By Jose Alvarez | Staff Writer |
Farm workers are being honored through a play that will take place on campus that celebrates 50 years of CSUSB and Farm Workers Theater.
Carlos Satizábal, a nationally awarded playwright and poet, has been invited to CSUSB to work alongside Bibiana Diaz.
Satizábal will be aiding Director Diaz in the final stages of the play.
Although Diaz and Satizábal don’t mention Cesar Chavez’s name, the play will reflect on the impact he and Luis Valdez had on farm workers in the 1960s.
“La Quinta Temporada” and “Los Vendidos” are the two plays that will be adapted for the stage thanks to a collaboration from Acto Latino and Los Amigos, clubs on campus.
Projects like this are done every winter and spring quarter and are usually performed by students.
“I felt fortunate and surprised that I won, it is a great acknowledgement for my work, “ said Satizábal, translated from Spanish.
“I fell in love with the theater when I went to my first show at seven years old,” Satizábal continued.
After falling in love with theater, Satizábal followed his passion at a community college and throughout his university career.
He co-founded Tramaluna Theater Company under the Corporacion Colombiana de Teatro (CCT) where he worked on several personal works.
“We have been very lucky that we have such renowned people aiding us in our play,” said Diaz.
This is not only a cultural activity but also an academic activity as the performers will have to try their best to speak and pronounce everything well in Spanish.
There were obstacles in order to get the project together, some of the more prominent ones including budget, time management and language barriers.
“These are the three major problems that we have with our plays, the wardrobe comes out to be very expensive at times, “ said Diaz.
I found this to be surprising, and when I asked for more details she told me that many of the items are not easily found.
Many times they have to buy, or at times even make the outfits themselves, which costs a lot of money.
When talking to Satizábal and Diaz, I found these inspiring words when I asked in Spanish, “Do the students look interested in the play?”
“You have to take into consideration that for them this is the first time they ever experienced theater. These are not theater students. These are not professionals, they do not have any previous experience. They are going to be anxious and nervous about this in the beginning but this changes their life. The theater changes somebody’s life. it gives them confidence and makes them feel like they belong to something,” said Satizábal.
Diaz suggests that this is a great collaboration because both Satizábal and herself deal with the same topics and themes in their plays.
The play will be open to all students in the Santos Manuel Student Union Theater on May 14 and May 22 at 7 p.m.
It will be a $5 admission fee and will feature English subtitles which will give the audience a more enjoyable experience.
Leave a Reply