Zoot Suit
By Luis Valdez
By Luis Valdez
Zoot Suit
By Luis Valdez
By Luis Valdez
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Primary Conflict
Throughout the play Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez, Pachuco narrates the play in Los Angeles, California unraveling the proceedings that led up to the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial of 1942. In a neighborhood made up of Chicanos, Valdez presents the 38th Street Gang led by Henry Reyna, and their rivals the Downey Gang. The play revolves around Henry and his gang who are convicted of murdering Jose Williams, based on their previous crimes and race. As the 38th Street Gang is detained in prison, a man named George presents himself as their personal lawyer who has been hired by Henry’s parents to regulate the case, and in addition a reporter Alice Bloomfield is also brought into the picture and is gradually accepted. As the trial begins George makes sure to articulate to the judge that the new clothes has been detested, and therefore has not been given to their rightful owners, who have as well been forbidden to cut their hair in order to appear guilty of a crime they did not commit. However the cops, press, and judge want to put the gang in prison where they feel the gang belongs, symbolizing that “this pinche pedo is serious” (Valdez 21). As George makes several objections, but because of the fact that the legal system is so corrupt the judge over rules every single one of them, making the 38th Street Gang feel intimidated. As the trial dwindles down, and the lawyers state their concluding statements, the verdict comes back guilty for first and second degree murder. The jury, even after further evidence that proved that the Downey Gang murdered Jose Williams still wanted the 38th Street Gang Members to be kept in jail. So as the gang members are incarcerated in prison their lawyer, and editor, Henry and Alicefight for the privileges of the suspected killers. However, one day during the weekGeorge, their lawyer comes to check in on them and tells them that he will be drafted to serve in the war the next day. Worried and hopeless, George assures them that they have a tremendous support system and other great lawyers that will permit them to win the appeal. As war begins and riots break out in Los Angeles, Henry and the other members of his gang are lastly released from jail. They all re-unite with their families and friends, and the author leaves Henry’s destiny to the audience. He can return to being a criminal and be sent to jail and die from the tension of breaking the law, die as a hero for serving his country in the war, or he can get married, have children and live an ordinary life. |
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Zoot Suit
By Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez also famously known as “the father of Chicano theatre in the United States” was born on June 26, 1940. His parents, Armida and Francisco Valdez, migrant workers, gave birth and raised Valdez in Delano, California making him the second of their ten children. His interest for drama began at a young age, however when he was in high school he received a scholarship for math and physics to attend San Jose University, which he accepted. However, he quickly changed his major and earned a Bachelor Arts degree in English, during the time of the Grape Strike in 1965. After graduating, he joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a theatre that dramatizes free shows which presents political situations in a sarcastic ways. After a year, he decided to help a renowned Hispanic leader César Chávez arrange and classify manual workers throughout the struggles the Grape Strike of 1965 displayed. In order to aid his family overcome financial troubles, he established “El Teatro Campesino” also referred to as “The Farmworker’s Theatre”, in Delano, where he worked as the Artistic Director. Valdez started putting plays together that revolved around migrant workers, in order to display the dilemma to the audience. His foundation shattered into a Chicano Theatre Movement, and spread throughout the United States as theatrical groups began to form in public. Valdez’s previous works has created a dent of impression in the Chicano world. His plays and screenwriters on issues that the Chicano people encounter have influenced the way society now views them. His determination and bravery to produce and direct his feelings have shaped him into what he is considered today: a role model for young Chicanos.
Zoot Suit is a play written by Luis Valdez, featuring incidental music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero. Zoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. Debuting in 1979, Zoot Suit was the first Chicanoplay on Broadway. In 1981, Luis Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques.
Zoot Suit Throughout the novel Pachuco, Henry and the rest of the 38th Street Gang wear the Zoot Suit as a gang symbol of unity, and to display their culture. Whenever Henry goes to a dance or out in public he makes sure to wear his Zoot Suit, although his father Enrique and mother Dolores find it ugly and out of style. However “the zoot suit is the style in California” and everyone even his brother wishes to have a Zoot Suit, to feel self-assured and look fashionable (Valdez 7). Although Henry’s parents detest the Zoot Suit, he never listens to what they have to say because to him it is a part of his identity, and nationality but at the same time it “makes [him] feel reel root, [and] look like a diamond” (Valdez 6).
The Press The press one of the main symbols not always states the truth and therefore is used as a force against the gang to lock them up for an action they did not commit. The press not only records what is true, but also accounts the opinions of others. The press, as displayed in media has no compassion for others, and only judge people from a glance and not from their inner selves. The press understands that what they print will be read by society, influencing and distorting the opinions of others. In order to prevent the 38th Street Gang from being released the press writes “we are dealing with a threat and danger to our children, our families, our homes" to persuade the audience that the members of the gang are only mere criminals and not human beings who should have (Valdez 47). The press unlike most characters is represented by a group of people in order to stress the importance of humanity unjust racial behavior towards a group of Chicanos.
El Pachuco Pachuco is a mirror reflection of Henry. Pachuco symbolizes the self-criticism one imposes on them. Although Henry knows that he did not commit the Crime, the Pachuco side of him constantly tells him that his lawyers and reporters will never win the case. Pachuco states: “each second is a drop of blood from your brain that you must swallow drop by drop and don’t even start counting or you’ll lose your mind…” (Valdez 64). Pachuco forces Henry to face reality allowing Henry to give up on his destiny. Pachuco represents the negative thoughts of Henry and the depressing side that holds Henry back from anticipation.
Plot
Zoot Suit tells the story of Henry Reyna and the 38th Street Gang, who were tried for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles, during World War II. After a run-in with a neighboring gang at the local lovers lane, Sleepy Lagoon, the 38th Street Gang gets into a fight at a party, where a young man is murdered. Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Henry's brother Rudy is beaten and stripped of his zoot suit during the Zoot Suit Riots.
Through the efforts of George and other lawyers, as well as activist-reporter Alice, with whom Henry has a brief romantic encounter, the boys win their court appeal and are freed. The play ends with a Reyna family reunion as Henry returns home and Rudy is about to leave to join the Marines. The scene suggests that it is not the happy ending we expect, however, as multiple endings of Henry's story are suggested: that he returned to prison and drug abuse, died in the war in Korea and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, or married Della and had five children.
Characters
Zoot Suit displays a variety of personalities within each individual character. Henry Reyna, the main character and protagonist of the play is described as a “21, dark, Indian-looking” gang leader (Valdez 6). The 38th Street Gang is known to the barrio as the “toughest gang in town”, all being charged for taking part of a murder they had nothing to do with (Valdez 21).He is portrayed to be the central suspect of Jose Williams’s murder case, which undermines his ambition of joining the Navy. Early in the play, he recognizes that because of his Chicano heritage, he will have to suffer punishments not only because of stereotypes, but because he is a “juvenile delinquent, zootsuiter and…gang leader” (Valdez 10). Pachuco, narrator and Henry’s self-esteem controls his thoughts and often tends to bring up the negative side to every situation. El Pachuco is usually portrayed as the threatening, nonchalant, slick and rebellious self-reflection of Henry. Fighting for the gang is George Shearman a “Peoples Lawyer” who has been requested by Henry’s parents themselves (Valdez 23). Also wanting to aid the gang is Alice Bloomfield “a reporter from theDaily People’s World” who uses her sincere personality to calm the gang of their negative thoughts. George shows that he not only wants to help the gang members win this case, but that he is a sensible and determined man who is ambitious to prove the judicial system wrong. In the same town but on different levels there is the Downey Gang “a rival group of Pachuco…and a challenge to the 38th Street” who are the actual criminals of this murder case. The press is dominant antagonist in the play as it records the public’s undesirable opinions, and perceptions on the local newspaper and destructive outcome of the media.
GlossaryZoot Suit: The ProductionZoot Suit Riots A violent encounter on the streets of Los Angeles in 1943. The riot targeted Mexican American youth and terrorized the Mexican American community.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
Historical contextThe Sleepy Lagoon MurderZoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon Murder of 1942 and the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 in Los Angeles, California. On August 1, 1942 José Díaz was at a birthday party at the Williams Ranch. A disturbance occurred around 11:00 p.m. when a group of twenty white men from the Downey suburb arrived uninvited, complaining about a lack of beer. The group from Downey were kicked out of the party after demanding more beer.
Meanwhile, a group of men and women from 38th street drove their cars to the nearby swimming hole and lovers lane, dubbed "Sleepy Lagoon," also on the Williams Ranch. Among the group were Henry Leyvas and his girlfriend Dora Baca, from whom the characters Henry Reyna and Della are contrived. Also with them was friend Bobby Telles. As the group socialized, three men pulled up and began yelling insults, met equally with words from Leyvas. The three drove off. The 38th street group wandered off until they heard a commotion from the parked cars, where Leyvas and Baca remained. A group of about sixteen men from the Downey gang were beating Leyvas and Barca, prompting members of the 38th street group to defend their friends. After the Downey group left, the group from 38th street left to gather more of their group, prior to returning to the Williams Ranch.
The group arrived at Sleepy Lagoon around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd, to find no one, so someone suggested the Downey gang had moved to the party at the bunkhouse nearby at the Williams Ranch. At the party, the Downey gang was not to be found. Yet, somehow a fight broke out between the party goers and the 38th street gang. The fight was brief, ending when someone yelled the police were coming. In the aftermath of the fight, the party-throwers, the Delgadillos, discovered the body of José Díaz along the road, who had left the party shortly before the 38th street group arrive. His pockets were turned inside. He was rushed to a hospital where he died and hour and a half after admission, with a concussion and two stab wounds. The circumstances around Díaz's death still remain undetermined.
The People v. Zammora et al.In the process of investigating the murder of José Díaz, hundreds of young men and women in the L.A. area were brought in for police processing. Among the suspects arrested, several were severely beaten during questioning, including Henry Leyvas, Lupe Leyvas, Benny Alvarez, and Eugene Carpio, and Manuel Reyes. Twenty-two men were placed on trial as a group, under the defense of seven attorneys in the People v. Zammora et al. George Shibley later joined as an attorney on the case, winning favor from the defendants and their families for his attempts to communicate in Spanish. Alice McGrath was hired by Shibley to take notes on the trial. Though the murder weapon was never produced, after six days of deliberation, only five of the twenty-two young men were found "not guilty." The other seventeen young men were convicted of murdering José Díaz, including Henry Leyvas, who with José Ruíz and Robert Telles, was convicted of murder in the first degree and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Leyvas, Ruíz, and Telles were sentenced to life in prison, while the other young men were sentenced to one to five years.
The ruling was reversed in October 1944 and the men were released, due to the efforts of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee, with Alice McGrath as executive secretary. However, many of the young men returned to prison, including Henry Leyvas.[2]
The Zoot Suit RiotsWith rising tension between the zoot suiters and military servicemen in the L.A. area, what is known as the Zoot Suit Riots began on June 3, 1943 when a group of sailors claimed to have been robbed and beaten by Pachucos.[3] Provoked by a Nazi salute, servicemen beat zoot suit wearing civilians with clubs and other makeshift weapons, and stripped them of their suits. Approximately ninety-four civilians and eighteen servicemen were treated for serious injuries, with all of the ninety four arrested, but only two of the servicemen. One source claims the Riot continued for five nights, when military and police efforts ended the violence. However, a second source states that the span of the Riots was nine days.
Production historyStage debutZoot Suit premiered at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on April, 1978.[4] This production with Center Theatre Group marked the first professionally produced Chicano play. The initial ten-day run in April sold out in two days. An audience of season ticket holders and local Mexican-Americans gave standing ovations each evening of the performances at the Mark Taper Forum. A second run began in August and tickets sold out yet again.[4] This extended run was held at the Aquarius Theatre, Los Angeles.[6]
Broadway production[edit]The Broadway production debuted at the Winter Garden Theater on March 25, 1979, and closed on April 29 after 41 performances and 17 previews. The production was directed by Luis Valdez and featured choreography by Patricia Birch. Edward James Olmos' portrayal of El Pachuco earned him a Tony Award nomination for best featured actor in a play, as well as a Theatre World award.[7] Zoot Suit was the second Latino written and directed play produced on Broadway, coming second only to Miguel Piñero's Short Eyes in 1974. While Short Eyes won two Obie Awards, as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, Zoot Suit ran a mere five weeks on Broadway.
Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques.
30th anniversary productionIn April 2008, Alma Martinez, member of the original 1978 cast of Zoot Suit directed the 30 year anniversary production at Pomona College in Claremont, CaliforniaThis was the first time since its stage debut in 1978 that Zoot Suit had been produced in the Los Angeles area. The two-week run managed to sell out prior to opening night, despite minimal advertisement, primarily in Latino publications. Many outreach opportunities were taken, including an alumni night, a staff appreciation performance, matinees allowing over 1,000 high school students to attend, and the development of a study guide for students attending the performances.
The alumni event featured a reunion of original 1978 cast members, as well as members of the film version of Zoot Suit. Luis Valdez and Alice McGrath, the community activist on whom Valdez based the character Alice, were given awards. Also in the audience were members of the family of Henry Leyvas, on whom Henry Reyna was based.
In casting the revival, Martinez cast across the Claremont University Consortium in search of Latino students. All of the Chicano roles featured actors making their stage debut, and the majority of the cast was composed of non-theatre majors. Assistant director Shakina Nayfack modified the script to reduce homophobic and sexist language where possible. Martinez cast a female in the traditionally male role of the Press.[10]
Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary[edit]As part of the Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary celebration, playwright and director Luis Valdez brought Zoot Suit to the Mark Taper Forum from January 31 to April 2, 2017.[11] The play featured Rose Portillo and Daniel Valdez, who were original cast members from the 1978 production. Instead of reprising their roles of Henry Reyna and Della, respectively, they returned to the stage to play the roles of Henry Reyna’s parents. Rose Portillo was delighted to bring Zoot Suit to new audiences and stated, “I’m over the moon. It was a dream come true the first time. It’s a dream come true the second time, to come full circle and to work with Luis at the Taper, where Gordon Davidson and Luis were so influential on my artistic career. I’m looking forward to sharing Zoot Suit with a whole new crop of artists and audiences.” Similarly, Daniel Valdez said, “It’s great to come back to where it all started 38 years ago. I’m looking forward to inhabiting the world of Zoot Suit once again.” Academy Award nominated actor Demián Bichir also starred as El Pachuco.[12]
CriticismZoot Suit was well received in its initial production in Los Angeles. In his review for Theatre Journal, Jules Aaron laudes the play for its ability to both entertain and make a political statement. Aaron also notes the emotional content of the play.[13] Richard Eder for The New York Times echoed Aaron's observations that the play is both entertaining and political. He adds that Zoot Suit is a blend of Cantinflas and Brecht. Eder adds his critique that the play is too specific to the Chicano community and lacks universality.[14]
Valdez's play did not receive the same feelings in New York City when it made its Broadway debut. Richard Eder voiced a different opinion of the Broadway staging from when he saw the production in L.A. Eder notes that the design elements lacked harmony, and that Zoot Suit failed to combine entertainment with symbolism, plot, and moral.[15] A week later, a New York Times review by Walter Kerr criticizes Valdez for his use of clichés. Kerr also complains of the lack of emotional connection between David Valdez and Miss Hensel, who play Henry and Alice, respectively.[16]
MusicThe songs threaded through Zoot Suit were written by Lalo Guerrero and the playwright's brother Daniel Valdez.[1] Guerrero, known as the father of Chicano music, wrote music detailing the Chicano culture during World War II, resulting in the feature of the songs in Zoot Suit.[17] The music combines boogie-woogie and El Paso's version of R&B.[18]
By Luis Valdez
Luis Valdez also famously known as “the father of Chicano theatre in the United States” was born on June 26, 1940. His parents, Armida and Francisco Valdez, migrant workers, gave birth and raised Valdez in Delano, California making him the second of their ten children. His interest for drama began at a young age, however when he was in high school he received a scholarship for math and physics to attend San Jose University, which he accepted. However, he quickly changed his major and earned a Bachelor Arts degree in English, during the time of the Grape Strike in 1965. After graduating, he joined the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a theatre that dramatizes free shows which presents political situations in a sarcastic ways. After a year, he decided to help a renowned Hispanic leader César Chávez arrange and classify manual workers throughout the struggles the Grape Strike of 1965 displayed. In order to aid his family overcome financial troubles, he established “El Teatro Campesino” also referred to as “The Farmworker’s Theatre”, in Delano, where he worked as the Artistic Director. Valdez started putting plays together that revolved around migrant workers, in order to display the dilemma to the audience. His foundation shattered into a Chicano Theatre Movement, and spread throughout the United States as theatrical groups began to form in public. Valdez’s previous works has created a dent of impression in the Chicano world. His plays and screenwriters on issues that the Chicano people encounter have influenced the way society now views them. His determination and bravery to produce and direct his feelings have shaped him into what he is considered today: a role model for young Chicanos.
Zoot Suit is a play written by Luis Valdez, featuring incidental music by Daniel Valdez and Lalo Guerrero. Zoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial and the Zoot Suit Riots. Debuting in 1979, Zoot Suit was the first Chicanoplay on Broadway. In 1981, Luis Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques.
Zoot Suit Throughout the novel Pachuco, Henry and the rest of the 38th Street Gang wear the Zoot Suit as a gang symbol of unity, and to display their culture. Whenever Henry goes to a dance or out in public he makes sure to wear his Zoot Suit, although his father Enrique and mother Dolores find it ugly and out of style. However “the zoot suit is the style in California” and everyone even his brother wishes to have a Zoot Suit, to feel self-assured and look fashionable (Valdez 7). Although Henry’s parents detest the Zoot Suit, he never listens to what they have to say because to him it is a part of his identity, and nationality but at the same time it “makes [him] feel reel root, [and] look like a diamond” (Valdez 6).
The Press The press one of the main symbols not always states the truth and therefore is used as a force against the gang to lock them up for an action they did not commit. The press not only records what is true, but also accounts the opinions of others. The press, as displayed in media has no compassion for others, and only judge people from a glance and not from their inner selves. The press understands that what they print will be read by society, influencing and distorting the opinions of others. In order to prevent the 38th Street Gang from being released the press writes “we are dealing with a threat and danger to our children, our families, our homes" to persuade the audience that the members of the gang are only mere criminals and not human beings who should have (Valdez 47). The press unlike most characters is represented by a group of people in order to stress the importance of humanity unjust racial behavior towards a group of Chicanos.
El Pachuco Pachuco is a mirror reflection of Henry. Pachuco symbolizes the self-criticism one imposes on them. Although Henry knows that he did not commit the Crime, the Pachuco side of him constantly tells him that his lawyers and reporters will never win the case. Pachuco states: “each second is a drop of blood from your brain that you must swallow drop by drop and don’t even start counting or you’ll lose your mind…” (Valdez 64). Pachuco forces Henry to face reality allowing Henry to give up on his destiny. Pachuco represents the negative thoughts of Henry and the depressing side that holds Henry back from anticipation.
Plot
Zoot Suit tells the story of Henry Reyna and the 38th Street Gang, who were tried for the Sleepy Lagoon murder in Los Angeles, during World War II. After a run-in with a neighboring gang at the local lovers lane, Sleepy Lagoon, the 38th Street Gang gets into a fight at a party, where a young man is murdered. Discriminated against for their zoot suit-wearing Chicano identity, twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang are placed on trial for the murder, found guilty, and sentenced to life in San Quentin prison. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Henry's brother Rudy is beaten and stripped of his zoot suit during the Zoot Suit Riots.
Through the efforts of George and other lawyers, as well as activist-reporter Alice, with whom Henry has a brief romantic encounter, the boys win their court appeal and are freed. The play ends with a Reyna family reunion as Henry returns home and Rudy is about to leave to join the Marines. The scene suggests that it is not the happy ending we expect, however, as multiple endings of Henry's story are suggested: that he returned to prison and drug abuse, died in the war in Korea and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously, or married Della and had five children.
Characters
Zoot Suit displays a variety of personalities within each individual character. Henry Reyna, the main character and protagonist of the play is described as a “21, dark, Indian-looking” gang leader (Valdez 6). The 38th Street Gang is known to the barrio as the “toughest gang in town”, all being charged for taking part of a murder they had nothing to do with (Valdez 21).He is portrayed to be the central suspect of Jose Williams’s murder case, which undermines his ambition of joining the Navy. Early in the play, he recognizes that because of his Chicano heritage, he will have to suffer punishments not only because of stereotypes, but because he is a “juvenile delinquent, zootsuiter and…gang leader” (Valdez 10). Pachuco, narrator and Henry’s self-esteem controls his thoughts and often tends to bring up the negative side to every situation. El Pachuco is usually portrayed as the threatening, nonchalant, slick and rebellious self-reflection of Henry. Fighting for the gang is George Shearman a “Peoples Lawyer” who has been requested by Henry’s parents themselves (Valdez 23). Also wanting to aid the gang is Alice Bloomfield “a reporter from theDaily People’s World” who uses her sincere personality to calm the gang of their negative thoughts. George shows that he not only wants to help the gang members win this case, but that he is a sensible and determined man who is ambitious to prove the judicial system wrong. In the same town but on different levels there is the Downey Gang “a rival group of Pachuco…and a challenge to the 38th Street” who are the actual criminals of this murder case. The press is dominant antagonist in the play as it records the public’s undesirable opinions, and perceptions on the local newspaper and destructive outcome of the media.
- El Pachuco: an allegorical character of the Chicano sub-culture of the same name.
- Henry Reyna: leader of the 38th Street Gang
- Enrique Reyna: Henry's father
- Dolores Reyna: Henry's mother
- Lupe Reyna: Henry's sister
- Rudy Reyna: Henry's brother
- George Shearer: lawyer for Henry and the 38th Street boys
- Alice Bloomfield: reporter and activist for Henry's case, as well as a brief love interest of Henry's
- Della Barrios: 38th Street Gang member and Henry's girlfriend
- The 38th Street Gang: includes Smiley Torres, Joey Castro, Tommy Roberts, Elena Torres, and Bertha Villarreal
- Rafas: leader of the Downey Gang, rival to the 38th Street Gang
- Downey Gang: include Ragman, Hobo, Cholo, Zooter, Guera, Hoba, Blondie, and Little Blue
- Lieutenant Edwards and Sergeant Smith: detectives
- Members of the Press: includes Press (who doubles as the prosecution), Cub Reporter, and Newsboy
- The Court: includes Judge F. W. Charles and Bailiff
- Prison guard
- Military men: include Bosun's Mate, Sailors, Marine, Swabbie, Manchuka, and Shore Patrolman
- Extras: Girls, Pimp, Cholo
GlossaryZoot Suit: The ProductionZoot Suit Riots A violent encounter on the streets of Los Angeles in 1943. The riot targeted Mexican American youth and terrorized the Mexican American community.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
Historical contextThe Sleepy Lagoon MurderZoot Suit is based on the Sleepy Lagoon Murder of 1942 and the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 in Los Angeles, California. On August 1, 1942 José Díaz was at a birthday party at the Williams Ranch. A disturbance occurred around 11:00 p.m. when a group of twenty white men from the Downey suburb arrived uninvited, complaining about a lack of beer. The group from Downey were kicked out of the party after demanding more beer.
Meanwhile, a group of men and women from 38th street drove their cars to the nearby swimming hole and lovers lane, dubbed "Sleepy Lagoon," also on the Williams Ranch. Among the group were Henry Leyvas and his girlfriend Dora Baca, from whom the characters Henry Reyna and Della are contrived. Also with them was friend Bobby Telles. As the group socialized, three men pulled up and began yelling insults, met equally with words from Leyvas. The three drove off. The 38th street group wandered off until they heard a commotion from the parked cars, where Leyvas and Baca remained. A group of about sixteen men from the Downey gang were beating Leyvas and Barca, prompting members of the 38th street group to defend their friends. After the Downey group left, the group from 38th street left to gather more of their group, prior to returning to the Williams Ranch.
The group arrived at Sleepy Lagoon around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the 2nd, to find no one, so someone suggested the Downey gang had moved to the party at the bunkhouse nearby at the Williams Ranch. At the party, the Downey gang was not to be found. Yet, somehow a fight broke out between the party goers and the 38th street gang. The fight was brief, ending when someone yelled the police were coming. In the aftermath of the fight, the party-throwers, the Delgadillos, discovered the body of José Díaz along the road, who had left the party shortly before the 38th street group arrive. His pockets were turned inside. He was rushed to a hospital where he died and hour and a half after admission, with a concussion and two stab wounds. The circumstances around Díaz's death still remain undetermined.
The People v. Zammora et al.In the process of investigating the murder of José Díaz, hundreds of young men and women in the L.A. area were brought in for police processing. Among the suspects arrested, several were severely beaten during questioning, including Henry Leyvas, Lupe Leyvas, Benny Alvarez, and Eugene Carpio, and Manuel Reyes. Twenty-two men were placed on trial as a group, under the defense of seven attorneys in the People v. Zammora et al. George Shibley later joined as an attorney on the case, winning favor from the defendants and their families for his attempts to communicate in Spanish. Alice McGrath was hired by Shibley to take notes on the trial. Though the murder weapon was never produced, after six days of deliberation, only five of the twenty-two young men were found "not guilty." The other seventeen young men were convicted of murdering José Díaz, including Henry Leyvas, who with José Ruíz and Robert Telles, was convicted of murder in the first degree and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Leyvas, Ruíz, and Telles were sentenced to life in prison, while the other young men were sentenced to one to five years.
The ruling was reversed in October 1944 and the men were released, due to the efforts of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee, with Alice McGrath as executive secretary. However, many of the young men returned to prison, including Henry Leyvas.[2]
The Zoot Suit RiotsWith rising tension between the zoot suiters and military servicemen in the L.A. area, what is known as the Zoot Suit Riots began on June 3, 1943 when a group of sailors claimed to have been robbed and beaten by Pachucos.[3] Provoked by a Nazi salute, servicemen beat zoot suit wearing civilians with clubs and other makeshift weapons, and stripped them of their suits. Approximately ninety-four civilians and eighteen servicemen were treated for serious injuries, with all of the ninety four arrested, but only two of the servicemen. One source claims the Riot continued for five nights, when military and police efforts ended the violence. However, a second source states that the span of the Riots was nine days.
Production historyStage debutZoot Suit premiered at The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on April, 1978.[4] This production with Center Theatre Group marked the first professionally produced Chicano play. The initial ten-day run in April sold out in two days. An audience of season ticket holders and local Mexican-Americans gave standing ovations each evening of the performances at the Mark Taper Forum. A second run began in August and tickets sold out yet again.[4] This extended run was held at the Aquarius Theatre, Los Angeles.[6]
Broadway production[edit]The Broadway production debuted at the Winter Garden Theater on March 25, 1979, and closed on April 29 after 41 performances and 17 previews. The production was directed by Luis Valdez and featured choreography by Patricia Birch. Edward James Olmos' portrayal of El Pachuco earned him a Tony Award nomination for best featured actor in a play, as well as a Theatre World award.[7] Zoot Suit was the second Latino written and directed play produced on Broadway, coming second only to Miguel Piñero's Short Eyes in 1974. While Short Eyes won two Obie Awards, as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, Zoot Suit ran a mere five weeks on Broadway.
Valdez also directed a filmed version of the play, combining stage and film techniques.
30th anniversary productionIn April 2008, Alma Martinez, member of the original 1978 cast of Zoot Suit directed the 30 year anniversary production at Pomona College in Claremont, CaliforniaThis was the first time since its stage debut in 1978 that Zoot Suit had been produced in the Los Angeles area. The two-week run managed to sell out prior to opening night, despite minimal advertisement, primarily in Latino publications. Many outreach opportunities were taken, including an alumni night, a staff appreciation performance, matinees allowing over 1,000 high school students to attend, and the development of a study guide for students attending the performances.
The alumni event featured a reunion of original 1978 cast members, as well as members of the film version of Zoot Suit. Luis Valdez and Alice McGrath, the community activist on whom Valdez based the character Alice, were given awards. Also in the audience were members of the family of Henry Leyvas, on whom Henry Reyna was based.
