New role for Latinos - Under-represented in theater, Latino students try out acting at Miracle Theatre’s urging - Oregon

At the sound of music, Griselda Aguilera takes the stage and transforms herself. She turns into a defiant communist, a passionate protester, a friend of Frida Kahlo, the 20th-century Mexican painter.

In this high school theater production, the 16-year-old pushes jitters aside and makes her debut as an actress, a venture so few Latino students explore that they are absent from most drama programs at Oregon schools.

A lack of culturally relevant plays, limited transportation and the need to take after-school jobs may be factors. The reasons aren’t clear, but even as Latinos fuel population growth most never take center stage, educators say.”*

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