La virgen del Tepeyac.

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. La Virgen del Tepeyac is ETCs longest running play and is cherished by audience members who come from all around the world to see it performed at the historic old mission of San Juan Bautista, California. Performed every other year since 1971 in concert with La Pastorela, this Christmas pageant was adapted from a four-character liturgical drama written by an anonymous Mexican or Spanish monk in the 18th Century. Valdez reworked the original story to include new characters and scenes, and also introduced music and dance. Importantly, the piece includes Aztec song and dance, adding complex layers to this pageant which embraces both Catholic and Indigenous rituals. Dramatizing the four apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the indio Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac outside Mexico City in 1531, the play climaxes with the miracle of the roses that sealed the conversion of pre-Columbian Mexico to Christianity. The appearance of the Virgen de Guadalupe stands as a beacon, a shining ray of light and hope, across the centuries of darkness and injustice, for the indios of the Americas. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics