Culture Clash: Life, Death and Revolutionary Comedy

Description

"Culture Clash is a national treasure." - Philip Kan Gotanda "These guys are funny daredevils of performance, totally fearless as they skewer convention and lazy thinking. Cool." - Eric Bogosian "Important social satire for these urgent times." - Dolores Huerta, Vice President, United Farm Workers of america, AFL-C10 "Keep kicking them in the cojones." - George Carlin You are holding Culture Clash - the book! After fourteen years of inspired comic genius we have finally managed to squeeze the best of Culture Clash between two covers! From its founding in San Francisco's Mission District on Cinco de Mayo in 1984, this three-person troupe of writers/performers - Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas and Herbert Siguenza - has surveyed contemporary Latino/Chicano culture in America from its own outrageous and unique perspective. Inspired by the clashing cultures of society in transition, Culture Clash physicalizes comedy and satire, blending the best traditions of Charlie Chaplin, Lenny Bruce, the Marx Brothers and Cantinflas, while transforming vaudeville into a political weapon. Inside you'll find The Mission, in which three out-of-work performers living in San Francisco's Mission District kidnap Julio Iglesias in a desperate attempt to gain national recognition; A bowl of Beings, which features the tale of the world's first Chicano - Christopher Columbus's illegitimate son - and "The Return of Che," the story of a Berkeley radical who brings back Che Guevara for a hilarious political update; and Radio Mambo, wherein Culture Clash invades Miami, uncovering a stewing pot of ethnicity and creating "a work as shrewd, vibrant and outrageous as Miami itself," according to Time Out New York.

Founded on May 5th, (Cinco de Mayo) in San Francisco's Mission District, Culture Clash is Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza. They have become the most prominent Chicano/Latino performance troupe in the country with work ranging from sketch comedy to full length plays and adaptations of Greek classics.