The Latino Theatre Company Initiative brings community colleges students together using art to supplement their educational journeys.
By Maïa Richaud and Kaia Mann,
Staff Writers
Community college students from around the city gathered to put on Evelina Fernandez’s award winning Mexican Trilogy: Faith, Hope, and Charity with Valley College headlining the second act.
Produced by The Latino Theater Company, and directed by its founder, José Luis Valenzuela, the trilogy is organized into three parts: Faith, Hope and Charity. Three LACCD colleges converged last month to present the trilogy together and individually. East L.A. College performed Faith, Valley performed Hope, and L.A. City College performed Charity.
“We all come from somewhere, we're all immigrants in this country, and though any audience that has seen this show has said the same, they really see themselves,” said assistant director Israel Lopez. “We all have brothers and sisters, and moms and dads, and families that are trying to do their best and strive in this country. So although the story is about a Latino family, a Mexican-American family, it really is a universal human story.”
Each play follows the Morales’, a Mexican-American family whose lives are greatly affected by world events. The trilogy travels with each generation from Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona, and L.A.
Faith is set shortly after the Mexican Revolution and centers on preserving the family's cultural roots amidst a changing world. Hope details the shifting attitudes of the 1960s, and Charity the mourning of Pope John Paul II in 2005.
The plays are part of the theater company’s Impact Initiative, which provides a space where community college students can participate in cultural exchanges using the performing arts. The program includes the nine LACCD campuses, Pasadena City College, Mount San Antonio College, and Glendale City College. The initiative also provides students the opportunity to attend shows, participate in master classes, and engage in discussions with artists.
“We wanted to be able to do these three plays in three different schools so that, in this case, students from East L.A. College, L.A. Valley College, and Los Angeles City College could come together and help each other and share ideas and share stories and grow their support network all across L.A. County,” Lopez said.
This trilogy premiered in 2012, winning the L.A. Drama Critics Circle’s Ted Schmitt Award for a world premiere of an outstanding new play. Throughout the fall semester, the respective LACCD colleges performed them on their campuses, and most recently, at the L.A. Theater Center. The final performance took place Jan. 28.
“I love how it brings representation to the Latino community,” said Crystal Nieto, stage manager of “Hope.” “They [the characters] still have some of that generational trauma that first generation kids go through.”