Daniel Valdez (born April 27, 1949) is an American actor, musician, composer, and activist. He is best known for his work as musical director of the films '' Zoot Suit'' (1981) and '' La Bamba'' (1987).

Early life

Daniel Valdez was born to Francisco and Armida Valdez. His brother is

Luis Valdez Luis Miguel Valdez (born June 26, 1940) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor. Regarded as the father of Chicano film and theater, Valdez is best known for his play '' Zoot Suit'', his movie '' La Bamba'', and his cre ...

. In 1966, Valdez joined

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later mer ...

United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

union.

Career

Valdez and his brother co-founded the theater group,

Teatro Campesino El Teatro Campesino ( Spanish for "The Farmworker's Theater") is a Chicano theatre company in California. Performing in both English and Spanish, El Teatro Campesino was founded in 1965 as the cultural arm of the United Farm Workers and the C ...

. In 1973, Valdez's first solo album, ''Mestizo'', became the first

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

album to be produced by a major label,

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. During the late 1970s, Valdez appeared in such films as ''

Which Way Is Up? ''Which Way is Up?'' is a 1977 American comedy film starring Richard Pryor and directed by Michael Schultz. It is a remake of the 1972 Italian comedy film '' The Seduction of Mimi''. Richard Pryor plays three roles: an orange picker who has two wo ...

'' (1977), with

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

, and ''

The China Syndrome ''The China Syndrome'' is a 1979 American disaster thriller film directed by James Bridges and written by Bridges, Mike Gray, and T. S. Cook. The film stars Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas (who also produced), Scott Brady, James H ...

'' (1979), with

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...

and

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

. He garnered recognition for playing Henry Reyna on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in his brother's 1979 play, '' Zoot Suit''. In 1981, Valdez reprised his role in the film adaptation of the same name, for which he also co-wrote the original music. He also composed music for the play as well. In 1987, Valdez served as an associate producer of '' La Bamba'', the biopic based on the life of

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed ...

. The project, which became a hit, was a "life-long dream" of Valdez's that came true. That same year, he appeared and wrote songs in '' Born in East L.A.'' (1987), starring

Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gain ...

. He performed some of the featured songs in that film. Daniel Valdez sang and played guitar on

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

's multi-platinum album ''

Canciones de Mi Padre ''Canciones de Mi Padre'' (Spanish for "Songs of My Father", or "My Father's Songs") is American singer Linda Ronstadt's first album of Mexican traditional Mariachi music. History The album was released in late 1987 and immediately became a glob ...

''. The album won the Grammy for Best Mexican-American Album in 1988. There was also a live performance made through Elektra which was featured as a PBS Great Performances episode. In 1996, Valdez composed the original score to the

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graem ...

documentary, ''Mexico''. In 1997, Valdez served as a musical consultant and a historical expert for the

San Diego Repertory Theatre The San Diego Repertory Theatre is a performing arts company in San Diego, California. History The company grew out of Indian Magique, a street theater group of actors, writers, directors, and producers, some of whom were theater graduates from ...

and

Southwestern College Southwestern College may refer to the following colleges in the United States: * Southwestern College (California) * Southwestern College (Kansas) * Southwestern College (New Mexico) *Southwestern College of Business and New England Technical Insti ...

's revival of ''Zoot Suit''. While he was at Southwestern, Valdez wrote his first original musical, ''Ollin''. In 2000, he appeared in the musical, ''

Selena Forever ''Selena Forever ''is an American stage musical, based on the 1997 film ''Selena'', that tells the life of the famous Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. The musical has been staged under two titles. The first, ''Selena Forever'', was conceiv ...

''. That same year, he reprised his role as musical director at the

Goodman Theater Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

for their production of ''Zoot Suit''. The next year, he participated in another production of the play with his brother, Luis. In 2010, Valdez acted in the TheatreWorks production of José Cruz González's play, ''Sunsets and Margaritas'' at the Lucie Stern Theatre.

Filmography

Feature films

* ''

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Zoot Suit'' (1981) * '' La Bamba'' (1987) * '' Born in East L.A.'' (1987)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Mestizo'' (1973)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Daniel Living people 1949 births American male actors of Mexican descent 21st-century American composers Male actors from California Activists from California