Teatro Nahual: Theater Group Brings Latino Culture to the Stage

Actors from Teatro Nahual and friends after a performance of "The Vagina Monologues" and "Gossip Among Men" in San Francisco, CA.

Teatro Nahual, a local theater group, was conceived in 2003 surging from the necessity to carry forth the voice of Hispanic people through theatrical performances given entirely in Spanish. This theater group works to keep alive the dream of preserving Latino identity for future generations whom deserve to know their past and present and construct a successful future in the United States.

With comic, farcical and melodramatic undertones, Teatro Nahual deals with many themes. They have taken on critiques of corruption in Latin America and reflected on issues of women's empowerment in the 1920's. The latter theme allowed Teatro Nahual to explore this unified moment filled with marches, calls for education, an end to war and the seriousness of domestic violence.

To this day they have staged twelve plays, among them "The Other Face of the Indian," "Don Baldomer Died a Virgin," "Strike Without Little Sticks" and "The Vagina Monologues" first performed in March 2009, and "Gossip Among Men."

With the goal of providing more educational opportunities to the Latino community, Teatro Nahual has offered acting classes since 2004. These classes are targeted to children, youth and adults wishing to be introduced to the world of performance art. Acting classes are given at the National Hispanic University auditorium located at 14271 Story Road in San Jose, CA, Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30pm.

Every student in these classes has the opportunity to be introduced to the Stanislavski Acting Technique, experiment with exercises in psychodrama, voice and body language; and socialize with actors from Teatro Nahual. Teatro Nahual also invites aspiring actors and actresses to audition for roles in an upcoming play. Casting will take place until the first weeks of April.