Estrella Esparza

The first Chicano play performed on Broadway, Luis Valdez's ground-breaking masterpiece uses the Sleepy Lagoon murder case to examine the Zoot Suit culture of the 1940s. Henry Reyna and the 38th Street Gang are discriminated against and tried for murder after a fight breaks out a party. Passionate and provocative, Zoot Suit pulses with the beat of a big band music and traditional Latin songs.

Originally produced for PBS's Great Performances Series, La Pastorela is a musical retelling of the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child. We see the tale through the eyes of a modern young girl, the oldest child in a large rural Tex-Mex family. During a surrealistic dream, which brings to mind "The Wizard of Oz," the young chicana makes a fantastical journey with the shepherds and along the way; witnesses the triumph of God's Angels over Satan's diablo's. Full of drama, comedy, fantasy and wonderful music; this is a rare film the whole family can enjoy together.

Film becomes a metaphor for lost history and its “negative“ impact on successive generations who look for stability in an electronic world that lacks sufficient mediation. Video retrieves lost memories for the child who, through her camera, seeks to find her father.