Journal North

Venue North Section

Friday, June 9, 2000

Chicano theater troupe

drops the lecturing,

performs comedy

with bite

 

By Antonio López

With tongues firmly planted in cheeks, the comedic theater troupe ChUSMA asks: Are you Chicano enough? Playing the role of Hispanic Busters, Alberto Ibarra and Gustavo Chavez charge into the audience as 1960s-era militants, their guns tipped by toilet plungers. Their mission: to "raza-fy" the audience. What's your name? John? No, ése, make it Mexicano, you're Juan! Joaquin? Carnal, change it to Miquitli!

Latinas who bleach their hair and wear blue contacts? Forget it. Time to call on Super Chicana, performed by Marisol Torres. Dressed in army pants, rebozo, huipil and a Mexican flag cape, she's a "chicanista" espousing her history and culture, demanding that you remember your roots, your indigenismo.

Attacking stereotypes, promoting positive cultural identity and tackling drugs, violence against women, and anti-immigration politics are all in a day's work for the performers of ChUSMA, who dare to ask the question: Who said political activists have to be dull and boring?

ChUSMA members have no problem parodying militants who take themselves too seriously. But the message of the Chicano civil rights movement remains a strong undercurrent in the group's material. In the tradition of Chicano theater like Teatro Campesino, which travels and performs for migrant workers, ChUSMA believes laughter is the best way to reach an audience, especially hardened teens who might be too cynical or jaded to receive a dogmatic political message.

Said Chavez, "We don't want to lecture."

ChUSMA was started by Alberto Ibarra, who was originally part of a group called Teatro Por La Gente formed in 1990 at Cal State Northridge. The Teatro was a much larger group ChUSMA was an off-shoot. In 1997 it became its own entity.

Describing their community theater work as a fusion of "Neo-Vaudeville," early Mexican carpa (tent) performances held throughout the Southwest in the 1920s, and the 1960s' teatro Chicano and performance art movements, ChUSMA churns out zany community theater reminiscent of the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Torres also sees a historical precedent for the troupe's work. "It's an extension of an oral tradition that has been on the land of our ancestors for thousands of years. We're keeping it going though teatro. With our urban realities that we are (dealing with) now, we're bringing theater to the people how we can."

"We are very proud of keeping that tradition alive," Chavez says. "It's an art form that in many ways is dying out that was a form before TV. We call it a performance way of communication. It can be done on any stage. All you need is an audience."

In case you're wondering, "chusma" is a derogatory term for the Mexican lower class. It also refers to a character from a 1970s-era Mexican TV show, "El Chavo del Ocho," broadcast in Los Angeles. When ChUSMA performs to a mainly Latino audience, spectators often remember and identify with the sad-sack TV character.

"Chusma and Chicano are the same," Ibarra said. "If you are raza, you are going to be chusma to somebody. I want to say I'm proud to bechusma. We are part of the pueblo. It's like saying you are proud to be Chicano." But the message is more universal, Ibarra adds. "We are all going to be the chusma of somebody."

ChUSMA has worked with Culture Clash, California's well-established comedy theater group. ChUSMA was invited to perform Culture Clash's 1980s play, "The Mission," but re-wrote it to update the story for the 1990s. The newer version included a naturalized Mexican immigrant, a Spanish-impaired Valley girl, and a stoner Chicano revolutionary who boycotts everything.

The group also has performed with Latino music groups like Ozomatli, Maldita Vecindad and Aztlan Underground. They have toured to Mexico City, Chiapas, Washington state and throughout California. Recently the Latino Initiative at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles commissioned ChUSMA to write the play, "The Wizard of Oztlan."

"Since our issues aren't addressed by hardly anyone, we feel a need to address those in our actos," Ibarra said. "We tackle the issues that affect our community. If we don't do it, who will? At the same time, some of the issues we tackle affect everyone."

Committed to giving back to its community, in the spirit of the Zapatista rebels in Chiapas, ChUSMA has organized a "consulta" for East LA on July 8. The artists will solicit answers on what does and doesn’t work in the community through a questionnaire.

"In three or four months down the line we will present as artists how we would resolve the problems," Ibarra said. "We are not dictating the opinions, which is what other playwrights do. We are down to earth, we don't think we know it all already. We are la gente."

The performers write material through improvisation, usually starting by parodying something they see in the pop culture and media, but also incorporating a socio-political theme with a specific message they want to convey. With a simple tech sheet - two microphones, dual cassette player, CD player, basic theater setting with one spot light, and if more elaborate, two stage hands and video monitor - ChUSMA can pretty much perform anywhere.

And they do – ChUSMA has performed at jails for juveniles, at festivals and at student conferences and the like. Don’t look for ChUSMA performances on the Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo.

"We are not just a Cinco de Mayo troupe," Ibarra said. "Our lives go on 24/7 all year round. Why should we wait for Cinco de Mayo when we can support our culture at any moment in life?"