Description
This study is a feminist oral history project, which narrates, chronicles, and examines the experiences and activism of nine women teatristas (theater artists) who are current or past members of the Chicana/Chicano comedy troupe Teatro Izcalli based out of San Diego, California and founded in 1995. The primary objective is to show the multiplicity of ways these women theater artists healed and empower(ed) themselves and their communities by employing decolonizing feminist perspectives through their participation in Teatro Izcalli. Grounded in Gloria Anzaldúa's theories of "mestiza consciousness," "path of conocimiento," and "spiritual activism," this thesis is a backstage pass into the lives of women who enact "la cultura cura" (culture heals) through their Chicana theater performances. Las Mujeres de Teatro Izcalli is organized into five distinct chapters. Chapter one is an introductory chapter that provides a brief overview of my intention for conducting this oral history project. Furthermore, chapter one delineates the purpose of my research and discusses my own positionality as well as literature on healing and curanderismo. Chapter two historically contextualizes Teatro Izcalli by addressing the development of Chicana/Chicano theater as an art form of resistance and empowerment in the 20th and 21st centuries. A brief history of Teatro Izcalli is also provided in this chapter. Chapter three includes the qualitative methods that I utilize, which include oral history, testimonios, and the use of "pláticas" (heart to heart talks). My methodology consists of an Indigenous ceremonial process that also centers a Chicana Feminist Epistemology. Chapter four includes the analysis of the eight interviews and provides insight to the women's memories, experiences, and challenges during their time in the troupe. I also interweave my own testimonio and insert my own reflective story into the analysis. My final chapter summarizes my findings and presents possible directions for other scholars interested in writing about Chicana/Chicano theater as a means for personal, social, and cultural healing.
