Portlands bilingual touring company Teatro Milagro will give a free performance of Searching for Aztlán at noon Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the McLoughlin Auditorium of Clackamas Community Colleges Oregon City campus.
The performance is presented by the CCC World Languages Department and International Committee. CCC Spanish instructor Irma Bjerre has brought Teatro Milagro to the college before, but its been a couple of years.
The theater group will perform Searching for Aztlán in both English and Spanish. The bilingual play was written by Latino playwright Lakin Valdez of Teatro Campesino, which fights for justice and the indigenous rights of Chicanos.
Its the biggest Hispanic theater group in the Northwest, Bjerre said of Teatro Milagro. I havent seen Searching for Aztlán, but it should be great. Teatro Campesino was known for its outdoor satirical performances by and for farm workers. Now that were being more global and accepting of other peoples cultures, its good for not only students, but also the community at large to see shows like this.
The play begins in 2012 with the Tucson School Boards acceptance of HB 2281, shutting down Mexican-American Studies and removing its books from classrooms. A giant dust storm, or haboob, strikes the city and leaves Dolores Huelga, a teacher, unemployed and in an alternate reality.
Lost in the desert, Dolores sets out on a quest for the mythical city of Aztlán. Along the way she encounters a quirky High-Spanic, a militant Super-Chicano and a working class Latina immigrant all dispossessed exiles with whom she joins forces to fight for truth, justice and the indigenous way.
Staff, students and the community are invited to attend this free performance. For more information, contact Irma Bjerre at 503-594-3245 or email IrmaB@Clackamas.edu, or Ida Flippo at 503-594-3363 or email iflipp@clackamas.edu.