Abstract
An oral history with Sara Guerrero, an activist in the Santa Ana community and founder of Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble. Guerrero also produces, write, directs, and acts, and has a current residency at California State University, Fullerton’s Grand Central Arts in Santa Ana. This interview was conducted for the Women, Politics, and Activism Since Suffrage Oral History Project at California State University, Fullerton. The purpose of this interview was to gather her life history and details of community theater involvement and activism. Specifically, this interview covers in detail her grandparent’s life histories; her mother’s life, work, and activism; discusses her late father’s work, personality, and how he stressed the importance of education; her childhood and family life; her education within the Santa Ana Unified School District, aspirations of becoming an actress, and decision to attend California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts); growing up in the political atmosphere of the Reagan Administration; her father’s military and war experiences; her experiences as a student and woman of color at Cal Arts; her work and experiences as a teaching assistant for theater at Plaza del la Raza; her networking in the nonprofit world and life as an actor after college; recalls her work as an associate artistic director for the Teatro Indigena founded by Pablo Eduardo Rivera; her work as guest director for Brown Bag Theatre Company at the University of California, Irvine; how and why she started Breath of Fire; discusses the plays and artists her theater company has hosted; her work with the South Coast Repertory; talks about the differences in her work as a producer and actor; how she chooses topics and plays to do, and her goal to create theater that’s accessible and representative of the community; the partnerships and collaborative projects she has worked on; discusses her current residency at California State University, Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center; her initial goal for Breath of Fire and the importance of representation for Santa Ana; her artistic process writing plays and finding her voice as a writer; discusses her current work projects; her experiences as a Latina in college; how being a woman affected her work as an activist; talks about her work with Fringe Benefits; how her love of theater lead her to find her intention and activism; her thoughts and experiences within the theater community; her husband’s involvement and support with her theater work; how she balances her work and home life, and discusses her son; talks about the support she received from her mother; discusses her siblings and their current work; recalls her role models growing up; the challenges she faced in her childhood; talks about the differences growing up for girls and boys within her community; recalls when she stood up for herself and her values; discusses the activism within her immediate and extended family; the gender role messages she received from her mother; shares the relationship and partnership she has with her husband; her thoughts and experiences with motherhood and being an artist; what got her first involved in activism; her personal journey identifying as a Chicana; her thoughts on what makes an effective activist; what she is most proud of in her activism and her greatest challenges; her collaborative leadership style; how being a woman has affected her work as an activist; the differences in women and men leaders; her thoughts on feminism and labels; talks about the social and cultural factors preventing women of color from becoming activists; her experiences with religion growing up; her thoughts on contemporary American politics; closes the interview with her thoughts on the importance of women’s involvement in activism and advice she would give.
