A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940 by Nicolás Kanellos (review)

Book Reviews NICOLAs KANELLOS. A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940. Austin: University of Texas Press 1990. ?p. xvi, 240. illustrated. $15.95 (paperback). The author of the present volume correctly affirms in his introduction that little had previously been written on the development of a professional Hispanic theatre in the United States or on the Hispanic contribution to the American stage. The absence of theatre history studies in this area may doubtless be attributed to three factors: the general tendency of American theatre specialists to overlook the Spanish-language stage, the general tendency of American Hispanisls to concentrate on literary rather than theatre studies, and the difficulty of obtaining information on a cultural heritage that has been overlooked and whose records have hence not been preserved. Kanellos, already well known for his work in the field, breaks considerable new ground in this exhaustive study of Hispanic theatre in the United States from the nineteenth century through the first decades of the twentieth. He has painstakingly reconstructed the development of playhouses and theatrical groups in key cities by searching newspapers in archives across the United States and in Spain, Mexico. and Puerto Rico. He has also interviewed people with firsthand knowledge of the more recent theatrical activities. As a result, he has assembled a wealth of data on an important and exciting theatrical tradition that had previously been invisible to scholars. In addition to an, introductory study on the origins of the Hispanic stage in the United States, Kanellos provides a detailed discussion of the major theatrical centers (Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York City, and Tampa) and an overview of theatrical activity on tour and in other cities. He points out that the history of the Hispanic stage varies not only over time but from one location to another. Los Angeles, for ~xample, had a flourishing stage in the 1920S with several playhouses functioning simultaneously and its own corps of playwrights, some of them drawn there by Hollywood's production of Spanish-language films. Tampa, on the other hand, had less professional theatre activity but during the Depression became the home, however briefly. of the most successful Federal Theatre Project in the South. Hispanic theatre in New York City was alive and well long after it had disappeared elsewhere. The reader of Kanellos's history may at times become lost in a sea ofnames and dates, but the details eventually begin to fonn pauems, as the author carefully clarifies. The rise and fall of the Hispanic stage is closely linked to political and economic reality: to waves of immigrants and political refugees (escaping from Spanish repression in nineteenthcentury Cuba, from the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20, or from the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 and its aftermath), to competition from movies, and to the deportation of Hispanics during the Depression. The theatre, with performance texts that ranged from great classics and nineteenth-century melodramas to popular satirical farces and vaudeville skits, variously served to entertain and to educate, to reinforce language and culture, to bring together different groups of Hispanics within their communities, and to raise money for social causes. The story of this particular ethnic theatre might be compared to that of other immigrant groups here or abroad (for example, the postwar Book Reviews 459 Gennan stage in Argentina or the Spanish-language stage in France), but Hispanic theatre in the United States. as revea1ed in this book, is surprising for its diversity and its extended periods of both great popularity and high professional quality - sometimes in places which had not yet developed a comparable level in the ostensibly dominant English-language culture. The book is enriched by a 32-page insert of photographs and a glossary of Spanish theatrical tenns. English translations are provided for aU quotations. The study's usefulness as a reference tool is somewhat diminished by omissions from the index; for example. Spanish playwrights. while frequently mentioned within the text as an important source of plays, are not cited. Kanellos has made a significant contribution to the study ofAmerican theatre history. His book is essential reading for anyone interested in the subject and hopefully will serve as a...