USA: MUSICAN ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO AND OTHERS PERFORM MULTI MEDIA THEATRE PROJECT TELLING THE STORY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANT FATHERS

Record ID: 389868

  • Title: USA: MUSICAN ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO AND OTHERS PERFORM MULTI MEDIA THEATRE PROJECT TELLING THE STORY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN IMMIGRANT FATHERS
  • Date: 15th June 2000
  • Summary: SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR KEVIN PORTILLO DESCRIBING THE REACTION OF AUDIENCES TO THE PERFORMANCE SAYING "My Dad always used to say "Do what ever you want to do, don't let anybody tell you anything less" and only in my adult years having talked to my Dad and talked to my Mom how they wanted us so much to do well that there were times when they felt they couldn't do it
  • Embargoed: 30th June 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, USA
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment,General
  • Reuters ID: LVA75BY4PB5T7OIQJS9IWIZG6NRF
  • Story Text: An ambitious new multi-media music-theatre project, "By The Hand Of The Father," just unveiled in Los Angeles focuses on the harrowing subject of Mexican fathers, describing them as men with "a foot in each country" stuggling to assimilate and prosper in 20th century America. Reuters spoke with director Teresa Chavez and co-producer-musician Alejandro Escovedo about this intimate look at his Mexican-American roots and how the themes of love and survival serve as the ultimate Father's Day gift for dads of all nationalities.
    By The Hand of The Father is a new music-based theatrical production featuring original music composed and performed by renowned singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo.
    Presented by About Productions, an acclaimed and award-winning Los Angeles-based theater company, and Paula Batson Productions, the play is an original, interdisciplinary theater work that weaves together multiple artistic elements to create a poignant vision of the unique 20th century journey of the Mexican-American father.
    These men, whose cultural identity straddles both Mexico and the United States, are the authors' bridge to their own history, memory, and culture.
    Built from the historic resources available to the writers including family lore, interviews, home movies, photographs and other archival materials, the work explores the intersection of two generations in terms of historical, cultural, national and spiritual identity.
    The piece is staged as a collection of narrative vignettes intertwined with live music and video montage.
    Written by Theresa Chavez (About Productions' Artistic Director), Eric Gutierrez and Rose Portillo, and directed by Chavez, "By The Hand of The Father" is an emotional, uplifting, powerful and insightful piece that presents a variety of familial themes that transcend cultural boundaries.
    The play is not overly sentimental despite the material being obviously close to the hearts of the players.
    The true objective, according to the project's creators,is to come to a certain level of understanding about your family and roots irrespective of birth origins.
    "This generation of men, born in the early decades of the 20th century, lived in a world that no longer exists," Chavez comments. "By The Hand of The Father is an attempt to remember that world for ourselves as sons and daughters and to record, as writers, a history that we are deeply connected to.
    "I have been inspired by the collaboration with Alejandro.
    Working with the songwriting form has created unique theatrical possibilities and broadened the scope of About Productions."
    "I found working with Theresa, Rose and Eric to be quite inspirational and it really opened up a whole new world for me," Escovedo said of his involvement with the production. "At first I was terrified of the collaboration process, but once I felt confident about what I wanted to do it was easy."
    The music for "By the Hand of the Father" is an integral component of the production and includes original music composed by Escovedo as well as traditional Mexican folk tunes. The Austin-based Escovedo fronts a seven-piece band on stage.
    Original songs written for this new work include the previously unrecorded tracks "Wave," "Rosalee," an untitled new song and a thematic score. Previously released tracks include "Ballad of the Sun and the Moon," "With These Hands"
    and "Hard Road," all songs written about the experiences of Escovedo's father.
    In addition to his appearances with the theatre project, Escovedo is currently on tour through August. His new CD, A Man Under the Influence, is scheduled for release on Bloodshot Records in mid-September and will include the song "Wave," and a new version of "Rosalee."
    "By The Hand of The Father" will tour in several U.S.
    cities through 2002 including Seattle, Austin, San Antonio, New York and Chicago. Additional Los Angeles-area performances have been set for The Getty Center and the Autry Museum of Western Heritage.
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