dfd (Photo courtesy TK)
Our Stories
A Stage for all of us! By William A. Virchis Co-Founder Teatro Máscara Mágica
I love the collaborative process where everyone contributes to the vision and mission.
Both Jorge and I were fortunate in 1986 to be named Co-Artistic Directors of the Teatro Meta educational program at The Old Globe Theatre. A year later, the theatre canceled its bilingual Latino Play Discovery Series established in 1983 through a Ford Foundation grant. Encouraged by Old Globe founder and Producing Artistic Director Craig Noel, Jorge and I moved forward to pursue our dream. And so, Teatro Máscara Mágica, (TMM), San Diego’s first professional, multicultural theater company, was incorporated in 1991. We chose the name Máscara Mágica (Magic Mask) because of the Latino traditions revolving around magic and rituals, which are also central to other cultures. TMM has always had two other cultural components: Asian American and African American brought to life by the late UCSD Professor Floyd Gaffney.
Latinos were voiceless in the San Diego theatre community before 1990. It was frustrating and disappointing. But I had a dream—bringing Latino and other diverse voices onto San Diego’s big stages. At the time, I was a theatre professor at Southwestern College. My friend and colleague, Jorge Huerta, Ph.D., an esteemed professor at UCSD, also shared that same dream.
Jorge Huerta, Ph.D. Co-Founder Teatro Máscara Mágica
William A. Virchis Producing Artistic Director Co-Founder Teatro Máscara Mágica
Teatro Máscara Mágica, La Pastorela 2017 San Diego Repertory Theatre (Photo courtesy William A. Virchis)
(Photos courtesy Latino Legacy Foundation)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 5 – The Chicano Cultural Renaissance
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