In casting the revival, Martinez cast across the Claremont University Consortium in search of Latino students. All of the Chicano roles featured actors making their stage debut, and the majority of the cast was composed of non-theatre majors. Assistant director Shakina Nayfack modified the script to reduce homophobic and sexist language where possible. Martinez cast a female in the traditionally male role of the Press.[10]
Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary[edit]As part of the Center Theatre Group’s 50th Anniversary celebration, playwright and director Luis Valdez brought Zoot Suit to the Mark Taper Forum from January 31 to April 2, 2017.[11] The play featured Rose Portillo and Daniel Valdez, who were original cast members from the 1978 production. Instead of reprising their roles of Henry Reyna and Della, respectively, they returned to the stage to play the roles of Henry Reyna’s parents. Rose Portillo was delighted to bring Zoot Suit to new audiences and stated, “I’m over the moon. It was a dream come true the first time. It’s a dream come true the second time, to come full circle and to work with Luis at the Taper, where Gordon Davidson and Luis were so influential on my artistic career. I’m looking forward to sharing Zoot Suit with a whole new crop of artists and audiences.” Similarly, Daniel Valdez said, “It’s great to come back to where it all started 38 years ago. I’m looking forward to inhabiting the world of Zoot Suit once again.” Academy Award nominated actor Demián Bichir also starred as El Pachuco.[12]
CriticismZoot Suit was well received in its initial production in Los Angeles. In his review for Theatre Journal, Jules Aaron laudes the play for its ability to both entertain and make a political statement. Aaron also notes the emotional content of the play.[13] Richard Eder for The New York Times echoed Aaron's observations that the play is both entertaining and political. He adds that Zoot Suit is a blend of Cantinflas and Brecht. Eder adds his critique that the play is too specific to the Chicano community and lacks universality.[14]
Valdez's play did not receive the same feelings in New York City when it made its Broadway debut. Richard Eder voiced a different opinion of the Broadway staging from when he saw the production in L.A. Eder notes that the design elements lacked harmony, and that Zoot Suit failed to combine entertainment with symbolism, plot, and moral.[15] A week later, a New York Times review by Walter Kerr criticizes Valdez for his use of clichés. Kerr also complains of the lack of emotional connection between David Valdez and Miss Hensel, who play Henry and Alice, respectively.[16]
MusicThe songs threaded through Zoot Suit were written by Lalo Guerrero and the playwright's brother Daniel Valdez.[1] Guerrero, known as the father of Chicano music, wrote music detailing the Chicano culture during World War II, resulting in the feature of the songs in Zoot Suit.[17] The music combines boogie-woogie and El Paso's version of R&B.[18]
Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is now the home of Dodger Stadium, which was built for the L.A. baseball team in 1962. In order to clear the land, the city evicted the mostly Mexican residents and buried their once bucolic community under a sea of asphalt, creating the stadium, with parking for 50,000 cars, and not a single place for children to play.
Chavez Ravine was a bucolic Latino community through the 1950s, until the City of Los Angeles forcibly evicted the residents with promises of affordable housing. The City authorized the sale of Chavez Ravine to the Dodgers for a stadium 50 years ago on October 7, 1957. The Dodgers promised to spend $500,000 on a recreation facility in the area but have never done so. Los Desterrados, the people who lost their homes and way of life at Chavez Ravine, still meet regularly to commemorate the community there. Judy Baca and SPARC's Great Wall of Los Angelescommemorate these events. Culture Clash revived the forgotten history of Chavez Ravine in their play of that name, as Ry Cooder did in his CD. Read the L.A. Times coverage of the 50th anniversary.
Chavez Ravine is now the home of Dodger Stadium, which was built for the L.A. baseball team in 1962. In order to clear the land, the city evicted the mostly Mexican residents and buried their once bucolic community under a sea of asphalt, creating the stadium, with parking for 50,000 cars, and not a single place for children to play.
Chavez Ravine was a bucolic Latino community through the 1950s, until the City of Los Angeles forcibly evicted the residents with promises of affordable housing. The City authorized the sale of Chavez Ravine to the Dodgers for a stadium 50 years ago on October 7, 1957. The Dodgers promised to spend $500,000 on a recreation facility in the area but have never done so. Los Desterrados, the people who lost their homes and way of life at Chavez Ravine, still meet regularly to commemorate the community there. Judy Baca and SPARC's Great Wall of Los Angelescommemorate these events. Culture Clash revived the forgotten history of Chavez Ravine in their play of that name, as Ry Cooder did in his CD. Read the L.A. Times coverage of the 50th anniversary.
[object Object]
Z o o t S u i t (Riots)
What happened?
University of California Press
http://sites.middlebury.edu/liminallatinos/files/2012/02/ZootSuitriotsMexStudies.pdf
University of California Press
http://sites.middlebury.edu/liminallatinos/files/2012/02/ZootSuitriotsMexStudies.pdf
This May Be the Last Authentic Zoot Suit in America, and It’s Heading to LACMAThe museum will put the $78,000 garment on display in AprilJanuary 28, 2016 Chris Nichols Art, Crime, Dance, L.A. History 1 Comment
You would think that the Zoot Suit is so embedded in the history and culture of Los Angeles that an authentic one would still exist, right? It took LACMA a decade to find such a garment, and they finally acquired a particularly flamboyant example at a New York auction for the record price of $78,000. The circa-1940 baggy wool coat and pants will go on exhibit in April as part of the exhibit Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015.
The museum’s blog describes the style as popular in the 1930s and ’40s with young men of “African American, Latino, and Jewish descent, and those from immigrant communities, who frequented swing clubs and dance halls.” Curators describe the garb as being defined by “overtly broad shoulders with wide, pegged sleeves, narrow hips, and deeply pleated pegged trousers, [which] allowed for ease of movement while creating an image of extreme dandyism.”
You would think that the Zoot Suit is so embedded in the history and culture of Los Angeles that an authentic one would still exist, right? It took LACMA a decade to find such a garment, and they finally acquired a particularly flamboyant example at a New York auction for the record price of $78,000. The circa-1940 baggy wool coat and pants will go on exhibit in April as part of the exhibit Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015.
The museum’s blog describes the style as popular in the 1930s and ’40s with young men of “African American, Latino, and Jewish descent, and those from immigrant communities, who frequented swing clubs and dance halls.” Curators describe the garb as being defined by “overtly broad shoulders with wide, pegged sleeves, narrow hips, and deeply pleated pegged trousers, [which] allowed for ease of movement while creating an image of extreme dandyism.”
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Discussion PointsL.A. in the Zoot Suit Era
- Describe the significance of music and dance to Mexican American youth during a time of war. In what ways have current wars in the world inspired musicians today?
- Why do you think wartime was a period of such abundant artistic inspiration?
- Pachucas and Pachucos created words whose meanings changed everyday. What are some words that you have invented or use with family and friends, which are not considered part of a specific standard language?
- Use the above terms and phrases to write a sentence using at least three Caló words and phrases.
- Describe the obstacles faced by Mexican American youth growing up in the 1940s.
- Describe how you can relate to some of the obstacles that Mexican American youth faced.
- How do you think people of Chávez Ravine felt as they were evicted from their homes?
- Describe the significance of the Bracero Program for both the United States and Mexico. What were the pros and cons of the worker agreement?
- How do you think women felt about going back to their role as homemakers after having worked in jobs considered “men’s work”?
- What do you think it was like for Mexican American World War II veterans to come back from defending their countries and receive discriminatory treatment in the United States?
- Describe the important contributions of Latinos in World War II.
- Research and describe the role Latinos play in current ongoing wars.
- The purpose of the legal system is to guarantee people a fair and equal trial where they are innocent until proven guilty. What issues came into play in the original ruling of the court and the sentencing of the 38th Street Gang?
- What are some parallels between the racial profiling experienced by Mexican-American youth in the 1940s and current perceptions of underrepresented groups in our society? Think of the ongoing “War on Terrorism” and the subsequent Patriot Act.
- Discuss how the Zoot Suit riots were handled by Los Angeles Police and government officials. Do you think that the initial lack of intervention in 1943 could happen today?
- Which newspapers, magazines or websites might be considered yellow journalism today?
- Describe current events that have been sensationalized by the news, how were portrayed by the media and the implications of these representations.
- Is Zoot Suit relevant today?
- Is there any similarity between 1940s Pachucos and gang culture today?
- Within gang culture today, do women play a more prominent role?
- Has the judicial and economic condition of Chicano and Chicana youth changed since 1940s?
- What would need to happen for Zoot Suit to be relevant only as a historical representation?
L.A. in the Zoot Suit Era¡Pachuco y Pachuca Yo!El Paso, El Chuco, El PachucoA young woman and her companion dressed in zoot suit attire in 1944.
Pachuco and Pachuca are terms coined in the 1940s to refer to Mexican American men and women who dressed in zoot suits or zoot suit-influenced attire. Though there is no definite origin of the word Pachuco, one theory claims that the term originated in El Paso, Texas. The city of El Paso was typically referred to as “Chuco town” or “El Chuco.” People migrating from Los Angeles to El Paso would say they were going “pa’ El Chuco” (to Chuco town). These migrants came to be known as Pachucos. This term moved westward to Los Angeles with the flow of Mexican workers migrating to industrialize city centers.
¡Watcha mi tachuce! The Bonaroo LookTo look Bonaroo was to look cool. In Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, zoot suits were mostly worn by poor and working class Mexican, African American and Jewish youth. These tailored outfits had broad shoulders and cinched waist pants that tapered at the ankles. Suits were accessorized by a key chain that dangled from the pocket, a felt hat and ducktail hairstyle (often called “duck’s ass” or D.A).
Pachucas also donned zoot suits that were, more often than not, improvised men’s jackets with short skirts, fishnet stockings or bobby socks pulled up to the calves, platform heels, saddle shoes or huarache sandals. They piled their hair high in a pompadour style and wore heavy makeup, especially lipstick. Some Pachucas also chose to wear the masculine version of the zoot suit and participate in recreational activities alongside Pachucos on street corners and dances all of which challenged normative definitions of femininity. Breaking out of cultural and gender norms, Pachucas asserted their own distinct identity as Mexican American women.
In 1942, the Wartime Productions Board, as part of a national austerity initiative, attempted to cut back on fabric consumption by establishing regulations that limited the amount of fabric used for suits. This deliberately targeted zoot suiters. As an act of rebellion and cultural pride, zoot suiters defiantly chose not to follow these requirements and obtained their suits through bootleg tailors. Pachucos became conspicuous in their extravagant outfits which were seen as unpatriotic. Though this was a scandal in wartime America, it was also a symbol of pride and resistance for Mexican American youth.
The Hip Style of Caló ¿Que Pues Nuez?“La Dora” wears a zoot suit with huarache sandals, while others wear hairstyles and clothes popular among Mexican-American women. (Lowrider 2, no. 6)
Caló is a hybrid langauge influenced by zincaló — a dialect of Spanish gypsies, Hispanicized English, Anglicized Spanish and indigenous languages such as Nahuatl. Caló was popularized in the 1940s in the United States by working class Mexican American youth. With the growing public resentment fueled by the press against zoot suit style and culture, Caló became associated to Pachuco gang life as a language known only to its members. The use of Caló by Mexican youth was an act of definance and resistance. It represented the refusal of Mexican youth to assimilate into the United States culture and signified their determination to create a legitimate national identity as both American and Mexican.
For Pachuco and Pachuca youth Caló represented style. It was considered hip and cool to spill out versos suaves (smooth words) to the chicas patas (young women) and eses (young men) while cabuliando (horsing around) after school or work. Mexican youth had the unique ability to codeswitch between standard English, Spanish, and Caló, while inventing new neologisms. For Latinos in the United States, their use of Caló represented a style of resistance in the 1940s climate of intense jingoism, xenophobia, and nativism. They were multilinigual pioneers and creators of a new language, identity and culture.
Pachuco and Pachuca are terms coined in the 1940s to refer to Mexican American men and women who dressed in zoot suits or zoot suit-influenced attire. Though there is no definite origin of the word Pachuco, one theory claims that the term originated in El Paso, Texas. The city of El Paso was typically referred to as “Chuco town” or “El Chuco.” People migrating from Los Angeles to El Paso would say they were going “pa’ El Chuco” (to Chuco town). These migrants came to be known as Pachucos. This term moved westward to Los Angeles with the flow of Mexican workers migrating to industrialize city centers.
¡Watcha mi tachuce! The Bonaroo LookTo look Bonaroo was to look cool. In Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, zoot suits were mostly worn by poor and working class Mexican, African American and Jewish youth. These tailored outfits had broad shoulders and cinched waist pants that tapered at the ankles. Suits were accessorized by a key chain that dangled from the pocket, a felt hat and ducktail hairstyle (often called “duck’s ass” or D.A).
Pachucas also donned zoot suits that were, more often than not, improvised men’s jackets with short skirts, fishnet stockings or bobby socks pulled up to the calves, platform heels, saddle shoes or huarache sandals. They piled their hair high in a pompadour style and wore heavy makeup, especially lipstick. Some Pachucas also chose to wear the masculine version of the zoot suit and participate in recreational activities alongside Pachucos on street corners and dances all of which challenged normative definitions of femininity. Breaking out of cultural and gender norms, Pachucas asserted their own distinct identity as Mexican American women.
In 1942, the Wartime Productions Board, as part of a national austerity initiative, attempted to cut back on fabric consumption by establishing regulations that limited the amount of fabric used for suits. This deliberately targeted zoot suiters. As an act of rebellion and cultural pride, zoot suiters defiantly chose not to follow these requirements and obtained their suits through bootleg tailors. Pachucos became conspicuous in their extravagant outfits which were seen as unpatriotic. Though this was a scandal in wartime America, it was also a symbol of pride and resistance for Mexican American youth.
The Hip Style of Caló ¿Que Pues Nuez?“La Dora” wears a zoot suit with huarache sandals, while others wear hairstyles and clothes popular among Mexican-American women. (Lowrider 2, no. 6)
Caló is a hybrid langauge influenced by zincaló — a dialect of Spanish gypsies, Hispanicized English, Anglicized Spanish and indigenous languages such as Nahuatl. Caló was popularized in the 1940s in the United States by working class Mexican American youth. With the growing public resentment fueled by the press against zoot suit style and culture, Caló became associated to Pachuco gang life as a language known only to its members. The use of Caló by Mexican youth was an act of definance and resistance. It represented the refusal of Mexican youth to assimilate into the United States culture and signified their determination to create a legitimate national identity as both American and Mexican.
For Pachuco and Pachuca youth Caló represented style. It was considered hip and cool to spill out versos suaves (smooth words) to the chicas patas (young women) and eses (young men) while cabuliando (horsing around) after school or work. Mexican youth had the unique ability to codeswitch between standard English, Spanish, and Caló, while inventing new neologisms. For Latinos in the United States, their use of Caló represented a style of resistance in the 1940s climate of intense jingoism, xenophobia, and nativism. They were multilinigual pioneers and creators of a new language, identity and culture.
ImmigrationFrom Mexico to the United States: Immigration WavesMexican American immigrants in the United States played a significant role in Los Angeles.One of the first large-scale migrations from Mexico occurred between 1910 and 1914. During this period over one million Mexican people seeking to escape the Mexican Revolution, immigrated northward into the United States. The majority of these immigrants were of indigenous decent and from poor and working class backgrounds.
A second mass migration in the 1940s converted Los Angeles into one of the most ethnically and racially diverse cities in the country. The bustling industrialization of the United States, fueled by the war effort, and a decrease in the labor force provided Mexicans fleeing poor conditions in Mexico with employment opportunities. Many Mexicans came into the United States legally in the 1940s with the implementation of the Bracero Program. This program provided a supply of workers to supplement the workforce in the United States. Although the United States desperately relied on this influx of manual labor, Mexicans were still treated as second-class citizens.
On May 1, 2006 over one million people took to the streets of Los Angeles to protest immigration reform laws. This protest was an expression of the importance and continuing impact of the immigrant Latino community in Los Angeles and the United States.
