SAN ANTONIO — Twenty-four teens will take the stage at Historic Guadalupe Theater on Saturday to celebrate 30 years of Grupo Animo, through which young San Antonians have honed artistic skills while elevating their own voices.
The title of Saturday's show – "Unfiltered & Unsolicited - 30 Years Later: We're Getting Stronger" – sums up the mission Grupo Animo has been powered by ever since launching in 1993 as parts of the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center (GCAC). "Unfiltered & Unsolicited" is comprised of 15 teatro Chicano skits, and is the culmination of a month of summer workshops.
"We are not your basic summer theater camp," said Jorge Piña, theater arts director at GCAC. "Research, discussion, playwrighting and acting are developed in four weeks where they will present to their parents and the community."
The 2023 Grupo Animo cohort received wisdom from some major names like actor Jesse Borrego and touring performance artist Ruby Nelda Perez. And two of this year's lead instructors, Nicolas Valdez and Clint Taylor, are themselves founding members of Grupo Animo.
"It's critical that students are taught to use their natural talents to creatively express themselves, working cooperatively to share their thoughts and feelings about the world they live in," Valdez is quoted as saying in a GCAC release.
What audiences will see Saturday, Piña says, are skits entirely of the students' making. The material is cut from a much more topical cloth than typical youth theater fare; over the years Grupo Animo shows have delved into issues like racism, homophobia and the Mexican-American experience.
"Unfiltered & Unsolicited" is themed around questions of self-identity, young love, technology, war and developing one's cultural voice—concepts that confront contemporary life head-on.
"It is extremely important to give our youth the necessary tools that they will need to engage in today's complex society," Piña said.
"Unfiltered & Unsolicited" starts Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Historic Guadalupe Theater (1301 Guadalupe St.). Admission is free, with seats distributed on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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