Luis Valdez was born in Delano, California to migrant farm worker parents. He graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in math and physics, but later earned a degree in English. His first play, The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa, was produced at San Jose State in 1963. In Delano, he formed El Teatro Campesino and often speaks about the importance of Chicano-produced media. Valdez's first major work was Zoot Suit, produced at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1978. Luis’s numerous feature film and television credits include, among others, the box office hit film La Bamba starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Cisco Kid starting Jimmy Smits and Cheech Marin and Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution starring Linda Ronstadt.
Luis Valdez was born in Delano, California to migrant farm worker parents. He graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in math and physics, but later earned a degree in English. His first play, The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa, was produced at San Jose State in 1963. In Delano, he formed El Teatro Campesino and often speaks about the importance of Chicano-produced media. Valdez's first major work was Zoot Suit, produced at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1978. Luis’s numerous feature film and television credits include, among others, the box office hit film La Bamba starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Cisco Kid starting Jimmy Smits and Cheech Marin and Corridos: Tales of Passion and Revolution starring Linda Ronstadt. 