Editor’s Note

“Critical Pasts, Critical Paths” is a special section of the Journal of Folklore Research that highlights important figures in Folklore Studies and sister fields. This contribution, an interview of playwright Migdalia Cruz by theater historian Eric Mayer-García, illustrates one of the section’s goals of uncovering connections between established artists whose work is significantly shaped by vernacular cultures. Migdalia Cruz’s influential and rich body of writing illustrates a deep engagement with women’s and Puerto Rican folklore. From folk belief, ritual, stories, proverbs, and foodways, to material culture, Cruz’s plays like Salt and Lolita de Lares delve into the ways that folklore informs the creation of family, self, and community in complicated and lasting ways. We are grateful for the opportunity to share her reflections on the role that folklore plays in her creative process and passing on the tradition of María Irene Fornés’s playwriting pedagogy. This interview highlights the long-lasting relationship between storytelling, theatre, and folklore in major US productions of Latine works. As such, it allows for a consideration of the value of cross-disciplinary dialogue between artists and scholars of creative expression to the study of folklore.