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From Real Women Have Curves to Casa 0101: Josefina López on Art, Activism & Storytelling

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"I was constantly made to feel broken, and I almost believed it. Then I realized – no, it's actually called genius, it's called intuition, it's called all these beautiful things that come with being an indigenous person, with being a woman."

Josefina Lopez, the groundbreaking playwright behind "Real Women Have Curves," takes us on an exhilarating journey from her beginnings as an undocumented teenager in East Los Angeles to becoming one of America's most important Latina voices in theater and film. With disarming honesty and contagious passion, Lopez reveals how a high school screening of Luis Valdez's work awakened her to theater's revolutionary potential to tell authentic immigrant stories.

The creative spark that ignited "Real Women Have Curves" came from Lopez's time working in her sister's tiny garment factory near the housing projects of Boyle Heights. Rather than experiencing exploitation and despair, she discovered a vibrant sisterhood of women who shared stories, laughter, and wisdom that profoundly shaped her feminist consciousness. This joyful solidarity amid challenging circumstances became the heartbeat of her acclaimed play, which celebrates women's bodies and immigrant dignity against a backdrop of societal devaluation.

Lopez doesn't shy away from discussing the sexism and gatekeeping she encountered in the entertainment industry, including from fellow Latinos in positions of power. Her response was characteristic – instead of accepting rejection, she founded Casa 0101 Theater to create space for stories about women, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ Latinos that mainstream theaters wouldn't touch. Through initiatives like the "Brown and Out" series and mentorship programs for emerging playwrights and directors, Casa 0101 has become a vital cultural force in Los Angeles.

Follow Josefina's current journey bringing "Real Women Have Curves" to Broadway at josefinalopezbiz or support Casa 0101's community-centered work at casa0101.org. As Lopez reminds us with her new mantra: "Don't go to hate – create, elevate, and celebrate."

Be sure to check out her work at JosefinaLopez.biz and support the incredible theater and storytelling happening at Casa 0101. If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and follow us for more stories that celebrate LGBTQ+ and Latine voices. You can also explore more episodes and exclusive content at QGLLU.buzzsprout.com. Until next time, keep creating, keep telling your stories, and keep pushing for change!

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Rita Gonzales:

Welcome to the Out Agenda. Coming to an archivekpfkorg, I'm Rita Gonzalez. Well, we have another segment of Radio Q Glue for this month, and our guest is Josefina Lopez, the author of Real Women have Curves. So here's Radio Q Glue. Welcome to Radio Q Glue podcast, the show that takes a deep dive into what the queer, gay and lesbian Latin community is talking about. I'm Rita Gonzalez.

Eduardo Archuleta:

I'm Eduardo Archuleta.

Mario J. Novoa:

I'm Mario J Navoa. Today, our guest is Josefina Lopez, founding artistic director of Casa 0101 Theater. Josefina Lopez is an acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and activist, best known for her groundbreaking play Real Women have Curves, which was later adapted into a critically acclaimed film. A passionate advocate for Latino representation in the arts, Lopez founded Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights, los Angeles, to provide a platform for underrepresented voices, particularly women and Latino artists. With over 25 years of dedication to the arts, she has helped develop and mentor countless emerging writers and performers. Her work explores themes of identity, immigration, gender equality and social justice, making a lasting impact on the theatrical and cinematic landscape. Through Casa 0101, lópez continues to champion cultural storytelling and community engagement, ensuring that diverse perspectives have a powerful space to be heard. Josefina again, thank you very much for coming on the interview with us. First question I have for you is what inspired you to become a playwright and storyteller?