Immigrants fleeing the Mexican Revolution, 1910. (www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/14.html)
From Mexico to the Barrio: Fitting into Los AngelesAdequate housing was not an option for Mexican residents of Los Angeles. The city was literally unprepared to provide affordable housing to the large influx of immigrants coming into Los Angeles. Mexicans found themselves forced into barrios like Chávez Ravine (now Dodger Stadium), which quickly became a segregated community. This housing shortage allowed landlords to charge high prices for substandard housing. The poor living conditions coupled with ethnic and racial segregation and discrimination sustained the social and economic isolation of Mexican Americans.
Mexican American youth coming of age in the United States during the 1940s were among the first in their families to grow up in an urban setting and confront, for the first time, the challenge of learning two languages and living in two cultures. Though born in the United States, many were still denied equal rights and privileges because of segregation and at the same time, faced pressure to culturally assimilate.
Mexican migrant farm workers in Coachella Valley, California, 1935. (museumca.org/picturethis/3_2.html)
Emerging Chicano Street GangsGangs have existed in the United States since as far back as the nineteenth century. However, during the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial and the Zoot Suit Riots in the 1940s, gangs in Los Angeles became racialized for the first time in history. The press, law enforcement and other officials shaped public opinion by reducing gangs and juvenile delinquency to a “Mexican problem.” According to Dr. James Diego Vigil, an expert on gang culture in the United States, there were several factors that initially led to the formation of gangs among Mexican American youth. These factors include:
Alice McGrath & Sleepy Lagoon Defendants. (Contributing Institution: Dept. of Special Collections/UCLA Library)
A second mass migration in the 1940s converted Los Angeles into one of the most ethnically and racially diverse cities in the country. The bustling industrialization of the United States, fueled by the war effort, and a decrease in the labor force provided Mexicans fleeing poor conditions in Mexico with employment opportunities. Many Mexicans came into the United States legally in the 1940s with the implementation of the Bracero Program. This program provided a supply of workers to supplement the workforce in the United States. Although the United States desperately relied on this influx of manual labor, Mexicans were still treated as second-class citizens.
On May 1, 2006 over one million people took to the streets of Los Angeles to protest immigration reform laws. This protest was an expression of the importance and continuing impact of the immigrant Latino community in Los Angeles and the United States.
Immigrants fleeing the Mexican Revolution, 1910. (www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/14.html)
From Mexico to the Barrio: Fitting into Los AngelesAdequate housing was not an option for Mexican residents of Los Angeles. The city was literally unprepared to provide affordable housing to the large influx of immigrants coming into Los Angeles. Mexicans found themselves forced into barrios like Chávez Ravine (now Dodger Stadium), which quickly became a segregated community. This housing shortage allowed landlords to charge high prices for substandard housing. The poor living conditions coupled with ethnic and racial segregation and discrimination sustained the social and economic isolation of Mexican Americans.
Mexican American youth coming of age in the United States during the 1940s were among the first in their families to grow up in an urban setting and confront, for the first time, the challenge of learning two languages and living in two cultures. Though born in the United States, many were still denied equal rights and privileges because of segregation and at the same time, faced pressure to culturally assimilate.
Mexican migrant farm workers in Coachella Valley, California, 1935. (museumca.org/picturethis/3_2.html)
Emerging Chicano Street GangsGangs have existed in the United States since as far back as the nineteenth century. However, during the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial and the Zoot Suit Riots in the 1940s, gangs in Los Angeles became racialized for the first time in history. The press, law enforcement and other officials shaped public opinion by reducing gangs and juvenile delinquency to a “Mexican problem.” According to Dr. James Diego Vigil, an expert on gang culture in the United States, there were several factors that initially led to the formation of gangs among Mexican American youth. These factors include:
Alice McGrath & Sleepy Lagoon Defendants. (Contributing Institution: Dept. of Special Collections/UCLA Library)
- Segregation, which forced Mexican American youth to associate only with other members of their race and class — producing social isolation.
- Limited access to social outlets, such as public pools and social clubs, which forced Mexican American youth to create new social venues like cruising the boulevard.
- Pressure to assimilate by being punished for speaking Spanish at school. Mexican Americans were also placed into separate academic classes, which alienated and humiliated them further my making them seem unintelligent.
- Estrangement from both their native Mexican background and mainstream culture in the United States. This forced them to create their own social groups.
World War IIMexican Americans in World War IIMexican Americans in the ServicePeople of Mexican ancestry have a long and distinguished career in United States military history, serving in the American Revolution and in every military operation since then. Their heroism was especially prominent during World War II when the United States joined the Allies against the AxisPowers in 1941.
Latinas’ Contribution to the War EffortCarmen Contreras-Bozak. (Cortesía de US Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project de la Universidad de Texas en Austin)
Many Latinas contributed to military efforts by joining the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (later shortened to the Women’s Army Corps, WAC), an official organization of the army that filled non-combatant jobs. Carmen Contreras- Bozak, born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, was a member of the first WAC company to go overseas. She earned the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, an American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the WAC Service Medal. With the recruitment of Latino men into the military, the emerging need for bilingual nurses was filled by Latinas. This was certainly the case for Carmen Lozano Dumler, of Puerto Rico, who rose to the position of Second Lieutenant during her service as a nurse in WAC.
With more men enlisting in the armed forces, women, including Latinas contributed their efforts on the home front by occupying jobs previously held by men such as in munitions manufacturing plants. These women were known as “Rosies” after the character “Rosie the Riveter.” When the war ended women who had been motivated to enter the workforce were forced by social and cultural expectations to assume their previous roles as homemakers, while others felt empowered to remain in the workforce.
Latinos in the Military
Did You Know?Sargento José M. López receives the Medal of Honor. (Courtesy of the Latina World War II Oral History Project, University of Texas Austin)
Both Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals who grew up in the United States served in the military during World War II.
After serving valiantly for the United States, servicemen of Mexican descent were welcomed home as war heroes. This welcome was short lived due to continuing racial discrimination. In spite of their military service, these veterans of Mexican origin were still denied service in restaurants, access to public facilities and even burial in veteran cemeteries. Sergeant Marcario García, one of the five Texan-Mexicans to receive the Medal of Honor was denied service at a Texas restaurant. The familiy of Félix Longoria, who was killed in the Philippines in the line of duty, was denied use of a funeral home for his wake because of his Mexican background. Yet returning veterans responded to these experiences by creating their own organizations to demand social justice. In 1948, World War II veteran Héctor García founded the American G.I. Forum dedicated to Mexican American World War II veterans. Marine corps veteran Balton Llanes stated:
“Mexican American soldiers shed at least a quarter of blood spilled at Bataan…What they want now is a decent job, a decent home, and a chance to live peacefully in the community. They don’t want to be shot at in the dark.” (McWilliams, 1990)
After the war, Mexican American veterans, both men and women, returned to their communities with new skills they had learned while serving in the war effort. This training allowed them to take jobs that had been previously denied to them. Mexican Americans became welders, plumbers and riveters at shipyards and aircraft plants. In addition, the G.I. Bill allowed veterans to take advantage of new social services and opportunities, such as low mortgage loans, free educational opportunities and job placement, which provided them with the ability to climb the social economic ladder. These benefits improved the lives of the Chicano community in ensuing years.
Latinas’ Contribution to the War EffortCarmen Contreras-Bozak. (Cortesía de US Latino & Latina World War II Oral History Project de la Universidad de Texas en Austin)
Many Latinas contributed to military efforts by joining the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (later shortened to the Women’s Army Corps, WAC), an official organization of the army that filled non-combatant jobs. Carmen Contreras- Bozak, born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, was a member of the first WAC company to go overseas. She earned the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, an American Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the WAC Service Medal. With the recruitment of Latino men into the military, the emerging need for bilingual nurses was filled by Latinas. This was certainly the case for Carmen Lozano Dumler, of Puerto Rico, who rose to the position of Second Lieutenant during her service as a nurse in WAC.
With more men enlisting in the armed forces, women, including Latinas contributed their efforts on the home front by occupying jobs previously held by men such as in munitions manufacturing plants. These women were known as “Rosies” after the character “Rosie the Riveter.” When the war ended women who had been motivated to enter the workforce were forced by social and cultural expectations to assume their previous roles as homemakers, while others felt empowered to remain in the workforce.
Latinos in the Military
Did You Know?Sargento José M. López receives the Medal of Honor. (Courtesy of the Latina World War II Oral History Project, University of Texas Austin)
Both Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals who grew up in the United States served in the military during World War II.
- Out of 16.2 million Americans in the armed services during World War II, between 250,000 and 750,000 were of Mexican ancestry.
- In total, thirteen Latino servicemen earned the Medal of Honor: Lucian Adams, Rudolph B. Dávila, Marcario García, Harold Gonsalves, David M. Gonzáles, Silvestre S. Herrera, José M. López, Joe P. Martínez, Manuel Pérez, Jr., Cleto Rodríguez, Alejandro R. Renteria Ruiz, José F. Valdez and Ysmael R. Villegas.
- After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Units of the New Mexico National Guard, composed largely of Latinos and Spanish speakers, were specifically selected to fight in the Philippines at the Battle of Bataan. Members of these infantry units became survivors of the Bataan Death March, a 90-mile forcible transfer of Allied prisoners of war captured by Japanese forces.
- In Italy and France the 141st Regime of the 36th Texas Infantry Division, made up entirely of Spanish-speaking Texans, fought for 361 days. There were 1,126 killed, 5,000 wounded and more than 500 missing in action.
- The highest ranking Mexican American officers in World War II were Major Lieutenant Pedro Augusto del Valle in the Marine Corps and Lieutenant General Elwood R. Quesada of the Army Air Force.
- East Los Angeles native, Guy L. Gabaldon, a Marine in the Pacific, was known as the Pied Piper of Saipan because his knowledge of Japanese helped capture hundreds of Japanese prisoners of war.
After serving valiantly for the United States, servicemen of Mexican descent were welcomed home as war heroes. This welcome was short lived due to continuing racial discrimination. In spite of their military service, these veterans of Mexican origin were still denied service in restaurants, access to public facilities and even burial in veteran cemeteries. Sergeant Marcario García, one of the five Texan-Mexicans to receive the Medal of Honor was denied service at a Texas restaurant. The familiy of Félix Longoria, who was killed in the Philippines in the line of duty, was denied use of a funeral home for his wake because of his Mexican background. Yet returning veterans responded to these experiences by creating their own organizations to demand social justice. In 1948, World War II veteran Héctor García founded the American G.I. Forum dedicated to Mexican American World War II veterans. Marine corps veteran Balton Llanes stated:
“Mexican American soldiers shed at least a quarter of blood spilled at Bataan…What they want now is a decent job, a decent home, and a chance to live peacefully in the community. They don’t want to be shot at in the dark.” (McWilliams, 1990)
After the war, Mexican American veterans, both men and women, returned to their communities with new skills they had learned while serving in the war effort. This training allowed them to take jobs that had been previously denied to them. Mexican Americans became welders, plumbers and riveters at shipyards and aircraft plants. In addition, the G.I. Bill allowed veterans to take advantage of new social services and opportunities, such as low mortgage loans, free educational opportunities and job placement, which provided them with the ability to climb the social economic ladder. These benefits improved the lives of the Chicano community in ensuing years.
MusicWhen Big Band was KingWhile the Second World War raged on, a cultural renaissance was taking place on the streets of Los Angeles and music led the way. Many new types of music were introduced to audiences in the United States: bebop, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, mambo and most importantly, Big Band swing captured the nation. Big Band swing is a derivative of the earlier Big Band jazz of Afro-Cuban origin. It typically refers to a musical ensemble consisting of 12 to19 musicians, with saxophones, trumpets, trombones and a rhythm section. This style of music became popular as a result of its catchy dance tunes, uninhibited sound and wildly arranged solos by both leaders and sidemen.
Big Band swing and zoot suit attire was first popularized on stage by Cab Calloway, a singer, songwriter and bandleader. Mexican actor, singer and comedian Germán Valdés, known popularly as Tin-Tan, contributed to the popularity of zoot suit attire by introducing Mexican audiences to Pachuco swing and Caló.
Lalo Guerrero: Father of Chicano MusicEduardo “Lalo” Guerrero. (Courtesy of Dan Guerrero)
Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero is the genius behind several of the upbeat 1940s Chicano Big Band music in Zoot Suit. Acclaimed as the Father of Chicano Music, Guerrero was born on December 24, 1916 in Tucson, Arizona and died on March 17, 2005. His work covered the spectrum of Latino music producing a variety of different sounds including swing, boleros, corridos and salsa. He was one of the first Chicano composers to write music about the Chicano movement and Chicano life, including songs about César Chávez and migrant farm workers. Lalo Guerrero is considered to be one of the most influential and important Chicano musicians of the twentieth century.
Los Chucos Suaves(Music and lyrics by Lalo Guerrero)Antes se bailaba swing, They used to dance the swing,
Boogie-woogie, jitterbug. Boogie-woogie, jitterbug.
Pero esto ya torció. But that has all changed,
Y este es lo que sucedió. And this is what is happening today.
Pachucos suaves bailan rumba, Cool Chucos dance the rumba,
Bailan la rumba y le zumba. Dance the rumba and the zumba.
Bailan guaracha sabrosón, Dance the tasty guaracha,
El botecito y el danzón. The botecito and the danzon.
Cada sábado en la noche Each Saturday night,
Yo me voy a borlotiár I go to dance,
Con mi linda pachucóna. To stir my hips
Las caderas a menear. With my pretty pachucona.
Ella le hace muy aquellas She takes on airs,
Cuando empieza a guarachar. When she begins to guarachar
Al compas de los timbales, To the beat of the timbales.
Yo me siento petetear. I want to die right there.
Zoot Suit BoogieCab Calloway. (Courtesy Ernest R. Smith)
Partner dancing was a popular form of social recreation for young people in the 1940s. Like the music, the dances of this period were a fusion of many styles and were created when a new song hit the charts. This was the case with Cab Calloway’s song “The Jitterbug.” Almost immediately after being written, a new dance craze was born. The Jitterbug traced its roots to nightclubs in Harlem, just as Mambo the Latin equivalent of Big Band swing, traces its origins to La Tropicana night club in Cuba. Swing dances of this time were a result of much cross cultural fusion as African Americans were responsible for creating such swing versions as the shag and Lindyhop. Similarly, Latinos began to combine and recreate the Cuban Mambo and Rumba into what we know today as Salsa and Cha-Cha-Cha.
