Su Teatro revives musical about Auraria history
Chicano theater company Su Teatro is bringing back a Denver classic this month: The Westside Oratorio.
The musical brings to life the stories of seven generations of Mexican Americans who made West Denver their home. The Auraria neighborhood was redeveloped in the 1970s to make way for the campus now housing three universities near downtown Denver: Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University and the University of Colorado at Denver.
Tony Garcia, executive artistic director of Su Teatro, said, "It is amazing how many people do not know that story. As you walk though 9th Street. All those houses. To a lot of people those houses look like old houses. But to me there were families that lived there. They grew up there. I grew up there. This is the story of my family."
Garcia says a number the cast members were raised in the old Auraria neighborhood and have circled back through the classrooms now filled with some 38,000 students a year and 5,000 faculty and staff.
In order to honor the original neighbors, the production of The Westside Oratorio will have story circles for former residents and descendants.
"I think there is a lot of power in seeing yourself represented on stage because a lot of times we're not. That's why Su Teatro was created. To show those other stories. We feel that the stories of Chicanos in Denver and Colorado - they are Colorado stories, they're not just for our community."
You can see the revival of Westside Oratorio on stage at Su Teatro, 7th and Santa Fe, through Dec. 18. The Chicano Theater Company is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
