Magic Theatre Presents the World Premiere of Luis Alfaro's Aztlan

Start: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 8:00PM
End: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 10:00PM

The Magic Theatre continues its 2025 season of all new plays with the world premiere of MacArthur “Genius” Grant and multi-award-winning playwright Luis Alfaro’s Aztlán, directed by Kinan Valdez, in 15 performances June 25 through July 13 at the Magic in San Francisco’s Fort Mason. The cast features Campo Santo's Juan Amador, Catherine Castellanos, Daniel Duque-Estrada, Gabriela Guadalupe, Ogie Zulueta and the welcome return of Magic Theatre Artistic Director Sean San José to the Magic stage. Performances will be given Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm.

In Aztlán, Luis Alfaro uses humor, mitos, and teatro to tell a contemporary California story about the search for the resonance of the cultural, mythical, and political remnants of Aztlán in our modern world. Subtitled "A Chicano Califas Triptico" Aztlán links 959 years of history through three playlets. The story travels over hundreds of years using mythic Mayan imagery to tell a contemporary tale of a young man on parole, attempting to reimagine a new future for himself. In a land once stricken with drought and now drowning in empire, Aztlán battles with a series of real and mythic demons that haunt his journey toward making a new life for himself.

Whether it is the spirit of his great-grandmother or the paternal parole officer who may or may not be the god Huitzilopochtli, he is wrestling with a past that goes back farther than he could have ever imagined coming to terms with who he truly is.

The epic scope of the search for Aztlán goes far beyond the singular creation of one play. It embodies the hope to investigate and reveal more layers of the resonant themes of what Aztlán means today.

While the play follows a male protagonist journeying to find the Aztlán within and in the world, this project centers on an all-women Latiné team of artists -scholar and theatre creator Karina Gutierrez, Ph.D. (dramaturg), designer Tanya Orellana, and performer/director Catherine Castellanos- to lead the direction from the lesser-supported viewpoint of women. The convergence of a male protagonist and female-identified creators brings a dynamic exploration of the greater mythic and cultural reflections of Aztlán in our current world.

Price:
General Admission: USD 35.00