Marion Bernstein photographs of an El Teatro Campesino performance

From a pasted-down slip on the verso of each photograph: "EL TEATRO CAMPESINO: MEXICAN-AMERICAN FARM WORKERS THEATRE BERNSTEIN/G0801---El Teatro Campesino originated shortly after the strike began against grape growers in 1965 in Delano, California [Cesar Chavez’s United Farmworkers Union]. Luis Valdez, born into a farm family, studied at San Jose State [University] and returned to Delano at strike time to form the theatre. All actors are farm workers--the cast changes from time to time. The idea of skits and songs about and by farm labor was to help organize the laborers into a more cohesive union. The theatre has performed in many towns and cities for raising funds for the union. They have performed at the Village Theatre in New York and a few days later for the Senate Sub-Committee on Migratory Labor where a bill is being considered to make a minimum wage for farm laborers. Most of the members are in their early 20s. The programs and rehearsals do not follow a strict script. There is much room for ad lib and spontaneous action. The Teatro Campesino is photographed here at the Village Theatre in New York."

From the archive of the PIX Agency, a photograph distribution house that connected emigre photographers and Europeans to American magazine and newspapers from 1935-1969.