Josefina Lopez:

I was sitting in a French class and we had this French teacher who was trying to teach us French. But what he realized I mean, I grew up in the barrio in Boyle Heights what he realized was that we really needed Chicano studies more than we needed French. And so, secretly, he would play videos to help us love ourselves. And he was French, maybe American, but, like his wife, was Mexican, and he realized that we really needed like to be, he really needed to to remind us of our worth. And it is funny and ironic, right, that I really wanted to learn French because I always wanted to live in France and you know, I did eventually get to go to France. But I think he realized that, wow, like they have to take an elective and these kids probably don't want to learn Spanish, because maybe they already know Spanish or maybe they don't want to be Latino. And so he played this. He would play these videos and audios and like he would enrich our lives and that's a French thing to do too, right. And then he would. He played Luis Valdez's La Carpa de los Rascuachi. It was a CBS special. Can you believe that A CBS did a special on La Carpa de los Rascuachi in the 70s.

Josefina Lopez:

And when I saw that I went oh my God, like, luis Valdez is writing about being an immigrant, about an immigrant losing his children because they've become assimilated and they don't want to be Mexican. And I just thought, oh, wow, this is so brilliant because it's the first time I've ever seen anything on TV that deals with being an immigrant, that deals with my reality. It was like I'm real and I was like, wow, who is Luis Valdez? And I was like 14, 15 when I saw this. Like wow, who is Luis Valdez? And I was like 14, 15 when I saw this. And I remember thinking, gosh, I really want to tell stories about being Mexican, mexican, american and about how hard it is to be a woman when you have so much machismo deal with as a daughter that you know everyone expects you to be cleaning and basically treating men as all their gods, you know. And and I just was like, oh, wow, I want to be a playwright. And remember that word like playwright, like, because I thought theater was just Shakespeare.

Josefina Lopez:

When people thought, you know, when we talked about theater to me was always white people with wigs on in an Elizabethan accent going, you know, so to me it felt like that's so irrelevant, that's like I can't identify with that kind of theater, because that's what I thought it was. But when I saw Luis Valdez I said, oh no, theater is about telling the truth and it's about showing people that there's a better way and and that you have a choice. And I mean, you know, now I can articulate that very well. But at 14, I just knew that it was about telling the truth unapologetically and I was like I think I want to be a playwright, I think I want to do this. And so at 15, I was declaring that I was going to be a playwright and I don't know how liberal and open minded but I think you guys are very liberal and open minded I'm a curandera in training, I'm a. I'm a curandera in training, I'm a shaman in training, I'm. You know, add is another form of psychic ability.

Josefina Lopez:

So I discovered that in my past life I was a whole lifetime my last, one of my last lifetimes where I did a lot of theater. So it just kind of reminded me of like wait, I'm going to be a playwright in this one too, and and so anyway, obviously I don't tell too many people that, because most people don't believe that. But but yes, cause I was like how does a 10 year old cause? At 10 years old I wanted to put on shows in my backyard. I didn't know why, and maybe it was because of the little rascals, but at 15 I declared that I was going to be a playwright and then, when I saw Luis Valdez, his play again called I don't have to show you no stinking badges where he talked about stereotypes and about how Latinos are basically here to be the bad guy in a white man's story and we're here to, to, to, to just be the dumb. You know like we're. We're here as the servants, as the pendejos, as the whatever, like, but we're never the heroes. And and I just went like, oh my God, like it really spoke to me.

Josefina Lopez:

And so I was 17 and I said, oh my God, I want to devote my life to changing the representation of Latinos, because it's wrong and it's an injustice, and I want to do something about it. So at 17, I knew that I was going to devote my life, like my career, to doing this. And so then, at 18, when I graduated, I had already been accepted to. No, no, I actually I had. I had been accepted to NYU but I couldn't go because I was undocumented. But I had already, like, had a plan of like I want to be a professional writer. And then you know, of course, because I was undocumented I couldn't, but this is kind of what inspired me to be.

Mario J. Novoa:

Well, just to tag on on that, I just want to say Luis Valdez's work is incredible. Did you ever get a chance to meet him and talk?

