Pachuquismo @ Cara Mia Theatre’s “Latinidades” Festival of Latinx Theatre

Photos by Anthony Thornton and Mabel Jiminez

—Review by Teresa Marrero

Cara Mia Theatre launched its 3rd annual “Latinidades” Festival of Latinx Theatre on September 22. The Festival runs through October 9, and if its first show Pachuquismo (created by Vanessa Sanchez and La Mezcla, San Francisco) is any indication, this should be an exciting experience.

The Festival’s second work, from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is On the Eve of Abolition. Created by Papel Machete, this futurist piece incorporates puppets and mask performances. The third work is ¡Estar Guars! by Adrian Villegas, from Austin’s The Latino Comedy Project—an Emmy-nominated group with quite a following on their YouTube channel. The title is a word play on the famed Star Wars franchise.

In my last review I mentioned the difficulties faced by a critic when a piece does not work. With Pachuquismo, the opposite holds true. This performance works on so many levels that it’s challenging knowing where to begin.

So…history buffs, get ready, because there is a lot of it.

Let´s begin with the background. This is a performance with live music, dancing, and lots of light changes. It is the story of the pachucas, the Mexican American girls and women who got written out of history. Racial relations are tense. The time is mostly post-WWII Los Angeles, in the wake of the area’s famous Zoot Suit Riots in 1943: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/zoot-suit-riots

Luis Valdez and The Teatro Campesino first dramatized this historical moment in the famous play Zoot Suit (1978 at the Mark Taper Forum in L.A.,1979 on Broadway) and in the subsequent film (1981). The "Sleepy Lagoon Murder" was the name Los Angeles newspapers used to describe the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, who was discovered unconscious and dying near a swimming hole (known as the Sleepy Lagoon) with two stab wounds. There was no justice served.

What is a pachuco or pachuca?

Pachuco and pachuca refer to Mexican American youths of the early to mid 20th century, particularly in the Los Angeles area, who wore a certain type of clothing to make a statement of pride about their identities. It is generally considered as a defiant youth subculture. A zoot suiter/pachuco wore baggy, pleated pants, usually with several chains hanging from waist to a pants pocket, long jackets to the knees and usually a snappy hat. Pachuca fashion paralleled that of their male counterparts, adding hairdos pertinent to the 1940s (a sort of poofed jelly roll along the face and crown of the head).

Historical roots in African American history

The zoot suit itself became popular during the Harlem Renaissance, as it was worn by popular performers such as Cab Calloway. The garment had a profound political meaning representing government resistance in wartime by minority youth who were welcome to fight and die for the U.S, overseas, yet were treated as third-class citizens upon their return. This is a first link between African American and Mexican American cultures: (https://foothilldragonpress.org/270019/intersections/from-pachuco-to-cholo-embracing-the-badge-of-delinquent-honor/ ).

The second link in Pachuquismo comes from the performance of culture by joining two dance traditions: African American tap and Mexico’s Son Jarocho zapateo from Jalapa, Veracruz. According to historians this rhythm (with footwork similar to the Andalusian flamenco zapateo) is part and parcel of the often overlooked African roots of Mexican history.

The feet speak.

Mixing jazz tap and Son Jarocho zapateo isn’t far-fetched at all—and in Pachuquismo they were seamlessly joined by rhythmic, vibrant, audacious, and defiant performance by the all-women cast.

Feet and bodies joined in conversation with a live (and also all-female) Jarocho band. Before I get into trouble attempting to describe the various instruments, I will speak only of the ones I can easily identify as a lay person (non-musicologist): the jarana, a small, guitar-like instrument with 9 to 10 strings, most of which are double; the guiro (a gourd-like instrument); the donkey jaw or quijada; the cajón (a box-like percussion instrument upon which the musician both sits and plays); the bass; and the horn. All musical performances in the show were stellar: the two singers displayed virtuosity that ranged from soulful low notes to high notes and in one number the singer flowed into scat singing. Brilliant!