Mexican actor and entertainer Tin Tan (German Valdez) popularized the zoot suit for Latinos in the US and Mexico. El hijo desobediente, 1945. (http://tvnoticias.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/tin-tan-14.jpg)
Big Band swing and zoot suit attire was first popularized on stage by Cab Calloway, a singer, songwriter and bandleader. Mexican actor, singer and comedian Germán Valdés, known popularly as Tin-Tan, contributed to the popularity of zoot suit attire by introducing Mexican audiences to Pachuco swing and Caló.
Lalo Guerrero: Father of Chicano MusicEduardo “Lalo” Guerrero. (Courtesy of Dan Guerrero)
Eduardo “Lalo” Guerrero is the genius behind several of the upbeat 1940s Chicano Big Band music in Zoot Suit. Acclaimed as the Father of Chicano Music, Guerrero was born on December 24, 1916 in Tucson, Arizona and died on March 17, 2005. His work covered the spectrum of Latino music producing a variety of different sounds including swing, boleros, corridos and salsa. He was one of the first Chicano composers to write music about the Chicano movement and Chicano life, including songs about César Chávez and migrant farm workers. Lalo Guerrero is considered to be one of the most influential and important Chicano musicians of the twentieth century.
Los Chucos Suaves(Music and lyrics by Lalo Guerrero)Antes se bailaba swing, They used to dance the swing,
Boogie-woogie, jitterbug. Boogie-woogie, jitterbug.
Pero esto ya torció. But that has all changed,
Y este es lo que sucedió. And this is what is happening today.
Pachucos suaves bailan rumba, Cool Chucos dance the rumba,
Bailan la rumba y le zumba. Dance the rumba and the zumba.
Bailan guaracha sabrosón, Dance the tasty guaracha,
El botecito y el danzón. The botecito and the danzon.
Cada sábado en la noche Each Saturday night,
Yo me voy a borlotiár I go to dance,
Con mi linda pachucóna. To stir my hips
Las caderas a menear. With my pretty pachucona.
Ella le hace muy aquellas She takes on airs,
Cuando empieza a guarachar. When she begins to guarachar
Al compas de los timbales, To the beat of the timbales.
Yo me siento petetear. I want to die right there.
Zoot Suit BoogieCab Calloway. (Courtesy Ernest R. Smith)
Partner dancing was a popular form of social recreation for young people in the 1940s. Like the music, the dances of this period were a fusion of many styles and were created when a new song hit the charts. This was the case with Cab Calloway’s song “The Jitterbug.” Almost immediately after being written, a new dance craze was born. The Jitterbug traced its roots to nightclubs in Harlem, just as Mambo the Latin equivalent of Big Band swing, traces its origins to La Tropicana night club in Cuba. Swing dances of this time were a result of much cross cultural fusion as African Americans were responsible for creating such swing versions as the shag and Lindyhop. Similarly, Latinos began to combine and recreate the Cuban Mambo and Rumba into what we know today as Salsa and Cha-Cha-Cha.
Mexican actor and entertainer Tin Tan (German Valdez) popularized the zoot suit for Latinos in the US and Mexico. El hijo desobediente, 1945. (http://tvnoticias.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/tin-tan-14.jpg)
Sleepy Lagoon TrialThe Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial of 1942
Young men from 38th Street ring the trail room for their arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Murder at the Sleepy LagoonThe 38th Street Gang was located in what is now part of South Los Angeles near Vernon and Long Beach Boulevards. The gang, along with other community members, frequented a water reservoir in a gravel pit located on the Williams Ranch in East Los Angeles. This reservoir, known to the community as Sleepy Lagoon, was used as a swimming pool by Mexican youth who were not allowed to use segregated public pools.
On the evening of August 1, 1942 Henry and Dora had a violent confrontation at Sleepy Lagoon with a neighboring gang from Downey. Henry and Dora left but returned later to the location with his gang in search of the attackers who had already fled the scene.
Futile in their search for the rival gang, the members of the 38th Street Gang decided to head for a party at the home of the Delgadillo family. When a fight broke out at the Delgadillo home Henry and the gang fled the scene. The following morning the dead body of José Díaz was found on a dirt road near the Delgadillo home. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial began when Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were identified as being at the scene of the murder.
The Williams Ranch and the “Sleepy Lagoon” reservoir, 1942. Murder At The Sleepy Lagoon Zoot Suits, Race, & Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregon Pagan (The University of North Carolina Press 2003)
The TrialSix hundred Mexican American youth were rounded up by a citywide dragnet led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Eventually twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of the murder of José Díaz. Young women of the 38th Street Gang were also detained and placed in jail on suspicion of wrongdoing.
On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial as the largest mass trial in California history. The trial took place in an atmosphere of intense prejudice fed and sustained by the press in Los Angeles. Throughout the trial the prosecutor pointed to the clothing and hairstyle of Pachucos as evidence of their guilt. This only added fuel to the fire of prejudice held by the non-Latino community. The prejudice and discrimination encountered by Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang was an example of racial profiling.
In failing to provide an unbiased trial, the United States Justice System failed to protect its citizens. Today, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the United States.
The ConvictionOn January 12, 1943 in the case of People v. Zamora, presided by Judge Charles Fricke, the court found five of the seventeen defendants in the case guilty of assault and sentenced to six months to one year in jail. Nine were found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to five years to life. Henry Leyvas, Jose Ruiz and Robert Telles were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The twelve found guilty of murder were sent to San Quentin State Prison to serve their sentences.
The young women of the 38th Street Gang refused to testify against the gang during the trial. Due to their refusal to cooperate they were sent to the Ventura School for Girls, a women’s reformatory, without benefit of trial or jury. Dora Baca, Henry’s girlfriend, was among the five young women sent to this reformatory.
Mrs. Guadalupe Leyvas (Henry’s mother) at the arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Sleepy Lagoon Defense CommitteeFollowing the trial, the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC) was organized by the community. Attorney and author Carey McWilliams served as chair to the committee. The goals of the SLDC were to raise community awareness and to fund a legal appeal for the young men of the 38th Street Gang who were serving sentences.
The committee quickly drew people from the community, film industry, education, political arena and labor unions. Alice McGrath joined the SLDC after the members of the 38th Street Gang were imprisoned. She became the executive secretary of the organization. Every six weeks she paid visits to the sentenced members, reviewed the progress of the committee, distributed SLDC news bulletins and raised morale. By 1944 the SLDC had raised enough money and the
case was moved to the Second District Court of Appeals. In October of the same year Judge Clement Nye overturned the verdicts of the case citing insufficient evidence, the denial of the defendants’ right to counsel and the overt bias of Judge Fricke in the courtroom. Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were released and their sentences overturned.
Young men from 38th Street ring the trail room for their arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Murder at the Sleepy LagoonThe 38th Street Gang was located in what is now part of South Los Angeles near Vernon and Long Beach Boulevards. The gang, along with other community members, frequented a water reservoir in a gravel pit located on the Williams Ranch in East Los Angeles. This reservoir, known to the community as Sleepy Lagoon, was used as a swimming pool by Mexican youth who were not allowed to use segregated public pools.
On the evening of August 1, 1942 Henry and Dora had a violent confrontation at Sleepy Lagoon with a neighboring gang from Downey. Henry and Dora left but returned later to the location with his gang in search of the attackers who had already fled the scene.
Futile in their search for the rival gang, the members of the 38th Street Gang decided to head for a party at the home of the Delgadillo family. When a fight broke out at the Delgadillo home Henry and the gang fled the scene. The following morning the dead body of José Díaz was found on a dirt road near the Delgadillo home. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial began when Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were identified as being at the scene of the murder.
The Williams Ranch and the “Sleepy Lagoon” reservoir, 1942. Murder At The Sleepy Lagoon Zoot Suits, Race, & Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregon Pagan (The University of North Carolina Press 2003)
The TrialSix hundred Mexican American youth were rounded up by a citywide dragnet led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Eventually twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of the murder of José Díaz. Young women of the 38th Street Gang were also detained and placed in jail on suspicion of wrongdoing.
On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial as the largest mass trial in California history. The trial took place in an atmosphere of intense prejudice fed and sustained by the press in Los Angeles. Throughout the trial the prosecutor pointed to the clothing and hairstyle of Pachucos as evidence of their guilt. This only added fuel to the fire of prejudice held by the non-Latino community. The prejudice and discrimination encountered by Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang was an example of racial profiling.
In failing to provide an unbiased trial, the United States Justice System failed to protect its citizens. Today, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the United States.
The ConvictionOn January 12, 1943 in the case of People v. Zamora, presided by Judge Charles Fricke, the court found five of the seventeen defendants in the case guilty of assault and sentenced to six months to one year in jail. Nine were found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to five years to life. Henry Leyvas, Jose Ruiz and Robert Telles were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The twelve found guilty of murder were sent to San Quentin State Prison to serve their sentences.
The young women of the 38th Street Gang refused to testify against the gang during the trial. Due to their refusal to cooperate they were sent to the Ventura School for Girls, a women’s reformatory, without benefit of trial or jury. Dora Baca, Henry’s girlfriend, was among the five young women sent to this reformatory.
Mrs. Guadalupe Leyvas (Henry’s mother) at the arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Sleepy Lagoon Defense CommitteeFollowing the trial, the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC) was organized by the community. Attorney and author Carey McWilliams served as chair to the committee. The goals of the SLDC were to raise community awareness and to fund a legal appeal for the young men of the 38th Street Gang who were serving sentences.
The committee quickly drew people from the community, film industry, education, political arena and labor unions. Alice McGrath joined the SLDC after the members of the 38th Street Gang were imprisoned. She became the executive secretary of the organization. Every six weeks she paid visits to the sentenced members, reviewed the progress of the committee, distributed SLDC news bulletins and raised morale. By 1944 the SLDC had raised enough money and the
case was moved to the Second District Court of Appeals. In October of the same year Judge Clement Nye overturned the verdicts of the case citing insufficient evidence, the denial of the defendants’ right to counsel and the overt bias of Judge Fricke in the courtroom. Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were released and their sentences overturned.
Zoot Suit RiotsCrowd gathers around beaten and stripped Pachuco. (Associated Press)
Sources of ConflictThe Zoot Suit Riots were influenced by the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Trial that fostered an atmosphere of hate and prejudice towards the Mexican American community. In 1943, conflict broke out on the streets of Los Angeles between servicemen and young Pachucos and Pachucas. During the riots which broke out on May 31, 1943 in Los Angeles, servicemen targeted Pachuco youth wearing zoot suits, who were all underage youth too young to be drafted by the service. Servicemen physically beat zoot-suiters, stripped them of their zoot suits, cut their duck tails and destroyed their clothing as the Los Angeles Police Department stood by and watched. The Zoot Suit Riots have been interpreted as a clash between uniformed gangs: the U.S. militaryissued uniformed servicemen, law enforcement and Mexican American youth donning a creative uniform of their own making. Several elements fed the flame that incited these riots:
hard way. The Mexican Indian is mostly Indian — and that is the element which
migrated to the United States in such large numbers and looks upon leniency by
authorities as an evidence of weakness or fear, or else he considers that he was able
to outsmart the authorities.” —Los Angeles Lieutenant Sheriff Edward D. Ayres
Riots of 1943: Sequence of Events
Power of the PressThe press played a large role in shaping public opinion concerning the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial, the Zoot Suit Riots and subsequently of Mexican and Mexican Americans in the United States. This sensationalist misrepresentation of Pachuco youth and gangs was a form of yellow journalism.
Yellow journalism emerged in the early 1900s. It was sparked by the style of newspaper magnet Joseph Pulitzer and furthered by journalists working under
William Randolph Hearst, who transformed publications into sensationalist propaganda sheets in order to increase sales. With incrementing sales, newspapers became so powerful that they began to greatly impact public opinion.
Newspaper articles written during the 1940s on Pachuco and Pachuca youth highlighted delinquency and non-conformity in behavior and language. One article in the Los Angeles Times in July 16, 1944 titled, “Youthful Gang Secrets Exposed,” sought to uncover the foreign underworld of Pachuco language. The article reported: “Gang members speak a strange argot unintelligible to the uninitiated.” Press reports like this fueled mass paranoia concerning the
American allegiance of Mexican youth in the United States during war time efforts.
Declaring an End to the Zoot Suit RiotsRealizing the disastrous international effects of the riots several measures were finally taken to end the Zoot Suit Riots. Federal Government officials in Washington, D.C. placed pressure on various government officials to stop the conflict. Among actions taken, the:
Sources of ConflictThe Zoot Suit Riots were influenced by the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Trial that fostered an atmosphere of hate and prejudice towards the Mexican American community. In 1943, conflict broke out on the streets of Los Angeles between servicemen and young Pachucos and Pachucas. During the riots which broke out on May 31, 1943 in Los Angeles, servicemen targeted Pachuco youth wearing zoot suits, who were all underage youth too young to be drafted by the service. Servicemen physically beat zoot-suiters, stripped them of their zoot suits, cut their duck tails and destroyed their clothing as the Los Angeles Police Department stood by and watched. The Zoot Suit Riots have been interpreted as a clash between uniformed gangs: the U.S. militaryissued uniformed servicemen, law enforcement and Mexican American youth donning a creative uniform of their own making. Several elements fed the flame that incited these riots:
- Newspapers were eager to distract attention from the war and single out what they falsely determined were internal enemies and thus, negatively publicized Pachuco gangs as scapegoats.
- Servicemen, who came from all corners of the United States, naively formed racist attitudes about zoot suiters based on stories published by the press.
- Growing public sentiment viewed Pachuco zoot suiters as “foreign,” un-American and a threat to war time patriotism.
- Law enforcement held very prejudiced views of Mexican Americans, Pachuco youth and Native Americans, as stated in the following quote:
hard way. The Mexican Indian is mostly Indian — and that is the element which
migrated to the United States in such large numbers and looks upon leniency by
authorities as an evidence of weakness or fear, or else he considers that he was able
to outsmart the authorities.” —Los Angeles Lieutenant Sheriff Edward D. Ayres
Riots of 1943: Sequence of Events
- May 31: Twelve sailors and servicemen clashed violently with Pachuco youth near downtown Los Angeles.
- June 3: Fifty sailors leave the Naval Reserve Armory in Chávez Ravine, near Chinatown, attacking anyone wearing zoot suits.
- June 4-5: Rioting servicemen conduct search-and-destroy raids on Mexican Americans in the downtown area.
- June 6: The rioting escalates and spreads into East Los Angeles.
- June 7: The worst of the rioting occurs.
- June 8: Major rioting ends in Los Angeles but spreads into other ports and urban centers such as Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and Harlem where African Americans dressed in zoot suits become targets.
Power of the PressThe press played a large role in shaping public opinion concerning the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial, the Zoot Suit Riots and subsequently of Mexican and Mexican Americans in the United States. This sensationalist misrepresentation of Pachuco youth and gangs was a form of yellow journalism.