Josefina Lopez:

to him Okay, so what really did it? And Luis knows this and I've told him this that when I was 18, we had to do a research paper on Luis Valdez. So I read all of his plays and we were supposed to present a monologue, because I was studying theater at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. And so in my senior year we had to present a monologue from our favorite playwright. And after reading all of his plays I realized that all of the female characters were virgins, mothers and whores. That was it, Like the women, where that was the only role that they had in a man's story. And I was like God, god, I can't even do a woman's monologue because they're like two lines, they. There are no female monologues in Luis Valdez's work at that time and I was like what am I gonna do? So I had to play, uh, sonny, who was a Chicano, uh student at Harvard who was trying to study law, but then he wanted to be an actor. So I did that monologue as a man. But it made me realize that I said, why? Why doesn't he have like good monologues for women? And at 18, I said, oh, it's because Luis Valdez isn't writing about Latino women. He's writing about La Causa, about Chicano, about men struggles, and to some degree he's writing about me, but he's not writing specifically about women and the women aren't any better off in this story than in other men's story.

Josefina Lopez:

Because in theater it's like you know I don't know if you know that. This is my trick question. I ask all my students I go do you know how modern theater began? And they're like what do you mean? What do you mean? I said you know how? Who started modern theater? And they're like no, no, no, who? And then it turns out it's Ibsen, and Ibsen is the father of modern theater. Because he started writing about women Because he started hanging out in cafes and bars and talking to sex workers and he had very interesting relationships with sex workers and he started to realize that, wow, only sex workers are the only women who are allowed to think and to challenge and to say like to have a different perspective. But all the other women have to play these roles in society for men, and these are the only women that are free not really free, but free in their mind in some way. And so he started writing about women's struggles and that's why we have modern theater, but even then, like, women's roles were horrible and there still are. I mean, unless women are writing the roles, most women's roles are really bad. That's a come.

Josefina Lopez:

I am not an actress. I am an actress. People say, oh my God, you're incredible. Why aren't you pursuing acting? I said because there aren't any good enough roles to really like. Devote my life to them, because everyone wants me to play their mother, their grandmother or a madam or whatever. And I go. But they're not interesting roles, they're not. They're only here to service men's stories so that men can be the heroes. I go, I don't want to be a part of that, you know. I'd rather go write stories about women and heroes. So then I decided to take up writing because I realized that Luis Valdez isn't writing about women, so I should start writing about women.

Josefina Lopez:

So then, when I was 19, I was able to meet Luis Valdez at the Los Angeles Theater Center where they did his play I don't have to show you no stinky badges two years earlier, at a theater festival, and I was so lucky that the artistic director of LATC, bilbo Schnell, who's gone now. He was a big supporter and mentor of mine and he introduced me to Luis Valdez and said, oh my god, luis, you have to meet this young lady. She's only 19 years old and she's already been to the to Australia to represent the US at a theater festival and she's written many plays and we've mentored her and she's a great. So Luis was like, really, wow, you're 19 and you've already written play. So then he said send me your work. And I was like, oh my god, anyway I did. And I never expected to hear back from luis valdez.

Josefina Lopez:

And like a few months later I get a call from a director that says, uh, that who told me uh, luis valdez loves your work and he wants to produce your play at a theater campesino. And I'm like, oh, okay, really. And I didn't believe her at first. I was like, yeah, people are talkers, right. So and then it turns out she said, oh, do you have another play? And I said I do.

Josefina Lopez:

Actually I just wrote a play called food for the dead, which is about a family who discovers that their son is gay, because he announces it, because he's going to marry his, his white boyfriend, partner, and on, uh, on a dia de los muertos halloween, you know, kind of. And he goes, oh, wow, send it to me. So then I sent it to them and then anyway, so yeah, I met luis valdez and then I got to meet him again at teatro campesino, maybe a few months later, and I was like I can't believe like l Luis Valdez like really connected to my work. And so I do feel very connected to to Luis, because I was very fortunate that in the beginning he was a supporter and and the fact that I loved his play, that his play changed my life, that here he was like producing my plays at Teatro Capesino, was just life-changing.

Eduardo Archuleta:

Huge fan of Real Women have Curves. With that said, real Women have Curves. With that said, real Women have Curves has been a significant cultural impact on the community. What was your creative process?

