Luis Valdez to appear at El Paso's Plaza Classic Film Festival with 2 film screenings
Legendary writer and director Luis Valdez is the first guest announced for the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival.
This will be the 18th year for the El Paso Community Foundation's film series, which will run from July 17-27 in and around the Plaza Theatre.
Valdez will appear for on-stage interviews before two of his classic movies — 1987's "La Bamba", about Mexican American rocker Ritchie Valens, at 7 p.m. Friday, July 18, and "Zoot Suit" (1981), considered the first major Chicano feature film, at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Both events will take place at the Plaza Theatre.
Tickets for each program will be $10 and will go on sale with the rest of the Plaza Classic Film Festival schedule, starting Tuesday, June 10, at the Plaza Theatre box office (no service fees) and Ticketmaster.com (with service fees).
Valdez is one of the most important American playwrights and filmmakers living today. He has been successful in theater, television and film.
He wrote "Zoot Suit," which explored Los Angeles' racially motivated Sleepy Lagoon murder trial of 1942 and 'Zoot Suit Riots' of 1943, debuted in Los Angeles in 1978 and became the first Chicano play on Broadway a year later. La Bamba was written for the screen and starred Lou Diamond Phillips. Both films are preserved in the National Film Registry.
Valdez founded the Obie Award-winning theater company El Teatro Campesino in 1965 in California's Central Valley, joining César Chávez in his United Farm Workers' rights movement. It is the longest-running Chicano theater in the United States, according to a news release.
The prolific 84-year-old debuted his latest play, "Adiós Mamá Carlota," on May 10 at El Teatro Campesino Playhouse.
Valdez's honors include the Presidential Medal of Arts, Mexico's Aguila Azteca Award, and the Peabody Award for his 1987 PBS documentary, Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution.
The 18th Annual Plaza Classic Film Festival will take place from July 17 to 27.
This year's Plaza Classic Film Festival will feature 100 movies over 11 days, including "Cabaret," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Godfather Part II", "Notting Hill", "Saving Private Ryan", "Toy Story", "Schindler's List", "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back", and many more.
Festival passes are on sale for $200 now and include access to almost all ticketed festival movies, reservations for Philanthropy Theatre movies, special events, and discounts at nearby eateries.
Festival tickets go on sale June 10 at the Plaza Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.
More: Free summer concert series in El Paso: Your guide to outdoor music
María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @eptmaria.bsky.social on Bluesky, and @eptmariacg on TikTok.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: 'La Bamba' director Luis Valdez joins Plaza Classic Film fest lineup
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