In Memoriam for the Recently Departed: Lupe Ontiveros, Tony Curiel, Juan Antonio Castro, Elizabeth Peña, Goyo Flores, and Lina Gallegos

It all started in November 2014, at the Latino Theater Encuentro in Los Angeles. Someone had set up a Day of the Dead altar for recently deceased teatro workers with their photos and little stick-it notes with something personal about each one: Lupe Ontiveros, Tony Curiel, Juan Castro, and Elizabeth Peña, who had just died that week. Goyo Flores passed the following year in May. We stood there, drinks in hand, and made a toast to them, at the same time recognizing that we were also celebrating the nearly 50 years of Chicano Teatro that had passed since the founding of El Teatro Campesino. We mourn the passing of those who came before as we marvel at the new work being created by the ones who came after us.

Tony Curiel

Tony Curiel was born September 2, 1954, and died March 3, 2013. He was an accomplished Chicano theatre director who had a 9-year association with El Teatro Campesino (1983–1992) as Associate Artistic Director. He was Associate Professor of Drama at UC San Diego (1989–2005) and directed more than 50 professional productions over the course of his career. During his years with El Teatro Campesino, Tony directed both new and older works by Luis Valdez, including La Virgen del Tepeyac, La Pastorela, and I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges, and he also served as dramaturg. Later, Tony directed some of the earliest professional productions of plays by Culture Clash and Octavio Solis. A member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, he directed productions at The San Jose Repertory Theatre, The Japan America Theatre, The La Jolla Playhouse, the GeVa Theatre, the Public Theatre, and Opera Pacific, among others. He was a site visitor and panelist for the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tony received his B.A. in Drama from UCSD and earned an M.A. in Drama at Stanford University. He was awarded a Princess Grace Theatre Fellowship in 1985. His productions received awards from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle and Outstanding Achievement Awards in 1985 and 1987 from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tony’s papers have been donated to the California and Multicultural Archives at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is survived by his children, Maria Allegra and Alejandro Curiel.

Barbara Brinson Curiel, Humboldt State University

Elizabeth Peña

I was stunned to hear the news that my friend and colleague Elizabeth had died. After all, we were the same age! She was smart, sexy, and funny, and had an indelible passion for people. She worked as an actress on the groundbreaking Showtime series Resurrection Blvd. Later, when she directed an episode, she insisted on making me an extra – “the designer” of a nightclub we had on the show. She devised a scene with her character going over drawings and color swatches. She kept feeding me lines, but I told her I had been told not to speak. She whispered in my ear, in her mischievous way, “If you say something and I put it in the show, they will have to pay you!” She made me laugh. I saw her bring depth to characters that most would be content to stereotype. It has been said that she elevated the maid to a noble character. She was simply a great actor. She was best known for her work on the movies La Bamba and Lonestar, and later on the TV series Modern Family. She was devoted to her husband and kids and always told a great story about how she had met him, knowing from the first instant that he was the guy for her. It was the morning of 9/11 and it was Elizabeth who insisted to the producers that we shut down filming for the day. It was the right thing to do.

John Iacovelli, Production Designer

Gregorio “Goyo” Flores

Born in 1947, Goyo Flores was raised in Calexico, California. He was a star athlete during high school...