Josefina Lopez:

in writing it and I couldn't go to college the first year, even though I got into NYU. So during that year I worked at a dress manufacturer as a receptionist. I worked at McDonald's and I didn't like it and my sister needed workers and I said, oh, you know, I'll go work at the factory because it's my sister. You know I can, it doesn't have to be so strict, it's whatever hours, because we get paid by. I would get paid by the hour, but I could decide my hours and so I said, okay. So when I was in the factory I had this incredible experience where I saw the incredible sisterhood of women and the camaraderie and the bonding and and and.

Josefina Lopez:

The thing about it is that, even though it was really hard work and we were in East LA in a tiny little factory, it was, it was just a, it was just a retail space that she rented, that she turned into a tiny little factory and we were right next to the housing projects, estrada Courts, and, and it was not the nicest place Cause there were a lot of cholos, homeless, drug addicts like it. You know it was a mess, right, and. But inside that little factory we laugh so much, like we were always laughing and telling stories and joking, and so the irony of like a very bleak background, but inside we were these like really happy ladies working really hard but but just having, I mean, laughs and laughs, and we would tell stories. And so every day, even though I knew it was going to be hard work, I would just think, oh my God, what stories are we going to share today? And then my sister, you know, so a lot of the stuff that's in the play is in the factory. It really did happen Like we live by the radio. The radio was all the TV, all the shows were like we would have like our morning day, we're like like, oh, now this show comes on, now that show comes on, and we would hear, and there was always these competitions. So it was always like llama, llama, you know, for the free rosca de reyes, for the free concert ticket, so so we would always be sewing her.

Josefina Lopez:

And then, oh my god, and then my sister would run to the phone to try to get in. And uh, and then one day when my sister she was in love, supposedly with the guy next door who we call it Tormento, who ended up being like a no good guy, he anyway. So she read this poem. She got on top of a bucket and she started reading this poem to a cultural center where she was doing poetry and we were there and it just I remember thinking, oh my God, this is crazy that here we are, these seamstresses, but we're having this incredible experience and I just would laugh so much that I thought, you know, I'm sure people would feel sorry for me knowing that I'm in this tiny sewing factory in East LA instead of at Yale, with my friends who went off to college who were all destined for greatness because we were in AP English.

Josefina Lopez:

And here I am and then I thought, no, but I'm having such an amazing experience, such an education about who women really are and women's worth, and it was such a feminist cultural experience that I was like, oh my God, people need to know this because nobody needs to feel sorry for me or for us. And also I felt like, no, this is an incredible moment because I just got my green card. Every woman here is getting her green card. And what's so funny is I really have to give my mother the credit, because my mother's also a very good storyteller. She's passed. She said you know, my sister was the last one, she was the boss. And my sister was the last one to get her green card because she had a lawsuit and she was kind of in a financial mess even though she was the boss. And she, my mother said oh my God, wouldn't it be funny if the migra came and, instead of taking like the employees, like they usually do, they take the patrona, like the employees, like they usually do, they take the patrona? And we all broke out laughing, laughing, and I remember thinking that's such a great plot for a story.

Josefina Lopez:

My mother just gave me the plot to Real Women have Curves and I said oh yeah, you know, because I wanted to write about being undocumented, but I didn't want to write a drama or a tragedy or have people feel sorry for us. I wanted to show the irony of like the American dream too that my sister is the boss, yet she's undocumented or all her employees have to hide her. You know, like. And I just thought, oh my God, that's such a great idea. And so then, so that's where it started.

Josefina Lopez:

But after I left the sewing factory, I got well. I got into a writing workshop Maria Irene Fornes Playwriting Workshop it started. But after I left the sewing factory. I got well, I got into a writing workshop Maria Irene Fornes playwriting workshop and I got to go work with this amazing, uh feminist lesbian playwright in New York City through the Intar theater company, and so I went there for six months and then I uh, I wrote the play. I wrote, uh, the first and second draft and I had a reading, and that's kind of what started it and and it was wonderful, you know, and immediately when I did a reading, just a few scenes, people said, oh my gosh, it's so funny Because this is how women really talk, and I had captured that, that experience in my dialogue and anyway. So so then I knew I had to rewrite it and eventually, you know, it is what it is now.

