some believe that the underlying message portrayed was that of a dangerous Latino culture that was exotic and needed to be controlled or reined in. Many would also argue that "West Side Story" furthered the ability for Latinos to be involved and be the subject writing in theatre. Even though the musical was not told in the perspective from a true Puerto Rican immigrant, it opened many doors for future shows to involve Latino playwrights, actors, etc.

Playwrights and plays

Milestone plays involving Latino playwrights and/or Latino actors

Modern examples of Latino theatre

Writer/director/actor Lin-Manuel Miranda is known most recently for his work on Hamilton. However, before Hamilton he wrote a successful musical called In the Heights, which brought up themes and ideas of being Latino and living in America, more specifically New York. Miranda has been known to further the "traditional" approaches to casting and has often selected a diverse cast to help tell his stories in new and exciting perspectives from a multitude of different cultures and backgrounds.

Casting issues

Latinos have often found it difficult to get cast in roles that have not been specifically written to be played by a Latino. Many casting directors have begun to use the term "color blind" casting, however this has caused much controversy in itself as if a show is cast improperly with certain races in certain roles, it can come across to the audiences as well as the theatre community as wrong and/or racist. What is much preferred now by actors is a statement that suggests that there will be no discrimination in the casting process. Even still, there have even been times when films, TV shows, and plays have been written for Latino actors, and yet they have ended up being played by non-Latino actors. An example of this is TheaterWorks' production of "The Motherf**ker With the Hat."