El fin del mundo.

Founded in 1965 by Luis Valdez, El Teatro Campesino was initially the cultural wing of the United Farm Workers union in California's central valley. With a pointed political mission, ETC performed their actos in the fields, agitprop improvisations communicated eloquently with the workers, who could neither read nor write, but recognized themselves and their values in the actos. By 1970 ETC had gained an international reputation, with major contributions to Chicano culture in the U.S. and to the development and expansion of the boundaries of theater everywhere. Theirs is a popular theater rooted in the American streets, early California history, Mayan/Aztec mythology and Mexican folklore and spiritualism, all geared toward expression of social, political and cultural perceptions. Valdez believes in a total theaterone where an elevation of sensation is achieved through a trinity of music, dance and drama to stimulate a New American Audience, a celebration of cultural diversity. This video documents ETCs Young Actors Ensemble workshop-created piece El Fin del Mundo. Created specifically for the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Fin del Mundo tells the story of character Mundo Mata (from the eponymous ETC play), who overdoses on drugs and goes to the land of the dead where he encounters his former acquaintances. They are all stuck in the afterworld repeating the vices and sins of their lives. Mundo's friends try to convince him to take over the world of the dead. This workshop was attended by children and teenagers ranging from ages 9 to 17. In some ways, then, in the context of its young performers, the production can be seen as an anti-drug piece. The training and style related to this piece left an indelible mark on later works by workshop participants, including Kinan Valdez, who has since then directed a number of ETC productions. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics