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43 pages 1 hour read

Luis Valdez

Zoot Suit

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1992

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Act IChapter Summaries & Analyses

Act I Summary

In the Prologue, the play announces its setting with a large backdrop: a “giant facsimile of a newspaper front page. […] The huge masthead reads LOS ANGELES HERALD EXPRESS Thursday, June 3, 1943” (4). El Pachuco uses a switchblade to slice through the newspaper backdrop. El Pachuco straightens his clothes and “tends to his hair, combing back every strand into a long luxurious ducktail, with infinite loving pains” (5). Once he dons his hat, “His fantastic costume is complete. He is transformed into the very image of the pachuco myth” (5). El Pachuco addresses the audience in Spanish, urging them to check out his clothing and calling them square. He then switches to fluent English, explaining that the play they will witness “is a construct of fact and fantasy” (5). He describes the “pachuco,” a word used to name the youth subculture of zoot suit-wearing Mexican-American gang members, as a similarly mythical construct.

Scene 1, titled“Zoot Suit,” takes place at a dance in the barrios. El Pachuco sings in a mixture of Spanish and English about the zoot suit craze that is sweeping the country. Members of the 38th Street Gang, including Henry Reyna and his girlfriend, Della Barrios, dance to the music. An American sailor named Swabbie also dances with his girlfriend, Manchuka. When members of the rival Downey Street Gang enter, they challenge the 38th Street Gang to a dance battle. Rafas, the head of Downey Street Gang, shoves Henry’s brother Rudy and Henry warns him.

With the sound of multiple sirens, the play shifts into Scene 2: “Mass Arrests.” In Spanish, El Pachuco warns the dancers to run. But two detectives, Sgt. Smith and Lt. Edwards, jump onto the stage with their guns outstretched. A camera flashes as a Cub Reporter photographs the scene. Rudy and others escape, but Edwards fires his weapon and the fleeing pachucos halt. Smith lets Swabbie and his girlfriend leave. Henry asks if he can do the same, and Edwards says, “No dice, Henry. Not this time. Back in line” (8). As the officers arrest Henry and his friends, a character called The Press shares lurid Los Angeles headlines about the Sleepy Lagoon murder. Edwards announces the arrest in an LAPD press release, inviting “victims of assault, robbery, purse snatching, and similar crimes […] to be present for the identification of suspects” (9). Edwards poses for The Press to take a photo.

As Edwards leads the arrested lineup offstage, Smith pushes Henry to the ground, transitioning into Scene 3: “Pachuco Yo” (translation: I am a Pachuco). Smith leaves Henry alone. El Pachuco comes forward, explaining to Henry, “The city’s cracking down on pachucos, carnal. Don’t you read the newspapers? They’re screaming for blood” (9). El Pachuco tries to calm a frantic Henry, who reveals that he is meant to report for duty with the Navy the next morning. El Pachuco ridicules Henry’s patriotism and desire to fight for a country that has “declared an all-out war on Chicanos” (10). El Pachuco points out that this arrest might end his military career before it begins. Henry laughs bitterly, exclaiming, “I was all set to come back a hero, see? Me la rayo [trans. this destroys that]. For the first time in my life I really thought Hank Reyna was going someplace” (11). El Pachuco reminds him that the barrio needs him fighting at home.

At the beginning of Scene 4,“The Interrogation,”The Press announces, “The police have arrested twenty-two members of the 38th Street Gang, pending further investigation of various charges” (11). Sgt. Smith and Lt. Edwards question Henry. Henry reminds the officers that the first time they arrested him, it was on false charges. Edwards and Smith complain that Henry used to be a “nice kid” whose “idea of fun was going to the movies” (12). Aware that Henry has been accepted to the Navy, Edwards suggests that if Henry answers his questions he might still be able to report in the morning. Edwards asks about the fight at Sleepy Lagoon, and El Pachuco urges Henry to stay quiet. Henry declares that he knows nothing and has never heard of José Williams, the young man who died at Sleepy Lagoon.

As Henry refuses to cooperate, Smith beats him with a rubber sap until he passes out. In a scene that is part flashback and part hallucination, El Pachuco begins to sing about escaping reality while couples dance and Henry sees his mother, Dolores. Pachuco identifies the scene as, “a lifetime ago, last Saturday night […] before Sleepy Lagoon and the big bad fight” (14). Henry is dressed to go out, and Dolores exclaims in a mixture of Spanish and English that she doesn’t understand his obsession with the zoot suit. Henry says, “Don’t worry. By this time next week, I’ll be wearing my Navy blues” (14). Henry’s girlfriend, Della, enters with his sister, Lupe. When Dolores sees Lupe’s short skirt, she tells her to change before her father sees her. Enrique, Henry and Lupe’s father, enters and orders her to change her clothes. Lupe protests that Henry is allowed to wear his zoot suit–his “drapes”–but Dolores and Enrique assert men have different rules.

Enrique tells Dolores that he has invited friends over to celebrate Henry’s joining the Navy, proudly explaining, “when I was in the Mexican Revolution, I was not even as old as my son is” (17). Rudy enters in an old suit, and Henry promises that when he joins the Navy, Rudy can have his drapes. Lupe returns with her skirt rolled down to its full length. Enrique urges Henry not to let his brother Rudy drink. The youths leave, and El Pachuco sings in Spanish about the pleasure of dancing as Joey Castro, Smiley Torres, and Tommy Roberts enter and all enjoy the dance.

The music fades into Scene 5: “The Press.” A newsboy sells papers while calling out the headline: “Special session of LA County Grand Jury convenes. DA charges conspiracy in Sleepy Lagoon Murder” (19). Lt. Edwards enters with Alice Bloomfield, a young reporter. The Cub Reporter and The Press question Edwards about the murder, and he responds, “Slums breed crime, fellas. That’s your story” (20). Thenewsboy continues to shout incendiary sell-lines such as “Zoot-Suited Goons of Sleepy Lagoon” and “read all about the Mexican baby gangsters” (20).

Edwards tells Alice that Sleepy Lagoon is “a swimming hole for the younger Mexican kids” that “doubles as a sort of lover’s lane at night, which is why the gangs fight over it” (20). The Press questions Edwards about his experiences with Henry Reyna; Edwards states that the first time he arrested Henry, he “noticed right away the kid had great leadership potential. However […] you can’t change the spots on a leopard” (20). As the scene changes, Henry’s father Enrique appears and works as a street cleaner to sweep up the newspapers, “pausing at the last one to read one of the news stories” (20).

In Scene 6,“The People’s Lawyer,” Joey, Smiley, and Tommy discuss the exaggerated headlines from jail. When Joey and Tommy start play-fighting, Henry yells at them to stop. Smiley tells Henry that he stayed with the 38th Street Gang even after marrying and having a child. The whole gang has been indicted, but Joey notes that Rudy, Henry’s brother, is still free, even though Rudy fought at the Sleepy Lagoon as well. Henry warns them not to tell the police. Attorney George Shearer enters, and although George tells the men that their parents have retained his services, the gang is suspicious that George might be a cop and refuses to cooperate. According to George, the gang will be tried in a mass trial rather than individually and might face the death penalty. As the leader, Henry is the focus of the trial. George asks Henry to trust him. Henry shoots back, “Why should I? You’re a gringo” (25). When George demonstrates that he speaks Spanish, the group agrees to trust him.

As Henry begins to tell the story of the night at Sleepy Lagoon, the play transitions into Scene 7: “The Saturday Night Dance.” As El Pachuco sings in Spanish, the 38th Street Gang enjoys the party. The sailor, Swabbie, dances with Manchuka. Henry dances with Della, Joey with Henry’s ex-girlfriend, Bertha Villarreal, Tommy with Henry’s sister Lupe, and Smiley with his wife,Elena Torres. Rudy drinks a beer. The members of the Downey Street Gang enter, “looking mean” (26). Bertha asks Henry to dance “for old time’s sake” (26). Henry declines and continues to dance with Della. Lupe tells Henry that Rudy has been drinking, and Henry suggests that she let their brother have a good time.

As the dance continues, Rafas, the leader of the Downey Gang, and a very drunk Rudy begin to argue. Rafas shoves Rudy to the ground. The two gangs begin to brawl. Rafas threatens Henry with a switchblade, and El Pachuco snaps his fingers to stop the action, asserting, “that’s exactly what the play needs right now. Two more Mexicans killing each other” (29). He reminds them that the audience is watching. Henry kicks Rafas and tells him to leave. After the Downey Street Gang exits, the spurned Bertha taunts Henry for being weak. The party continues and Henry promises that if Rafas and his gang return, “We’ll kill the sons of bitches” (30).

Scene 8,“El Día de la Raza” (translation: The Day of the Race) transitions with The Press pushing a cart loaded with newspapers as all dancers except El Pachuco freeze. The Press announces that the date is “October 12, 1942: Columbus Day. Four Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Discovery of America” (30). Each couple announces a different world headline about a colonialist power impeding on an indigenous people, finishing with Della declaring, “Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial Opens Tomorrow” (31). George and Alice visit Henry in a cell that is made out of newspaper stacks. George discovers that the jail has not given Henry the clean clothing Henry’s family provided for the trial. George leaves to investigate.

Alone with Henry, Alice suggests that the current predicament of the 38th Street Gang was the result of a conspiracy to sell papers, and Henry becomes defensive. Alice changes the subject to Henry’s life, and Henry tells her that he is innocent. When George returns, he informs Alice and Henry crossly that the clean clothes are being withheld. Henry exclaims, “It’s a set up, George. Another lousy set up!” (34) George acknowledges, “It’s just the beginning, son. Nobody said this was going to be a fair fight. Well, if they’re going to fight dirty, so am I. Legally, but dirty. Trust me” (34). Impassioned, Alice asserts that she believes that Henry is innocent and that he will prevail. After Alice and George exit, El Pachuco mocks Alice’s optimism, stating, “You’re hoping for something that isn’t going to happen, ése” (35). Henry disagrees, emphasizing, “Mira, ése [trans. Look, homie]. Hank Reyna’s no loser. I’m coming out of this on top” (35).

El Pachuco tosses a stack of newspapers upstage, exclaiming, “Let’s go to court!” (35) They shift into Scene 9: “Opening of the Trial.” The judge sits on a bench comprised of newspaper piles: “the Judge’s throne” (35). El Pachuco lights a joint and begins to sing about marijuana with three pachucas singing backup. El Pachuco asks Henry, “Still feeling patriotic?” (36). He accuses Henry of desiring punishment and martyrdom. This causes Henry to panic, asserting his innocence. The Press announces the beginning of the trial:

The infamous Sleepy Lagoon Murder case involves sixty-six charges against twenty-two defendants, with seven lawyers pleading for the defense, two for the prosecution. The District Attorney estimates that over a hundred witnesses will be called and has sworn–I quote–‘to put an end to Mexican baby gangsterism’ (37).

George calls attention to the fact that the defendants have not been allowed to cut their hair in the three months since their arrest or change into clean clothes, accusing, “Your Honor, I can only infer that the Prosecution […] is trying to make these boys look disreputable, like mobsters” (37). When the judge rules that “[t]he zoot haircuts will be retained throughout the trial for the purposes of identification of defendants by witnesses” (38), El Pachuco pauses the action and has the Judge repeat the line. Additionally, the judge denies George’s request to seat the 22 defendants at the defense table and decides that each defendant will stand when his name is called. George protests, saying, “If the Prosecution makes an accusation, it will mean self-incrimination” (38). After a pause, the judge retorts, “Not necessarily” (38). When George calls Della to the stand to testify, Bertha warns Della not to tell them anything. George asks Della whether she was with Henry on the night of the murder, and Della begins to tell the story.

El Pachuco sets up Scene 10,“Sleepy Lagoon,” as the lights shift and music swells. Della describes parking by the lagoon on a beautiful night. They hear a party nearby at the Williams’ Ranch. Henry asks Della what she will do if he doesn’t return from the war, and if she will marry him if he does. She excitedly agrees, and he promises to give her “the biggest Pachuco wedding L.A. has ever seen” (41). Rafas arrives with a drunk Downey Gang and begins to smash Henry’s car windows. Della begs Henry to stay, then describes what followed: “Henry ran down the back of the Lagoon and attacked the gang by himself” (41). Della describes how they beat Henry unconscious. When they leave, Della rushes to his side. Injured, Henry declares, “Let’s go into town and get the guys” (42). When the 38th Street Gang returns to the lagoon, the Downey Gang is gone.

Joey hears the nearby party and suggests that the group should crash it, unaware that the Downey Gang had already been there. When they arrive, the homeowners attack, thinking that they are the Downey Gang returning to cause more trouble. A fight breaks out, and Henry urges the gang to leave. Then, Della illustrates, “I saw something out of the corner of my eye […] It was a guy. He was hitting a man on the ground with a big stick. Henry called to him, but he wouldn’t stop” (42). Della stresses that Henry and the 38th Street Gang then left, unaware that anyone had died.

The lights change, shifting into Scene 11,“The Conclusion of the Trial.” George says, “Your witness” (43) to the prosecution and The Press leaps up to question Della. The Press begins to ask leading questions, such as “You say Henry Reyna hit the man with his fist. Is this the Henry Reyna? (43), and “Now, after Henry Reyna hit the old man with his closed fist, is that when he pulled the knife?” (43) George objects repeatedly, and the judge overrules each time. The Press brings in weapons, such as a switchblade and a two-by-four that were not evidence from the scene at Sleepy Lagoon, and George again objects and is overruled. At the end of Della’s testimony, the judge sentences her to a year at the Ventura State School for Girls as a juvenile ward of the state.

After the judge calls for a recess until the next morning, George reassures Henry that they will win in an appeal, elucidating, “I’ve cited over a hundred separate cases of misconduct by the bench, and it’s all gone into record” (47). When the court reconvenes, The Press gives the prosecution’s closing argument: “We are dealing with a threat and danger to our children, our families, our home. Set these pachucos free, and you shall unleash the forces of anarchy and destruction in our society” (47-48). The Press requests a guilty verdict and the death penalty.

In his closing argument, George focuses on the racial injustice and unfair treatment that the defendants have received: “The prosecution has tried to lead you to believe that they are all some kind of inhuman gangsters. Yet they are Americans” (48). The jury exits to deliberate and returns with a guilty verdict. When the judge sentences the group to life imprisonment, Henry’s parents cry out. El Pachuco addresses the audience: “We’re going to take a short break right now, so you can all go out and take a leak, smoke a frajo [trans. cigarette]” (50).

Act I Analysis

The first act focuses on exposing the racial bias in the United States justice system. The police officers and court officials are caricatures who deliberately racially profile, dehumanize, and railroad the suspects into a conviction. Similarly, agents of the media conspire to create an image of a pachuco villain, creating panic in the general public that feeds into the court’s determination to assign blame to Henry and his gang. In the courtroom, The Press, a manifestation of the voice of the media, literally serves as the prosecutor. The judge allows flagrant abuses by The Press/prosecution that become nightmarishly absurd and even comic.

While the Press and his minions serve as the voice of a condemning white public, El Pachuco stands as a voice for Chicano pride. El Pachuco’s position as an omniscient narrator, who has the power to stop and change the action, frames him as a mythical being. He exists both inside and outside of the story. However, he is also fallible and flawed. The pachuco machismo he inspires leads Henry to refuse to admit that the Downey Gang beat him up when the police interrogate him, an admission that might have diverted the investigation to his aggressors. Machismo nearly causes Henry to give up on fighting for his freedom, and in the end, machismo sparks Henry to attempt to confront a police officer on his first day out of prison, stopped only by his father’s order.

Valdez emphasizes the conditionality of perspective through both the media and the subjective accounts of the night at Sleepy Lagoon. While the newspapers luridly describe the defendants as “Zoot-Suited Goons” and “Mexican Baby Gangsters” (20), the play constructs bits and pieces of the night in question primarily though Henry’s eyes. While this seems unreliable, Henry’s memories don’t present the evening through rose-colored glasses. They readily admit that the gang fought, drank, and trespassed. When Della’s testimony corroborates Henry’s interpretation of the events, she discloses that she, Henry, and the gang noticed that a man was in trouble and walked away after minimal intervention.

The play also confronts the paradox of patriotism in a class of persecuted people. Valdez repeatedly addresses the practice of allowing non-white people to serve and die for the United States while simultaneously denying them full rights. But for Henry and others in the barrio, the military represents one of very few opportunities to rise above one’s station. El Pachuco challenges Henry’s desire to join the Navy, and Henry counters, “For the first time in my life, I really thought Hank Reyna was going someplace” (11). While the play references World War II, this sentiment was extremely relevant to a country in 1978 that had just experienced the Vietnam War. But rather than entirely denounce theAmerican patriotism of Chicano Americans as illogical, the play portrays the complex relationship between a group of people who are decidedly American and their love for a country that represents both opportunity and oppression.

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