When We Speak the Same Language
Backstage with the Power Plays: Voces para Todxs group.
When We Speak the Same Language
By Guillermo “Yiyo” Ornelas
At SFYT, teaching artists work with SFUSD students and their families at multiple schools, including Mission Education Center, Cesar Chávez, Sánchez, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, and Mission High School. Many of our students are first-generation American citizens and/or recent arrivals. Therefore, having educational opportunities in their home language is an important step toward addressing racial and cultural inequity.
These students and their families deserve educational and cultural opportunities that draw from their experiences and identities. According to the demographic data for the 2022-23 school year, reported by Ed-Data.org, around 57% of English Language Learners (ELL) are exclusively Spanish speakers [1]. Making Spanish programming available allows SFYT to cater to this underserved population that often lacks culturally sensitive programming.
At SFYT we have several bilingual teaching artists that lead classes in both Spanish and English. Theater classes given in Spanish help our teaching artists connect to Spanish-bilingual students on a deeper level. Students can explore their creativity without the limitations of language barriers.
Pablo Daniel Jiménez García, a first-grade bilingual teacher at Paul Revere Elementary School, believes that having educational opportunities for youth in the child’s home language allows the students to feel more comfortable in the classroom and is more conducive to a better learning environment.
“The inclusion of a popular language, Spanish, allows children to feel represented in different professions. They see teachers, administrators, and artists who speak their language, ultimately, inviting the family and intimate community into their educational journey,” says Jiménez García.
For some English-speaking families, having their child learn a foreign language, such as Spanish, is an enriching opportunity that will positively impact the child's social capital. However, for migrant children in low-income communities, learning a second language is a survival skill that impacts their quality of life. Offering classes in a youth’s home language deepens their understanding and supports intergenerational connections among community members. Children can foster social and cultural awareness while cultivating empathy and self-confidence.
In August 2020, San Francisco Youth Theatre and the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts partnered to offer a Bilingual Spanish theater class for youth, Power Plays: Voces para Todes. The class was unique in that it was taught by two native-Spanish speakers. The students were a group of teenagers with diverse Latinx backgrounds who sought creative opportunities relevant to their identities. Some students were interested in acting and others wanted to feel more comfortable with their home language. Power Plays: Voces para Todes, has become a way for different youth to connect with each other and their unique cultural backgrounds.
In the Spring of 2023, SFYT began touring a production of Alma Flor Ada's book “Dancing Home“, adapted for the stage and directed by Dyana Diaz. This play tells the story of two cousins, Margie, a US-born Mexican-American, and Lupe, a newcomer from Mexico who has come to live with Margie’s family. Their lives are so different that they struggle to connect as friends. When they each discover a love for Mexican folklórico, they find a shared path to the place they call home. This Spanish-English bilingual play explored themes of immigration, bullying, Latinx heritage, language, identity, self-acceptance, and the power of art. SFYT toured this production all over the Bay Area, prompting hundreds of letters from schools and students personally impacted by and grateful for the piece.
See our website page for more information about SFYT’s Spanish language classes.
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[1] https://www.ed-data.org/district/San-Francisco/San-Francisco-Unified