Mario J. Novoa:

I love that you shared that. Josefina, this is Mario again. I also. Well, I grew up in the factory with my mom and I still like to hear the industrial sewing machines go off, and I think that experience of that culture within the factory of women expressing themselves is still very key to the approach that I bring to storytelling. So I really appreciate that you shared that. But I do want to ask you a little. You talked about the immigrant experience. Can you talk about how that influenced your storytelling?

Josefina Lopez:

Well, you know, a writer has to tell the truth and a writer has to write about what they know, because that's the best kind of storytelling. So I knew that my voice was unique because, very, you know, undocumented people are scared to be found out, so they don't write about their stories because they, you know, like it's, it's a survival mechanism to hide, to hide internally, to hide in every which way. So for me, when I got my temporary residency card, I knew that I was never going to hide again, that I had to really write about my experience and I had to celebrate the fact that I was now legal or documented. And I wanted to document my experience because I felt like it was historic that thousands of Latinos were going to become legal residents and eventually we were going to be able to elect a mayor and one day, hopefully, latino governor or Latina governor. And so for me, I felt like that was, this was a historic moment that I needed to document, to make things real for me. So I felt like nobody's written about being undocumented as far as I knew, especially in 1987. So I need to write about my experience. But it was also a way of giving my humanity back to myself.

Josefina Lopez:

Because when you're undocumented, you get dehumanized, you're treated as a non-person and you internalize that. You may not be aware of it, especially when you come here as a child and you're told not to talk to people, not to tell people, you don't have paper, you don't really understand what's going on, but to some degree you experience this incredible violence against your humanity and against your innocence. And I, you know I can articulate that now, but it took a lot of therapy and understanding. Like, oh, you were made to feel like there's something wrong with you, like to be ashamed of yourself when you did nothing, especially when you come here as a child. But there's this thing about feeling like there's something wrong with you, there's a certain type of shame that we're made to carry that. I was like I'm not going to carry that. I'm not, but it's still there. Carry that I was like I'm not going to carry that I'm not, but, but it's still there.

Josefina Lopez:

So I kind of had to write about my life to reclaim my humanity. Because you know, when you're called an alien, you are being dehumanized, you're being told you're not quite human, you're not like us, and you internalize that. So for me it was of saying no, look at how real I am. Look at how, what a human being I am. I am so real. Look, and I think even that in dressing scene is a declaration of saying look, do I not look like you, do I not? You know, are we not the same person? So I felt like that was important for me to write about, to really declare my humanity.

Rita Gonzales:

What challenges, as a woman and a Latina, getting into the entertainment field, that's a block right there a wall.

Josefina Lopez:

There are so many, and I'll be honest with you that it's sad to say, but I'll tell you, because this is juicy chisme hour, right Is that I've had famous Latino men not help in any way and where I've had, unfortunately or unfortunately depending on how you want to look at it where I've had, like Norman Lear, who fights for Latinos and fought for people of color, helped me a lot more than a Latino man who was in power. I've had a lot of Jewish producers who, you know, listen to me and were trying to help me or have been helped me, or more than Latino men. And that's what sucks too, when you realize, like I mean I so want to tell you the names of these two people who everyone I mean a lot of people revere. Like there's somebody who, if I were to tell you his name, you'd be like no, no way. His name. You'd be like no, no way. And I would say no, you know, now this man is on the bandwagon of like supporting latinos publicly and doing all these incredible things. That that you'd be like no freaking way.

