Luis Valdez was a young drama graduate in 1965 when he decided to join the United Farmworkers Organizing Committee (UFWOC) led by César Chávez in Delano, California. His decision was guided by a political and artistic vision: creating a popular theater that would serve as support to the organizational activities of the striking farmworkers. In addition to his academic preparation, Valdez had worked with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, where he gained valuable experience in translating controversial social issues into political theater. Valdez knew firsthand the issues involved in the labor dispute: he was born in Delano, and his family still resided in the area after spending many years as migratory farmworkers. He was ... especially sensitive to the different conflictive responses La Huelga (The strike) would elicit in the surrounding Chicano communities. This extraordinary combination of formal training, practical experience, and intimate knowledge of farmworker culture proved to be a most valuable foundation in the development of El Teatro Campesino.1 Valdez faced difficult conditions to establish the Teatro Campesino.