Yellow journalism emerged in the early 1900s. It was sparked by the style of newspaper magnet Joseph Pulitzer and furthered by journalists working under
William Randolph Hearst, who transformed publications into sensationalist propaganda sheets in order to increase sales. With incrementing sales, newspapers became so powerful that they began to greatly impact public opinion.
Newspaper articles written during the 1940s on Pachuco and Pachuca youth highlighted delinquency and non-conformity in behavior and language. One article in the Los Angeles Times in July 16, 1944 titled, “Youthful Gang Secrets Exposed,” sought to uncover the foreign underworld of Pachuco language. The article reported: “Gang members speak a strange argot unintelligible to the uninitiated.” Press reports like this fueled mass paranoia concerning the
American allegiance of Mexican youth in the United States during war time efforts.
Declaring an End to the Zoot Suit RiotsRealizing the disastrous international effects of the riots several measures were finally taken to end the Zoot Suit Riots. Federal Government officials in Washington, D.C. placed pressure on various government officials to stop the conflict. Among actions taken, the:
- Navy canceled all shore leaves and declared downtown Los Angeles out of bounds to all service men.
- Mexican Ambassador in Washington, D.C. requested Secretary of State Edward Stettinius to conduct a formal inquiry into the matter.
- Press was pressured to cease printing negative reports misrepresenting Mexican American zoot suit-wearing youth.
GlossaryZoot Suit: The ProductionZoot Suit Riots A violent encounter on the streets of Los Angeles in 1943. The riot targeted Mexican American youth and terrorized the Mexican American community.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
Click to set custom HTML
History of the Zoot Suit/ Suit-Suit
One of Cab Calloway's zoot suits on display in Baltimore's City Hall, October 2007 Zoot Suits were first associated with African Americans in urban communities such as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit but were made popular by jazz musicians in the 1940s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word zoot probably comes from a reduplication of suit. The creation and naming of the zoot suit have been variously attributed to Harold C. Fox, a Chicago clothier and big-band trumpeter; Charles Klein and Vito Bagnato of New York City;Louis Lettes, a Memphis tailor; and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a Detroit retailer. Anti-Mexican youth riots in Los Angeles during World War II are known as the Zoot Suit Riots. In time, zoot suits were prohibited for the duration of the war,ostensibly because they used too much cloth.
"A Zoot Suit (For My Sunday Gal)" was a 1942 song written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Bob O'Brien.
Characteristics[
Five men in modernized zoot suitsZoot suiters often wear a fedora or pork pie hat color-coordinated with the suit, occasionally with a long feather as decoration, and pointy, French-style shoes.
A young Malcolm X described the zoot suit as: "a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell". Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket. Zoot suit wearers' dates often wore flared skirts and long coats.
The amount of material and tailoring required made them luxury items, so much so that the U.S. War Production Board said that they wasted materials that should be devoted to the World War II war effort. When Life published photographs of zoot suiters in 1942, the magazine joked that they were "solid arguments for lowering the Army draft age to include 18 year olds." This extravagance, which many considered unpatriotic in wartime, was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots. Wearing the oversized suit was a declaration of freedom and self-determination, even rebelliousness.
One of Cab Calloway's zoot suits on display in Baltimore's City Hall, October 2007 Zoot Suits were first associated with African Americans in urban communities such as Harlem, Chicago, and Detroit but were made popular by jazz musicians in the 1940s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word zoot probably comes from a reduplication of suit. The creation and naming of the zoot suit have been variously attributed to Harold C. Fox, a Chicago clothier and big-band trumpeter; Charles Klein and Vito Bagnato of New York City;Louis Lettes, a Memphis tailor; and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a Detroit retailer. Anti-Mexican youth riots in Los Angeles during World War II are known as the Zoot Suit Riots. In time, zoot suits were prohibited for the duration of the war,ostensibly because they used too much cloth.
"A Zoot Suit (For My Sunday Gal)" was a 1942 song written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Bob O'Brien.
Characteristics[
Five men in modernized zoot suitsZoot suiters often wear a fedora or pork pie hat color-coordinated with the suit, occasionally with a long feather as decoration, and pointy, French-style shoes.
A young Malcolm X described the zoot suit as: "a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell". Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket. Zoot suit wearers' dates often wore flared skirts and long coats.
The amount of material and tailoring required made them luxury items, so much so that the U.S. War Production Board said that they wasted materials that should be devoted to the World War II war effort. When Life published photographs of zoot suiters in 1942, the magazine joked that they were "solid arguments for lowering the Army draft age to include 18 year olds." This extravagance, which many considered unpatriotic in wartime, was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots. Wearing the oversized suit was a declaration of freedom and self-determination, even rebelliousness.
Below: Hearst's Penthouse Overlooking the Hudson River
Wayne Dyer on the Ego
Above ^^^^^^
Naomi Wolf
Author
Naomi R. Wolf is an American author, journalist and former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Wolf first came to prominence in 1991 as the author of The Beauty Myth. Wikipedia
Born: November 12, 1962 (age 54 years), San Francisco, CA
Spouse: David Shipley (m. ?–2005)
Children: Joseph Shipley, Rosa Shipley
Education: Yale University (1984), Lowell High School (1980), University of Oxford, New College, Oxford, Yale College
Quotes
Pain is real when you get other people to believe in it. If no one believes in it but you, your pain is madness or hysteria.
Naomi Wolf
Author
Naomi R. Wolf is an American author, journalist and former political advisor to Al Gore and Bill Clinton. Wolf first came to prominence in 1991 as the author of The Beauty Myth. Wikipedia
Born: November 12, 1962 (age 54 years), San Francisco, CA
Spouse: David Shipley (m. ?–2005)
Children: Joseph Shipley, Rosa Shipley
Education: Yale University (1984), Lowell High School (1980), University of Oxford, New College, Oxford, Yale College
Quotes
Pain is real when you get other people to believe in it. If no one believes in it but you, your pain is madness or hysteria.
Eckhart Tolle discusses the ego/pachuco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbj4nLOPN8o&feature=youtu.be
Did William Randolph Hearst (Media Giant) have anything to do with the false accusations and ultimate incarceration of Henry Reyna and a few of his "Zoot Suit" gang members?
Who was William Randolph Hearst?
How rich was Mr. Hearst?
How many newspapers does Mr. Hearst have to sell to acquire enough wealth to build Hearst Castle?
What does...if it bleeds it leads mean?
How does the quote above lead to the selling of newspapers, and ultimately, how does this phrase relate to William Randolph Hearst and how he amassed his fortune?
Zoot Suit Discovery Points
: The Production and From Mexico to the United StatesINTO
Activities and strategies to prepare the learner before reading the text.
Prediction Activity
: The Production and From Mexico to the United StatesINTO
Activities and strategies to prepare the learner before reading the text.
Prediction Activity
- Read the Zoot Suit Discovery Guide Home Page. The home page states that after reviewing this guide and learning about the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial and the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots, “you will be better equipped to understand this contentious period in Los Angeles history.”
- Write a paragraph on one of the following prompts:
- a. Predict what significance these historical events may play in the struggle for equal rights and social justice?
b. Why you think playwright Luis Valdez “re-envisioned these dark events as pinnacles of Chicano unity, empowerment and pride”?
- a. Predict what significance these historical events may play in the struggle for equal rights and social justice?
- Read the Objectives of the Discovery Guide. Choose one of the objectives that is important to you and explain one reason why you chose it. Share with your group members and then with the class as a whole.
- Although the production of Zoot Suit shattered all box office records when it played in Los Angeles, a Chicano play would never make it to Broadway.
- The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial was symbolic of the racial intolerance against Mexicans in Los Angeles.
- Mexican American youth who assimilated into American culture received the same privileges and treatment as other American youth.
- There was plenty of adequate housing for immigrants during the early 1900’s.
- Gangs have existed in the United States since as far back as the nineteenth century.
- Divide students into groups of 4 or 5. Each group will conduct a brief analysis/investigation of a term or name that is important to the understanding of the text. The teacher will assign each group the following:
- a. Caló
b. Chicano/Chicana
c. Pachuco/Pachuca
d. Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial
e. Zoot Suit
f. Zoot Suit Riots
g. Corridos
h. Latino/Latina
i. El Teatro Campesino
- a. Caló
- Students will complete a poster that includes the following:
- a. Definition according to Wikipedia, the free online dictionary
b. Definition according to the Zoot Suit Discovery Guide
c. Five important facts
d. Examples, graphics or pictures
- a. Definition according to Wikipedia, the free online dictionary
Discussion PointsL.A. in the Zoot Suit Era
- Describe the significance of music and dance to Mexican American youth during a time of war. In what ways have current wars in the world inspired musicians today?
- Why do you think wartime was a period of such abundant artistic inspiration?
- Pachucas and Pachucos created words whose meanings changed everyday. What are some words that you have invented or use with family and friends, which are not considered part of a specific standard language?
- Use the above terms and phrases to write a sentence using at least three Caló words and phrases.
- Describe the obstacles faced by Mexican American youth growing up in the 1940s.
- Describe how you can relate to some of the obstacles that Mexican American youth faced.
- How do you think people of Chávez Ravine felt as they were evicted from their homes?
- Describe the significance of the Bracero Program for both the United States and Mexico. What were the pros and cons of the worker agreement?
- How do you think women felt about going back to their role as homemakers after having worked in jobs considered “men’s work”?
- What do you think it was like for Mexican American World War II veterans to come back from defending their countries and receive discriminatory treatment in the United States?
- Describe the important contributions of Latinos in World War II.
- Research and describe the role Latinos play in current ongoing wars.
- The purpose of the legal system is to guarantee people a fair and equal trial where they are innocent until proven guilty. What issues came into play in the original ruling of the court and the sentencing of the 38th Street Gang?
- What are some parallels between the racial profiling experienced by Mexican-American youth in the 1940s and current perceptions of underrepresented groups in our society? Think of the ongoing “War on Terrorism” and the subsequent Patriot Act.
- Discuss how the Zoot Suit riots were handled by Los Angeles Police and government officials. Do you think that the initial lack of intervention in 1943 could happen today?
- Which newspapers, magazines or websites might be considered yellow journalism today?
- Describe current events that have been sensationalized by the news, how were portrayed by the media and the implications of these representations.
- Is Zoot Suit relevant today?
- Is there any similarity between 1940s Pachucos and gang culture today?
- Within gang culture today, do women play a more prominent role?
- Has the judicial and economic condition of Chicano and Chicana youth changed since 1940s?
- What would need to happen for Zoot Suit to be relevant only as a historical representation?
GlossaryZoot Suit: The ProductionZoot Suit Riots A violent encounter on the streets of Los Angeles in 1943. The riot targeted Mexican American youth and terrorized the Mexican American community.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
Chicano/Chicana Term reclaimed and redefined by a new generation of bilingual and bicultural Americans of Mexican descent during a 1960s grassroots political mobilization, known as the Chicano Movement. Prior to this, Chicano was a derogatory term used in reference to recently immigrated Mexicans in the United States. Before the 1960s the names Mexican, Mexican American and Hispanic were used interchangeably.
Caló A dialect with roots in zincaló (a Spanish gypsy dialect), Spanish and English. Spoken by Pachucos, Pachucas and Mexican Americans from poor and working class communities.
Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial (People v. Zamora) a legal case in 1942 investigating the murder of José Díaz. The trial indicted 22 members of the 38th Street Gang on murder charges. Though convictions were later appealed and overturned, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most flagrant misrepresentations of justice in the United States.
Zoot Suit Clothing stlye of the 1940s mostly worn by young, poor and working class Mexican American, African American and Jewish youth.
Pachuco/Pachuca Term used in reference to Mexican American youth who donned zoot suits and zoot suit-inspired clothing.
Playwright and TeatroEl Teatro Campesino A theatre company located in San Juan Bautista, California. This troupe is dedicated to addressing vital issues in the Latino community by using theatre as a form of political resistance and to celebrate Chicano culture.
Latino Term used to describe all people of Mexican and Latin American descent living both in and outside of the United States.
Corridos Mexican musical ballads that recount a historical event or story. Popularized during the 1910 Mexican Revolution.
ImmigrationBracero Program A bi-national agreement between the United States and Mexico that granted Mexican workers a temporary farm worker contract in the United States. Currently, a similar program is being debated in the United States Senate.
Chávez Ravine A predominately Mexican American community that was viewed as an eyesore to non- Latino Angelenos. Residents of Chávez Ravine were illegally evicted by the City of Los Angeles in the 1950s in order to build Dodger Stadium. In this eviction, the city exercised eminent domain, their inherent power to seize private property for public use without the owner’s consent.
Assimilate The process of adopting the customs, language, and beliefs of a prevailing culture.
Acculturate The process of merging two cultures by adopting and integrating new cultural behaviors and customs with existing cultural attitudes and traditions.
World War IIAllies Countries allied against the Axis Powers in World War II. The allied countries included England, United States, France, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.
Battle of Bataan A bloody three-month battle in the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines during World War II. United States and Philippine forces fought
bravely against a well equipped Japanese invasion. Though the Allies were defeated, the long battle slowed Japanese forces and gave the Allies time to prepare for other attacks.
American G.I. Forum A congressionally chartered organization established in 1948 to lobby for the rights of Mexican American veterans.
G.I. Bill Also called the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This bill provided returning veterans with home loans, college or vocational opportunities and unemployment compensation.
Axis Powers Countries who joined as a force against the Allies in World War II. The three major Axis powers included Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Trial and RiotsNeologism A new word, term, or phrase that creates new reference words out of older terminology.
Jingoism Extreme nationalism that shapes forceful and aggressive foreign policy.
Xenophobia Fear and hatred of foreigners and strangers.
Nativism An opposition to the presence of immigrants and immigrant flows into one’s country.
Racial profiling Making criminal accusations based on racial stereotypes of a particular racial or ethnic group.
Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee A grassroots defense committee comprised primarily of Mexican American community members and high profile actors such as Anthony Quinn, a child-hood family friend of the Leyvas family. Quinn drew in other actors such as Rita Hayworth and Orson Wells to the cause.
Yellow journalism Distorted news reports based on sensationalist story angles, biased opinions and scandal. Used as a way to boost newspaper sales and frame public opinion concerning people and events.
L.A. in the Zoot Suit Era¡Pachuco y Pachuca Yo!El Paso, El Chuco, El PachucoA young woman and her companion dressed in zoot suit attire in 1944.
Pachuco and Pachuca are terms coined in the 1940s to refer to Mexican American men and women who dressed in zoot suits or zoot suit-influenced attire. Though there is no definite origin of the word Pachuco, one theory claims that the term originated in El Paso, Texas. The city of El Paso was typically referred to as “Chuco town” or “El Chuco.” People migrating from Los Angeles to El Paso would say they were going “pa’ El Chuco” (to Chuco town). These migrants came to be known as Pachucos. This term moved westward to Los Angeles with the flow of Mexican workers migrating to industrialize city centers.
