Paso del Norte

Abstract

Carlos Morton is a leading Chicano dramatist, who has been writing and producing  plays for more than four decades. Among his best-known plays are The Many Deaths of Danny Rosales (1983) and Johnny Tenorio (1992). In addition to his work for the stage, which has been widely produced, he has written for television and radio, and taught at universities in Texas, California, and Mexico (he holds a PhD from the University of Texas, Austin). When he started his career, at the end of the 1960s and the start of the 1970s, his enthusiasm was sparked by the political theatre produced by Teatro Campesino and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.  His work has since adopted a wider variety of styles and themes:  evoking historical events, myths, biblical stories, and contemporary political issues, such as racism and machismo, interweaving realism with fantasy. But he always addresses a Chicano audience, and exposes the oppression of Chicano and Latino people.  He is currently Professor of Theater at the University of California at Santa Barbara.