Josefina Lopez:

And I've had these men basically tell producers oh, I don't want to work with her, she's a feminist, uh, and if they and the producers have told me this is shocking because we thought this famous latino comedian, this, you know, like putting you together would be like a hit. And they're like no, and I go, yeah, because I will call, I will call out their shit. It's very hard to censor me because I, I'll tell you, like I see you and I'll tell you. And the other thing, too is like I have what my abuela had, which I have the Malojo thing where I can see through your soul. But yeah, so I've had men who, like, could easily have helped me because they were in positions of power and they don't want to help. Uh, we don't want you taking our job, like these people could have hired me. But they're like, oh no, this woman is more, knows a lot more about being Latina, knows a lot more about being an immigrant, knows a lot more about living in East LA, knows a lot more about being an immigrant, knows a lot more about living in East LA, knows a lot more about what I'm pretending to know and these gringos are going to see that, and I can't be the expert on being Latino, and that's the reality is that there are a lot of frauds in Hollywood. And so when you bring someone like me, who was undocumented, who did grow up in East LA, who is working class, who is the subject matter of most of the shows that they're writing about, and then you see this Latino who's like fifth generation, who's like a quarter Latino, who wasn't Latino until last year when it was convenient to be Latino, then they're like oh no, I'm not going to hire this woman.

Josefina Lopez:

And I've had that happen so many, so many times that I go oh, that's right, that's like how I'm not. You know, basically telling the white man oh, it's okay, it's okay If you portray us this way, it's okay If you, if we're the bad guys, it's okay If it's all about cholos. You know I'm going to be like no, why do we have to exploit the suffering of our people? Like, if you're going to show us this, then you've got to show the joy. If you're going to exploit our sexuality and the violence and the suffering, no, like, tell the whole story and they won't hire me, so, anyway.

Josefina Lopez:

So, yeah, it's been very difficult, but I'm still here, and part of it is because I know what I'm about. I know why I have to tell these stories. I'm not in it for the fame, I'm definitely not in it for the money, because I could have sold out years ago and been living in Malibu and I said no, no, no. And so for me, like I really love telling stories, I really love telling the truth, I really love bringing light to things and I really love being a woman and that's the thing that I think makes me unbreakable is that, as a woman, I realize that being a woman is a huge asset, because I have incredible intuition, I have incredible way of building community and doing things that allow me access to stories that men don't have access to. I even have access to men's stories that they don't have access to. I've written stories about men that men could never write because men can't ask for help or whatever like things that they can't talk about I can talk about as well. So I have access to so many more stories, and so for me, I see it more like as an asset.

Josefina Lopez:

Even though there's been all these challenges and difficulties, some of them are just don't want to help us, some really just don't want you to get ahead of them. Help me. Take Real Women women have curves and make it successful even earlier, and so oftentimes men will just like try to step in because they're like no, because if you get ahead of me, I feel like a, like a such a loser, and I go look, I'm not here to make anybody feel like a loser. I'm here to be true to myself, to honor all the gifts that God has given me and to inspire other people to pursue their dreams. So if you feel like a loser, like re-examine, like why? Because it has nothing to do with me and me trying to tell the truth, me trying to tell stories that uplift our community. That you know, because to me, ultimately, what I'm just trying to do is I'm trying to to show people how to get rid of shame, how shame we don't need to carry it.

Josefina Lopez:

Every story I tell is about us saying look, we are enough, we are not broken. Because when I was a little kid, I was constantly made to feel like I was broken because I could feel way too much, I knew too much, I experienced the world differently than most people and I was made to feel like I was broken and I almost believed it. And then I realized, no, it's actually called genius, it's actually called creation, it's called intuition, it's called all these beautiful things that come with being an indigenous person. They come with being a woman that come from being a new, new, divergent person. So I'm not going to let anybody break me, because these aren't gifts, these are not disorders, these are not things that are bad. I'm not cursed, I'm I'm, you know it's anyway.