¡Watcha mi tachuce! The Bonaroo LookTo look Bonaroo was to look cool. In Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, zoot suits were mostly worn by poor and working class Mexican, African American and Jewish youth. These tailored outfits had broad shoulders and cinched waist pants that tapered at the ankles. Suits were accessorized by a key chain that dangled from the pocket, a felt hat and ducktail hairstyle (often called “duck’s ass” or D.A).
Pachucas also donned zoot suits that were, more often than not, improvised men’s jackets with short skirts, fishnet stockings or bobby socks pulled up to the calves, platform heels, saddle shoes or huarache sandals. They piled their hair high in a pompadour style and wore heavy makeup, especially lipstick. Some Pachucas also chose to wear the masculine version of the zoot suit and participate in recreational activities alongside Pachucos on street corners and dances all of which challenged normative definitions of femininity. Breaking out of cultural and gender norms, Pachucas asserted their own distinct identity as Mexican American women.
In 1942, the Wartime Productions Board, as part of a national austerity initiative, attempted to cut back on fabric consumption by establishing regulations that limited the amount of fabric used for suits. This deliberately targeted zoot suiters. As an act of rebellion and cultural pride, zoot suiters defiantly chose not to follow these requirements and obtained their suits through bootleg tailors. Pachucos became conspicuous in their extravagant outfits which were seen as unpatriotic. Though this was a scandal in wartime America, it was also a symbol of pride and resistance for Mexican American youth.
The Hip Style of Caló ¿Que Pues Nuez?“La Dora” wears a zoot suit with huarache sandals, while others wear hairstyles and clothes popular among Mexican-American women. (Lowrider 2, no. 6)
Caló is a hybrid langauge influenced by zincaló — a dialect of Spanish gypsies, Hispanicized English, Anglicized Spanish and indigenous languages such as Nahuatl. Caló was popularized in the 1940s in the United States by working class Mexican American youth. With the growing public resentment fueled by the press against zoot suit style and culture, Caló became associated to Pachuco gang life as a language known only to its members. The use of Caló by Mexican youth was an act of definance and resistance. It represented the refusal of Mexican youth to assimilate into the United States culture and signified their determination to create a legitimate national identity as both American and Mexican.
For Pachuco and Pachuca youth Caló represented style. It was considered hip and cool to spill out versos suaves (smooth words) to the chicas patas (young women) and eses (young men) while cabuliando (horsing around) after school or work. Mexican youth had the unique ability to codeswitch between standard English, Spanish, and Caló, while inventing new neologisms. For Latinos in the United States, their use of Caló represented a style of resistance in the 1940s climate of intense jingoism, xenophobia, and nativism. They were multilinigual pioneers and creators of a new language, identity and culture.
Caló Glossary: Terms and Phrases in Zoot SuitNote: The following translations are figurative, not literal.alivianese: lighten up, cool it
bolillo: anglo, “white boy”
borlotear: to dance
bote: jail
cabuliar: to make fun of
calcos: shoes
calmantes montes: chill out
cálmenla: calm down, cool it
carnala: sister
carnal: brother, close friend
chafa: embarrassed, low quality, worthless
¡chale!: no, no way
chicas patas: little one, a young girl/woman
chingón: macho, big shot, bad dude
contrólate: control yourself
descuéntate: beat it, get lost
drapes: pants
esa: woman, girl
ese: man, dude
huisa: woman, girlfriend
jefita/jefito: mother, father (literal: boss)
la jura: the law, police
me la rayo: for sure, it’s the truth, I swear
¡nel!: no! (more forceful than ¡chale!)
¡orale!: hey, right on
pedo: hassle, excitement
pendejadas: stupidness or mean act
pendejo: schmuck, idiot
pinché: lousy/f**king
ponte abusado: wise up, get smart
que desmadre: what a mess
que pinché aguite: what a bummer
que pues, nuez?: what’s going on?
rifa: rules
ruca: wife, chick, girlfriend
simón: yes
suave: fine, o.k.
tacuche: suit, zoot suit, fancy clothing
tando: hat
¿te curas?: can you believe it?
trapos: clothes
trucha: alert, watch out
vato: dude, guy
verdolaga: naïve, hick
¡watcha!: look!
ya estubo: cut it, that’s enough
ya me estas cayendo gordo: you are being a pain
ya pues: that’s enough
Pachuco and Pachuca are terms coined in the 1940s to refer to Mexican American men and women who dressed in zoot suits or zoot suit-influenced attire. Though there is no definite origin of the word Pachuco, one theory claims that the term originated in El Paso, Texas. The city of El Paso was typically referred to as “Chuco town” or “El Chuco.” People migrating from Los Angeles to El Paso would say they were going “pa’ El Chuco” (to Chuco town). These migrants came to be known as Pachucos. This term moved westward to Los Angeles with the flow of Mexican workers migrating to industrialize city centers.
¡Watcha mi tachuce! The Bonaroo LookTo look Bonaroo was to look cool. In Los Angeles during the 1930s and 1940s, zoot suits were mostly worn by poor and working class Mexican, African American and Jewish youth. These tailored outfits had broad shoulders and cinched waist pants that tapered at the ankles. Suits were accessorized by a key chain that dangled from the pocket, a felt hat and ducktail hairstyle (often called “duck’s ass” or D.A).
Pachucas also donned zoot suits that were, more often than not, improvised men’s jackets with short skirts, fishnet stockings or bobby socks pulled up to the calves, platform heels, saddle shoes or huarache sandals. They piled their hair high in a pompadour style and wore heavy makeup, especially lipstick. Some Pachucas also chose to wear the masculine version of the zoot suit and participate in recreational activities alongside Pachucos on street corners and dances all of which challenged normative definitions of femininity. Breaking out of cultural and gender norms, Pachucas asserted their own distinct identity as Mexican American women.
In 1942, the Wartime Productions Board, as part of a national austerity initiative, attempted to cut back on fabric consumption by establishing regulations that limited the amount of fabric used for suits. This deliberately targeted zoot suiters. As an act of rebellion and cultural pride, zoot suiters defiantly chose not to follow these requirements and obtained their suits through bootleg tailors. Pachucos became conspicuous in their extravagant outfits which were seen as unpatriotic. Though this was a scandal in wartime America, it was also a symbol of pride and resistance for Mexican American youth.
The Hip Style of Caló ¿Que Pues Nuez?“La Dora” wears a zoot suit with huarache sandals, while others wear hairstyles and clothes popular among Mexican-American women. (Lowrider 2, no. 6)
Caló is a hybrid langauge influenced by zincaló — a dialect of Spanish gypsies, Hispanicized English, Anglicized Spanish and indigenous languages such as Nahuatl. Caló was popularized in the 1940s in the United States by working class Mexican American youth. With the growing public resentment fueled by the press against zoot suit style and culture, Caló became associated to Pachuco gang life as a language known only to its members. The use of Caló by Mexican youth was an act of definance and resistance. It represented the refusal of Mexican youth to assimilate into the United States culture and signified their determination to create a legitimate national identity as both American and Mexican.
For Pachuco and Pachuca youth Caló represented style. It was considered hip and cool to spill out versos suaves (smooth words) to the chicas patas (young women) and eses (young men) while cabuliando (horsing around) after school or work. Mexican youth had the unique ability to codeswitch between standard English, Spanish, and Caló, while inventing new neologisms. For Latinos in the United States, their use of Caló represented a style of resistance in the 1940s climate of intense jingoism, xenophobia, and nativism. They were multilinigual pioneers and creators of a new language, identity and culture.
Caló Glossary: Terms and Phrases in Zoot SuitNote: The following translations are figurative, not literal.alivianese: lighten up, cool it
bolillo: anglo, “white boy”
borlotear: to dance
bote: jail
cabuliar: to make fun of
calcos: shoes
calmantes montes: chill out
cálmenla: calm down, cool it
carnala: sister
carnal: brother, close friend
chafa: embarrassed, low quality, worthless
¡chale!: no, no way
chicas patas: little one, a young girl/woman
chingón: macho, big shot, bad dude
contrólate: control yourself
descuéntate: beat it, get lost
drapes: pants
esa: woman, girl
ese: man, dude
huisa: woman, girlfriend
jefita/jefito: mother, father (literal: boss)
la jura: the law, police
me la rayo: for sure, it’s the truth, I swear
¡nel!: no! (more forceful than ¡chale!)
¡orale!: hey, right on
pedo: hassle, excitement
pendejadas: stupidness or mean act
pendejo: schmuck, idiot
pinché: lousy/f**king
ponte abusado: wise up, get smart
que desmadre: what a mess
que pinché aguite: what a bummer
que pues, nuez?: what’s going on?
rifa: rules
ruca: wife, chick, girlfriend
simón: yes
suave: fine, o.k.
tacuche: suit, zoot suit, fancy clothing
tando: hat
¿te curas?: can you believe it?
trapos: clothes
trucha: alert, watch out
vato: dude, guy
verdolaga: naïve, hick
¡watcha!: look!
ya estubo: cut it, that’s enough
ya me estas cayendo gordo: you are being a pain
ya pues: that’s enough
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide
A Crowd gathers around beaten and stripped Pachuco. (Associated Press)
Sources of the The Zoot Suit Riots were influenced by the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Trial that fostered an atmosphere of hate and prejudice towards the Mexican American community. In 1943, conflict broke out on the streets of Los Angeles between servicemen and young Pachucos and Pachucas. During the riots which broke out on May 31, 1943 in Los Angeles, servicemen targeted Pachuco youth wearing zoot suits, who were all underage youth too young to be drafted by the service. Servicemen physically beat zoot-suiters, stripped them of their zoot suits, cut their duck tails and destroyed their clothing as the Los Angeles Police Department stood by and watched. The Zoot Suit Riots have been interpreted as a clash between uniformed gangs: the U.S. military issued uniformed servicemen, law enforcement and Mexican American youth donning a creative uniform of their own making. Several elements fed the flame that incited these riots:
hard way. The Mexican Indian is mostly Indian — and that is the element which
migrated to the United States in such large numbers and looks upon leniency by
authorities as an evidence of weakness or fear, or else he considers that he was able
to outsmart the authorities.” —Los Angeles Lieutenant Sheriff Edward D. Ayres
Riots of 1943: Sequence of Events
Power of the PressThe press played a large role in shaping public opinion concerning the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial, the Zoot Suit Riots and subsequently of Mexican and Mexican Americans in the United States. This sensationalist misrepresentation of Pachuco youth and gangs was a form of yellow journalism.
Yellow journalism emerged in the early 1900s. It was sparked by the style of newspaper magnet Joseph Pulitzer and furthered by journalists working under
William Randolph Hearst, who transformed publications into sensationalist propaganda sheets in order to increase sales. With incrementing sales, newspapers became so powerful that they began to greatly impact public opinion.
Newspaper articles written during the 1940s on Pachuco and Pachuca youth highlighted delinquency and non-conformity in behavior and language. One article in the Los Angeles Times in July 16, 1944 titled, “Youthful Gang Secrets Exposed,” sought to uncover the foreign underworld of Pachuco language. The article reported: “Gang members speak a strange argot unintelligible to the uninitiated.” Press reports like this fueled mass paranoia concerning the
American allegiance of Mexican youth in the United States during war time efforts.
Declaring an End to the Zoot Suit RiotsRealizing the disastrous international effects of the riots several measures were finally taken to end the Zoot Suit Riots. Federal Government officials in Washington, D.C. placed pressure on various government officials to stop the conflict. Among actions taken, the:
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide | 2016
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide
A Crowd gathers around beaten and stripped Pachuco. (Associated Press)
Sources of the The Zoot Suit Riots were influenced by the 1942 Sleepy Lagoon Trial that fostered an atmosphere of hate and prejudice towards the Mexican American community. In 1943, conflict broke out on the streets of Los Angeles between servicemen and young Pachucos and Pachucas. During the riots which broke out on May 31, 1943 in Los Angeles, servicemen targeted Pachuco youth wearing zoot suits, who were all underage youth too young to be drafted by the service. Servicemen physically beat zoot-suiters, stripped them of their zoot suits, cut their duck tails and destroyed their clothing as the Los Angeles Police Department stood by and watched. The Zoot Suit Riots have been interpreted as a clash between uniformed gangs: the U.S. military issued uniformed servicemen, law enforcement and Mexican American youth donning a creative uniform of their own making. Several elements fed the flame that incited these riots:
- Newspapers were eager to distract attention from the war and single out what they falsely determined were internal enemies and thus, negatively publicized Pachuco gangs as scapegoats.
- Servicemen, who came from all corners of the United States, naively formed racist attitudes about zoot suiters based on stories published by the press.
- Growing public sentiment viewed Pachuco zoot suiters as “foreign,” un-American and a threat to war time patriotism.
- Law enforcement held very prejudiced views of Mexican Americans, Pachuco youth and Native Americans, as stated in the following quote:
hard way. The Mexican Indian is mostly Indian — and that is the element which
migrated to the United States in such large numbers and looks upon leniency by
authorities as an evidence of weakness or fear, or else he considers that he was able
to outsmart the authorities.” —Los Angeles Lieutenant Sheriff Edward D. Ayres
Riots of 1943: Sequence of Events
- May 31: Twelve sailors and servicemen clashed violently with Pachuco youth near downtown Los Angeles.
- June 3: Fifty sailors leave the Naval Reserve Armory in Chávez Ravine, near Chinatown, attacking anyone wearing zoot suits.
- June 4-5: Rioting servicemen conduct search-and-destroy raids on Mexican Americans in the downtown area.
- June 6: The rioting escalates and spreads into East Los Angeles.
- June 7: The worst of the rioting occurs.
- June 8: Major rioting ends in Los Angeles but spreads into other ports and urban centers such as Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and Harlem where African Americans dressed in zoot suits become targets.
Power of the PressThe press played a large role in shaping public opinion concerning the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial, the Zoot Suit Riots and subsequently of Mexican and Mexican Americans in the United States. This sensationalist misrepresentation of Pachuco youth and gangs was a form of yellow journalism.
Yellow journalism emerged in the early 1900s. It was sparked by the style of newspaper magnet Joseph Pulitzer and furthered by journalists working under
William Randolph Hearst, who transformed publications into sensationalist propaganda sheets in order to increase sales. With incrementing sales, newspapers became so powerful that they began to greatly impact public opinion.
Newspaper articles written during the 1940s on Pachuco and Pachuca youth highlighted delinquency and non-conformity in behavior and language. One article in the Los Angeles Times in July 16, 1944 titled, “Youthful Gang Secrets Exposed,” sought to uncover the foreign underworld of Pachuco language. The article reported: “Gang members speak a strange argot unintelligible to the uninitiated.” Press reports like this fueled mass paranoia concerning the
American allegiance of Mexican youth in the United States during war time efforts.