But the real magic, as if all of the above were not enough, is the dancing. Let me just throw out some of the descriptors I jotted down during the performance: “Precise… strong…energetically rhythmic…an incredible show of fitness (the show lasted 70 minutes)…defiance plus impeccable technique and attitude.”

I thought: Tienen con qué and they know it. (They have IT and they know it.)

They strut their stuff with pachuca pride and attitude that screams this is who we are, it is part of our cultural history, and we are proud: chins jutting out, hands in the pockets with an arched back that that elongates the figure, an effect added to by the characteristic foot extended forward.

The blending of traditional tap dancing and the Jarocho zapateo blended so seamlessly in performance that one thinks: Of course! Why didn´t I think of this before?

What I thought would pose a challenge for me as a critic is the notion that the main conversations spoke no words—that is, no words articulate in the mouth—but rather, they were articulated by the feet.

Yes, the feet spoke here.

As in the African and Afro American traditions of call and response, there were tap and zapateo conversations between the dancers, between the dancers and various instruments, and between the dancers and the vocal. To me, and I believe to the audience in general, these conversations spoke loudly and meaningfully. They demanded to be heard, punctuation and all—with unexpected pauses, with the cadence of soulful introspection at times, and at other moments blatant in-your-face defiance.

The Mise-en-scène

There is historical footage in the show, black and white slides that punctuate and anchor the piece in well-researched historical facts. There are fantastic light changes. There are minimal costume changes for the dancers, primarily by means of colorful long shawls in a different color for each dancer. The musicians are also dressed and coiffed in relevant fashion. One of the singers also dances a mean Jarocho zapateo, while the others tap dance. The singers´ voices are a delight of ranges, acuity and inventiveness. They brought the house down with shouts and applause on several occasions. Lozano invited the audience to participate throughout, to shout and clap and let out our feelings during the performance. And the audience happily obliged.

One of the emotionally strongest scenes in Pachuquismo was the story of a 22-year-old young woman named Amelia Venegas, who on June 9, 1943 went out onto the streets of Los Angeles with her baby in arms to buy milk. Shortly thereafter she was arrested by the LAPD, who accused her of smuggling brass knuckles to ¨zoot suit hoodlums¨ to help incite a riot in her East Los Angeles neighborhood. (See the book The Woman in the Zoot Suit by scholar Dr. Catherine S. Ramirez, who also served as an advisor for this show.)

Racists deemed pachucos and pachucas as anti-American during the Post WWII years. The fact of the matter is that Hispanic and Black servicemen, after risking their lives and even earning wartime honors, returned to a society that still put signs up saying ¨No Mexicans and No Negros Served Here.¨

Pachuquismo is so important, well-made and relevant for all generations that it deserves a longer run. Hopefully it will be brought back. The full-house audience at the Latino Cultural Center certainly agreed, giving it an emotional and resounding standing ovation.

Credits: Created and performed by Vanessa Sanchez and La Mezcla. Choreographed by Sanchez, who also directs the show. Musical director and arrangements: Ayla Davila. Son Jarocho arrangements and advisor: Laura Rebolloso. Musical director: Greg Landau. Advisors: Dr Catherine Ramirez & John Jota Leaños. Technical director and light design: Justine Fernandez. Sound designer: David Molina. Hair and costume design: Ariana Martinez. Company manager: Sharon Benitez.

Performers: Argelia Arreola, Ayla Davila, Kristen Millan, Luna Fuentes, Micah Sallid, Natalie John, Sandy Vazquez, Tanya Benitez, Vanessa Sanchez.

Dr. Teresa Marrero is professor of Latinx and Latin American Culture and Theater at the University of North Texas, Department of Spanish.

WHEN: Festival through October 9; On the Eve of Abolition, September 30-October 2; Esta Guars! October 7-9.

WHERE: Latino Cultural Center, Dallas

WEB: caramiatheatre.org