By the Hand of the Father is an original theaterwork that combines spoken word, music, and video to dramatize the lives of five different Mexican-American men who were born in the first few decades of the 1900s, but whose early lives were still grounded in the previous century. They lived through the depression and a society that was changing too fast to comprehend. They were the first generations of Mexican-Americans whose hyphenated identity actually meant something – they participated to an unprecedented degree but they made sure that Mexican culture was kept alive their children and grandchildren. This legacy was used as a foundation for the creators of By the Hand of the Father to examine their own sense of identity.

With original music by Alejandro Escovedo, accompanied by seven musicians; stories and poetry by Theresa Chavez, Oscar Garza, Eric Gutierrez, and Rose Portillo; and video by Janice Tanaka; By the Hand of the Father weaves multiple artistic elements together to create a poignant vision of the distinctive cultural, geographic, and personal passage of the Mexican-American father.

This production premiered in June, 2000 in Los Angeles at the Margo Albert Theater at Plaza de la Raza. It then toured extensively until 2006. In 2002-03, it became the only theater production to be featured on the venerable PBS television show, Austin City Limits.

Performers

Rose Portillo
Kevin Sifuentes

MUSICIANS

(various ensemble and guest artists, 2000-2006) Alejandro Escovedo (composer), Robert Anderson, Elliott Baribeault, Daphne Chen, Sheila E., Pete Escovedo, Matthew Fish, Quetzal Flores, Rosie Flores, Eric Gorfain, Otoño Lujan, Rocio Marron, Hector Muñoz, David Pulkingham, Ruben Ramos, Brian Standefer, Gabriel Tenorio, Rick Treviño, and Adrienne Woods.