Josefina Lopez:

So for me, I feel like, yeah, as a woman, there's been way. I just feel like God, really you must've thought I, you know, sometimes I pray to God and I go, god, you must think I'm a real chingona, because could you have, you know, like all the freaking conflicts, all the challenges, and I go, okay, god must think I'm a chingona because somehow I'm going to overcome all these, I'm going to find a way, I'm going to find a path and I'm going to be humble enough to know that I can always be learning, I can always be listening, I can always be open to inspiration and I do get a lot of divine guidance. I'll be honest that, despite all my challenges, I also have all this divine guidance that has made me see a light in a really dark path where people just are too scared to go, and I'm like okay, I see a little light, I'm going to go pursue it. I may get killed, I may get heartbroken, but I'm going to do it anyway, and yeah, anyway.

Eduardo Archuleta:

Thank you. This is Eduardo again, and I wanted your sharing has brought up some of my memories of saying that you're sharing stories, listening to my grandmother growing up and telling her stories, which leads me to my question what kind of motivated you to open up? And I'm Casa 0101.

Josefina Lopez:

Casa 0101.

Eduardo Archuleta:

Thank you.

Josefina Lopez:

And it's funny because people call it 101, which I think is also fair because it is the beginning of theater for a lot of people who've never been exposed to theater. But it's 0101, which means the original language of computers, and it's a very spiritual meaning behind it. It's drama happens when there's a binary, when there's opposition right, but when you have zero and one becoming one, there's no more drama. We transcend drama. And it's also about the original language of computers and it's also about the digital revolution. So it's a very strange name and people go what does it mean? And I go oh, thank you, let me explain it to you, cause. So I knew that I needed to start my own theater, because no one would produce real women have curves in Los Angeles, even though it had already been a hit. It had already been produced like 18 times outside of LA and it was usually a success, like it would sell out. Nobody would produce Real Women have Curves in Los Angeles. There were no theaters interested and I couldn't believe it because it was a hit. And so I approached many theaters, including one where my friend was the literary manager of this theater, and he told me that he loved my play and he was going to try to get it there. And after a few weeks we spoke and he said I can't believe this. You would think that these Latina women who run this theater would be interested, because it's about Latina women, but these women are and again, no disrespect here. There were these. They were closeted lesbians, lesbians. So I don't think they were out about being lesbians, which I think maybe at that time, when they started this theater, they could not have been public about it, because people were really harsh, I mean, and we're going to talk about that. And I said but they also don't like their bodies, because they basically told me that they don't want fat women on their stage and that was the reason why they didn't want to do real women. And I said it's because, also, they don't like their body, they don't. And I said you know, I understand, because I think it does trigger some people who have a lot of shame around their body and maybe even shame about being gay and and I'm not going to out them, I'm not gonna, I could easily make a stink, but I'm not, I'm not. And I said you know, that's fine, because they're not conscious enough to get like they're working. These are third world feminists. Like how are they like doing? You know, even sex work now has like respect, right.

Josefina Lopez:

But back then it was like somehow they thought that it was undignified to be a seamstress. I was. I remember hearing that word and I just got so pissed off because I was like, wait, you know, if you so, your job gives you dignity, I said what if you lose your job, do you lose your dignity? I said no, dignity is the one thing no one can take away from you. Dignity is what you bestow on yourself. This is one thing that they cannot break you when you have dignity, when you hold onto that.

Josefina Lopez:

And then I submitted it to this other literary manager at this very famous theater who will probably one day present the musical version of real women 20, 30 years later. So this is the part where I get to laugh, right. But I got a letter saying that they, that he did not, he did not care for my chicana diatribe, that he was very like. I mean, he just went on and I have the letter because I want people to see this letter and I want to frame this letter once real women have Curves hits Broadway to show writers that you could be writing something that's so edgy and so ahead of its time. But when people don't get it, and they don't have the consciousness to get it, they will say that this is dirt, that this is bad, that this is bad art, right. They're just not in the mind. They, just their mind is not open enough to get it.

