Luis Avalos' Americas Theatre Arts Foundation Records, 2007-

Historical Note

The Americas Theatre Arts Foundation is a non-profit arts organization established by actor and director Luis Avalos to promote and foster multicultural understanding through theater and the associated arts.

About Ollantay: Warrior of the Sun

Believed to have been created about 1470 from an anonymous source and first transcribed to the written word by Father Antonio Valdez in 1780, Ollantay is considered by many scholars to be the first play of the Americas. The text in Spanish recreates an Inca legend that was originally passed down through an oral tradition in Quechua, the language of the Inca Empire that is still in use today.

Set in the Inca capital city of Cuzco during the reigns of the Inca Pachacutec and his heir Inca Tupac Yupanqui, Ollantay takes its name from an acclaimed warrior of common birth who by falling in love with a princess of the royal house raises the ire of the Inca and in doing so confronts the military power of an empire.

In October of 2004 The Americas Theatre Arts Foundation presented the North American English language premiere of Ollantay: Warrior of the Sun at the El Portal Theatre in Los Angeles. The production was directed by Luis Avalos and based on his translation and adaptation of the play. The photographs were taken by Damian Dovarganes. Avalos' research was carried on at the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin.

Scope and Contents Note

In 2008 the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection hosted a presentation by Luis Avalos, well-known actor and director, who is also the founder of the Americas Theatre Arts Foundation. The event was the sixth annual ¡A Viva Voz! celebration of U.S. Latino culture sponsored by the Benson Latin American Collection and included an exhibit of photographs by Damian Dovarganes, from the play Ollantay-Warrior of the Sun, as directed by Luis Avalos. The 30 photographs in this archive document that production.

Subsequent deposits to the Americas Theatre Arts Foundation archive include playbills, posters, and other publicity for other productions.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted.

Use Restrictions

Standard copyright restrictions apply.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Luis Avalos' Americas Theatre Arts Foundation Records, Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas Libraries, the University of Texas at Austin.

Box and Folder Inventory