company had only $2,000 in the bank when it premiered David Lozano and Raul Treviño’s true-life drama on Dec. 9, 2009 — 40 years to the day that Mexican American studentsThe students propelled a movement that changed the town’s politics and the fate of future generations of Mexican Americans.Treviño’s play struck a chord with Dallas audiences and helped raise
The play is running at the Latino Cultural Center, where Cara Mía is a resident company. It was previously revived in 2010 and 2016., who were fed up with rules forbidding them to speak Spanish in school and eat Mexican food in the cafeteria. They weren’t allowed to fully participate in extracurricular activities either. The cheerleading squad was limited to one Mexican American girl at a time. Mexican American boys could not start for the varsity football team.
Hundreds of students joined the walkout, and it drew national attention. The walkout leaders even traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress. Encouraged by a mediator, the school board gave in to student demands. A local political party, La Raza Unida, grew out of the protests, and the majority Latino population of Crystal City ran the table in the 1970 election, taking over the school board and the city council.