Global Latinidades Center pilot “Historias" presents "Golden State Stories: Local and Global Legacies"

The playwriting class “Historias de Old Town Goleta Y Isla Vista / Isla Vista and Old Town Goleta Stories” is organizing a series of performances the weekend preceding Thanksgiving. This weekend of free theatrical programming for residents of Old Town Goleta, Isla Vista, and the broader Santa Barbara County community is a part of the Global Latinidades Center’s Local/Global Pedagogy and Praxis Initiatives. A major aim is to highlight the significant presence and role of Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x, as well as broader working-class residents in Santa Barbara County, with a focus on Old Town Goleta and the IV communities surrounding the university.

Under the title “Golden State Stories: Local and Global Legacies,” the planned performance nights will feature original 10-minute plays exploring Latino/a/x figures, events, and issues- both historical and contemporary. In addition to producing these student-written plays, the playwriting class is partnering with the student theater group Teatro Caló, which will perform a selection of works by El Teatro Campesino, the California-based theater troupe founded by Luis Valdez in the wake of the United Farm Workers strikes of the 1960s. We are excited to partner with this theater troupe, which is in its third season and has a history of hosting free performances and programming for the UCSB and broader Santa Barbara community. In addition to this student-run organization, we have also partnered with the non-profit Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara in an effort to expand our reach to shed light on ongoing issues of racism, labor, and economic inequality amongst marginalized communities, namely, racially profiled Latinos, given the recent Noem v. Vasquez-Perdomo decision in the Supreme Court.

The performances are scheduled for the weekend of Friday, November 21, through Sunday, November 23. All events will take place from 2:00p to 5:00p, and are free and open to the public. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, has graciously offered their space on Paseo Nuevo on Friday, November 21st. Saturday's performance will be hosted in the Goleta Community Center, and Sunday’s performance is to take place at UCSB’s Theater Courtyard.

Locations:
NOVEMBER 21: Museum of Contemporary Art, 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
NOVEMBER 22: Goleta Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave, Goleta, CA 93117
NOVEMBER 23: UCSB Theater Courtyard (Theater and Dance West)