Declaring an End to the Zoot Suit RiotsRealizing the disastrous international effects of the riots several measures were finally taken to end the Zoot Suit Riots. Federal Government officials in Washington, D.C. placed pressure on various government officials to stop the conflict. Among actions taken, the:
- Navy canceled all shore leaves and declared downtown Los Angeles out of bounds to all service men.
- Mexican Ambassador in Washington, D.C. requested Secretary of State Edward Stettinius to conduct a formal inquiry into the matter.
- Press was pressured to cease printing negative reports misrepresenting Mexican American zoot suit-wearing youth.
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide | 2016
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The zoot suit: an all-American fashion that changed History
By Mike UngerWith jacket arms that reached the fingertips and pants worn tight at the waist, bulging at the knees and choked at the ankles, it was nearly impossible to ignore a man wearing a zoot suit.
Accessorized with a key chain that extended to the knees and a fedora-like hat with a feather attached, the fashion certainly said something about those who sported it. But what statement were those who were donning the look in the late 1930s and early 1940s trying to make?
That’s one of questions Kathy Peiss explores in her new book, “Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style.” In the book, Peiss, the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, examines the fashion phenomenon that became so politically polarizing it played a part in sparking a vicious uprising in California, known as the Zoot Suit Riots.
“I argue that people [wore] it for a whole range of reasons,” she says. “It had many different meanings, including the pleasure of looking sharp and being part of a group of young people in the war years. The zoot suit should not be looked at solely as a costume that conveys political resistance.”
Peiss traces the creation of the zoot suit to Harlem in the mid to late 1930s, when tailors began making them out of wool or colorful varieties of rayon. Although its exact origin is unknown, the term “zoot suit” appears to have come from the rhyming slang, or jive, spoken in the African-American community at the time, Peiss says.
“They were generally worn by young men of African-American descent, initially,” Peiss says. “Mexican-American and white working-class men also would wear them. Typically they would buy them at local clothing shops and have them tailored to this oversized style.”
The suit’s rise in popularity coincided with the emergence of the jitterbug and other forms of swing dance music. The flowing look of the suit was particularly flashy on the dance floor, and young people took note. Their parents, however, were not quite as smitten by the style.
“Initially it was mainly a mystery to mainstream Americans,” Peiss says. “It was seen as strange but not necessarily sinister. Over time there [was] a perception that the zoot suit is unpatriotic.”
At the dawn of World War II, the zoot suit was condemned by the U.S. government as wasteful. Not surprisingly, the criticism did little to dissuade its fans from wearing it, and in fact may have even attracted more people to the look. In the early 1940s, working-class youth, entertainers and dancers continued to wear zoot suits, and the look spread to Italian Americans, Jews, and even some teenage girls.
“In the midst of the war it is associated with men who are criminals or members of gangs,” Peiss explains. “Around 1943, there is a riot that breaks out in Los Angeles. White servicemen and civilians begin to attack young men, especially Mexican-American men. They rip the clothing off their bodies, and the zoot suit takes on this sense of being a danger.”
In her book, Peiss writes that during the Zoot Suit Riots, “a band of 50 sailors armed themselves with makeshift weapons, left their naval base and coursed into downtown Los Angeles in search of young Mexican Americans in zoot suits.” The sailors viciously beat the zoot suiters, and the next day even more servicemen “hired a convoy of taxicabs to go into to East Los Angeles, where they accosted pachucos [Mexican Americans] on the street and even pushed their way into private homes.”
“On the one hand it may seem like a trivial style, but what I would say is that we have a tendency to read style for its political and social and economic and cultural meaning,” Peiss says. “I think we should do so with a careful understanding that how we adorn the body and how we fashion our looks and ourselves matters.”
Though the zoot suit is largely gone, it is not forgotten. It reemerged in the late 1960s with the rise of the Chicano Rights Movement, and as a sort of retro fashion in the early 1990s with the revival of swing music and dance. In 2001, the swing band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies released an album called “Zoot Suit Riot.”
“It keeps returning because it is an extreme style of men’s dress, and most men wear relatively conservative styles, which tend to make them inconspicuous,” Peiss says. “It continues to have a hold on the imagination.”
By Mike UngerWith jacket arms that reached the fingertips and pants worn tight at the waist, bulging at the knees and choked at the ankles, it was nearly impossible to ignore a man wearing a zoot suit.
Accessorized with a key chain that extended to the knees and a fedora-like hat with a feather attached, the fashion certainly said something about those who sported it. But what statement were those who were donning the look in the late 1930s and early 1940s trying to make?
That’s one of questions Kathy Peiss explores in her new book, “Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style.” In the book, Peiss, the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, examines the fashion phenomenon that became so politically polarizing it played a part in sparking a vicious uprising in California, known as the Zoot Suit Riots.
“I argue that people [wore] it for a whole range of reasons,” she says. “It had many different meanings, including the pleasure of looking sharp and being part of a group of young people in the war years. The zoot suit should not be looked at solely as a costume that conveys political resistance.”
Peiss traces the creation of the zoot suit to Harlem in the mid to late 1930s, when tailors began making them out of wool or colorful varieties of rayon. Although its exact origin is unknown, the term “zoot suit” appears to have come from the rhyming slang, or jive, spoken in the African-American community at the time, Peiss says.
“They were generally worn by young men of African-American descent, initially,” Peiss says. “Mexican-American and white working-class men also would wear them. Typically they would buy them at local clothing shops and have them tailored to this oversized style.”
The suit’s rise in popularity coincided with the emergence of the jitterbug and other forms of swing dance music. The flowing look of the suit was particularly flashy on the dance floor, and young people took note. Their parents, however, were not quite as smitten by the style.
“Initially it was mainly a mystery to mainstream Americans,” Peiss says. “It was seen as strange but not necessarily sinister. Over time there [was] a perception that the zoot suit is unpatriotic.”
At the dawn of World War II, the zoot suit was condemned by the U.S. government as wasteful. Not surprisingly, the criticism did little to dissuade its fans from wearing it, and in fact may have even attracted more people to the look. In the early 1940s, working-class youth, entertainers and dancers continued to wear zoot suits, and the look spread to Italian Americans, Jews, and even some teenage girls.
“In the midst of the war it is associated with men who are criminals or members of gangs,” Peiss explains. “Around 1943, there is a riot that breaks out in Los Angeles. White servicemen and civilians begin to attack young men, especially Mexican-American men. They rip the clothing off their bodies, and the zoot suit takes on this sense of being a danger.”
In her book, Peiss writes that during the Zoot Suit Riots, “a band of 50 sailors armed themselves with makeshift weapons, left their naval base and coursed into downtown Los Angeles in search of young Mexican Americans in zoot suits.” The sailors viciously beat the zoot suiters, and the next day even more servicemen “hired a convoy of taxicabs to go into to East Los Angeles, where they accosted pachucos [Mexican Americans] on the street and even pushed their way into private homes.”
“On the one hand it may seem like a trivial style, but what I would say is that we have a tendency to read style for its political and social and economic and cultural meaning,” Peiss says. “I think we should do so with a careful understanding that how we adorn the body and how we fashion our looks and ourselves matters.”
Though the zoot suit is largely gone, it is not forgotten. It reemerged in the late 1960s with the rise of the Chicano Rights Movement, and as a sort of retro fashion in the early 1990s with the revival of swing music and dance. In 2001, the swing band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies released an album called “Zoot Suit Riot.”
“It keeps returning because it is an extreme style of men’s dress, and most men wear relatively conservative styles, which tend to make them inconspicuous,” Peiss says. “It continues to have a hold on the imagination.”
Zoot Suit Discovery GuideSleepy Lagoon TrialThe Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial of 1942
Young men from 38th Street ring the trail room for their arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Murder at the Sleepy LagoonThe 38th Street Gang was located in what is now part of South Los Angeles near Vernon and Long Beach Boulevards. The gang, along with other community members, frequented a water reservoir in a gravel pit located on the Williams Ranch in East Los Angeles. This reservoir, known to the community as Sleepy Lagoon, was used as a swimming pool by Mexican youth who were not allowed to use segregated public pools.
On the evening of August 1, 1942 Henry and Dora had a violent confrontation at Sleepy Lagoon with a neighboring gang from Downey. Henry and Dora left but returned later to the location with his gang in search of the attackers who had already fled the scene.
Futile in their search for the rival gang, the members of the 38th Street Gang decided to head for a party at the home of the Delgadillo family. When a fight broke out at the Delgadillo home Henry and the gang fled the scene. The following morning the dead body of José Díaz was found on a dirt road near the Delgadillo home. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial began when Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were identified as being at the scene of the murder.
The Williams Ranch and the “Sleepy Lagoon” reservoir, 1942. Murder At The Sleepy Lagoon Zoot Suits, Race, & Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregon Pagan (The University of North Carolina Press 2003)
The TrialSix hundred Mexican American youth were rounded up by a citywide dragnet led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Eventually twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of the murder of José Díaz. Young women of the 38th Street Gang were also detained and placed in jail on suspicion of wrongdoing.
On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial as the largest mass trial in California history. The trial took place in an atmosphere of intense prejudice fed and sustained by the press in Los Angeles. Throughout the trial the prosecutor pointed to the clothing and hairstyle of Pachucos as evidence of their guilt. This only added fuel to the fire of prejudice held by the non-Latino community. The prejudice and discrimination encountered by Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang was an example ofracial profiling.
In failing to provide an unbiased trial, the United States Justice System failed to protect its citizens. Today, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the United States.
The ConvictionOn January 12, 1943 in the case of People v. Zamora, presided by Judge Charles Fricke, the court found five of the seventeen defendants in the case guilty of assault and sentenced to six months to one year in jail. Nine were found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to five years to life. Henry Leyvas, Jose Ruiz and Robert Telles were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The twelve found guilty of murder were sent to San Quentin State Prison to serve their sentences.
The young women of the 38th Street Gang refused to testify against the gang during the trial. Due to their refusal to cooperate they were sent to the Ventura School for Girls, a women’s reformatory, without benefit of trial or jury. Dora Baca, Henry’s girlfriend, was among the five young women sent to this reformatory.
Mrs. Guadalupe Leyvas (Henry’s mother) at the arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Sleepy Lagoon Defense CommitteeFollowing the trial, the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC) was organized by the community. Attorney and author Carey McWilliams served as chair to the committee. The goals of the SLDC were to raise community awareness and to fund a legal appeal for the young men of the 38th Street Gang who were serving sentences.
The committee quickly drew people from the community, film industry, education, political arena and labor unions. Alice McGrath joined the SLDC after the members of the 38th Street Gang were imprisoned. She became the executive secretary of the organization. Every six weeks she paid visits to the sentenced members, reviewed the progress of the committee, distributed SLDC news bulletins and raised morale. By 1944 the SLDC had raised enough money and the
case was moved to the Second District Court of Appeals. In October of the same year Judge Clement Nye overturned the verdicts of the case citing insufficient evidence, the denial of the defendants’ right to counsel and the overt bias of Judge Fricke in the courtroom. Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were released and their sentences overturned.
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide | 2016
Young men from 38th Street ring the trail room for their arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Murder at the Sleepy LagoonThe 38th Street Gang was located in what is now part of South Los Angeles near Vernon and Long Beach Boulevards. The gang, along with other community members, frequented a water reservoir in a gravel pit located on the Williams Ranch in East Los Angeles. This reservoir, known to the community as Sleepy Lagoon, was used as a swimming pool by Mexican youth who were not allowed to use segregated public pools.
On the evening of August 1, 1942 Henry and Dora had a violent confrontation at Sleepy Lagoon with a neighboring gang from Downey. Henry and Dora left but returned later to the location with his gang in search of the attackers who had already fled the scene.
Futile in their search for the rival gang, the members of the 38th Street Gang decided to head for a party at the home of the Delgadillo family. When a fight broke out at the Delgadillo home Henry and the gang fled the scene. The following morning the dead body of José Díaz was found on a dirt road near the Delgadillo home. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial began when Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were identified as being at the scene of the murder.
The Williams Ranch and the “Sleepy Lagoon” reservoir, 1942. Murder At The Sleepy Lagoon Zoot Suits, Race, & Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregon Pagan (The University of North Carolina Press 2003)
The TrialSix hundred Mexican American youth were rounded up by a citywide dragnet led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Eventually twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of the murder of José Díaz. Young women of the 38th Street Gang were also detained and placed in jail on suspicion of wrongdoing.
On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial as the largest mass trial in California history. The trial took place in an atmosphere of intense prejudice fed and sustained by the press in Los Angeles. Throughout the trial the prosecutor pointed to the clothing and hairstyle of Pachucos as evidence of their guilt. This only added fuel to the fire of prejudice held by the non-Latino community. The prejudice and discrimination encountered by Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang was an example ofracial profiling.
In failing to provide an unbiased trial, the United States Justice System failed to protect its citizens. Today, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the United States.
The ConvictionOn January 12, 1943 in the case of People v. Zamora, presided by Judge Charles Fricke, the court found five of the seventeen defendants in the case guilty of assault and sentenced to six months to one year in jail. Nine were found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to five years to life. Henry Leyvas, Jose Ruiz and Robert Telles were found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The twelve found guilty of murder were sent to San Quentin State Prison to serve their sentences.
The young women of the 38th Street Gang refused to testify against the gang during the trial. Due to their refusal to cooperate they were sent to the Ventura School for Girls, a women’s reformatory, without benefit of trial or jury. Dora Baca, Henry’s girlfriend, was among the five young women sent to this reformatory.
Mrs. Guadalupe Leyvas (Henry’s mother) at the arraignment. (Herald Examiner Collection, L.A. Public Library)
Sleepy Lagoon Defense CommitteeFollowing the trial, the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee (SLDC) was organized by the community. Attorney and author Carey McWilliams served as chair to the committee. The goals of the SLDC were to raise community awareness and to fund a legal appeal for the young men of the 38th Street Gang who were serving sentences.
The committee quickly drew people from the community, film industry, education, political arena and labor unions. Alice McGrath joined the SLDC after the members of the 38th Street Gang were imprisoned. She became the executive secretary of the organization. Every six weeks she paid visits to the sentenced members, reviewed the progress of the committee, distributed SLDC news bulletins and raised morale. By 1944 the SLDC had raised enough money and the
case was moved to the Second District Court of Appeals. In October of the same year Judge Clement Nye overturned the verdicts of the case citing insufficient evidence, the denial of the defendants’ right to counsel and the overt bias of Judge Fricke in the courtroom. Henry Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang were released and their sentences overturned.
Zoot Suit Discovery Guide | 2016
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