Luis Valdezs Los Venditos :: Mexico Mexican Essays

Luis Valdez's Los Venditos "Los Venditos," which means "the sold out ones," is a play that was directed by Luis Valdez and produced by the Farm Workers Theatre of Atzlan. They have based their theatre society on the old drama clubs that were prevalent in the striker’s communities of the sixties and seventies. In these communities, actors and actresses would play roles that would make fun of certain groups or individuals that they were rebelling against. For example, if the produce pickers were striking against a grower, then the play would bring out every stereotype that person believed in or every bad quality that that person had and would embellish it. They would make their target out to be stupid and ignorant. "Los Venditos" accomplishes this task very well because it shows every stereotype that Anglos have against Mexican Americans, and puts it in a way that will make almost any Anglo be ashamed for having believed such falsities. Everything that was put into the play was put there for a reason, whe ther it is an actual incident or a common stereotype. The narrator before the play explains what the Theatre Society of Aztlan is all about. The narrator is costumed as the Aztec sun god in an Aztec high-rise temple. The area around the sun god was the ancient Aztec calendar. It shows that the Aztlans have a good knowledge about their past. They are proud that they are from the area that the Aztecs originated from. The play starts off with a man, named Honest Sancho, that recently aquired a shop that sold used Mexican models. One might notice, however, that his shop is located in an area that has trash all around it. Many Anglos believe that even if a Mexican were to own his own establishment, it would have to be in their own neighborhood, which is most likely a slum, because they might bring their property value down with their presence. It was, and still is in some places, frowned upon when Mexican Americans try to move their business out of their usual surroundings. A woman, named Ms. Jimenez, who worked for the governor’s office, walked into the store because she said that she needed a Mexican for her office. This was obviously only for appearance because that person would have to do everything he/she was told without question. That person would be used for the good of the office where he would be a puppet for the Anglos.