Josefina Lopez:

And then sometimes that's a come I, I. I often don't take things personal, because I've been called crazy so many times by people whose minds are so small and I've had to say okay, wait 20 years. And I've had to tell people it's okay, 10 years, you'll come and apologize to me, which people do all the time. People come and apologize to me all the freaking time. Men especially. They're like oh, I'm sorry, I just thought you were crazy because you know, I just couldn't believe that and I'd be like I know, because you know I, you just can't believe that I'm smarter than you or that I can see the future. Or I know things. Because I know things Cause I have this, this, this intuition. I say you just can't believe that I have that because it doesn't usually come in a package like this.

Josefina Lopez:

So I got so annoyed at being at reading this racist letter and sexist letter that I was complaining to my friend and my friend we were in this leadership class and she goes well, maybe you're supposed to do it, maybe you're supposed to produce the play. That's a come. No one is going to produce the play in LA. And I was like, and I was like you're right, I can continue complaining about how racist and sexist and unfair it is that Latinos are the majority in Los Angeles and yet there are no plays about Latinos at any of the theaters. Or I can produce this play.

Josefina Lopez:

So I started producing this play using my loans from UCLA. I was going to UCLA getting my master's degree and and I said you know what? I'm going to go produce it. And, long story short, I decided to produce my play. It was so successful. A producer saw it and that's how come? There's a movie, and. But it was me deciding that you know what? I don't want to have people tell me no, because I know these stories are good, because I know my community responds to these stories. Why can't we have these? So why can't we see ourselves on stage? If we can't see ourselves on television and film, we can at least see ourselves on stage.

Josefina Lopez:

And so I started producing and I was so successful and I said, oh my god, what else can I write? What else can I produce? And then I started doing sketch comedy. And I did a sketch comedy show called PMS the Pinche Mentirosa Sisters and it was a satirical, you know, show where we talked about how unfair life is, but in a very funny way. We're so successful that I was like, oh my God, what else can I produce? And and I just realized, shoot, I need my own theater so I can produce plays year round, not just like every three months. And then I saw this little retail space that used to be a bridal boutique and then I said, okay, let me just start. And I didn't know how to run a theater, but I said, okay, let me try.

Josefina Lopez:

And luckily I met the man who would become my future husband, who just happened to be a theater administrator, and but I was divinely guided to go meet him. That's another story, I know, because I wasn't gonna did I didn't want to meet him. I was told divinely that I had to go meet a man and I was gonna be involved romantically with him. And I was like, oh, I'm not gonna go meet this man, I'm done with men. But I thought I was done back then, right, and I was told, was told to finally had to go meet this man. And I said no, no, no, I'm not going to, that's it, I'm not getting married again. And then I was told, no, you have to go meet this man at this dinner party because he is going to help you with your theater. And I was like, ok, if he helps you with my theater, then I'll go meet this man. And, sure enough, this man was exactly the man I needed because his talents, his ability and my abilities and our talents, all our resources, we were able to do this theater.

Josefina Lopez:

And it was basically like I want to do a theater where you don't have to be a hot, sexy girl to be on stage, because the reality is that men want hot, sexy girls. The reality is that, you know, men want to be the heroes and they need skinny little girls to rescue and they need all these, like even Anora, like right now. Anora in some ways is that like hot, skinny, like sex worker girl who gets sort of rest, not rescued, she's fighting, whatever, but it's still very much like a guy gets to be the hero at the end, you know? And, and so men just want this damsel in distress story. And I was like, no, I want to see like women of every shape, size and color on stage talking about her humanity, and we want to tell the stories of men and vulnerability.

Josefina Lopez:

And I also, like I had written one of the very first plays ever written about the LGBTQ community, about being gay and coming out, and back when I was 18 years old I wrote this food for the dead, and I remember thinking I also want to do plays about being gay or coming out, or or plays that deal with sexual shame, because nobody wants to talk about sexual shame. So I want to be able to talk about what I want to say without a theater artistic director saying, oh, you can't write about that, oh, we're not going to present that in our theater. Oh no, we can't do that. Oh, you know, our subscriber, whatever. And so I just said, okay, let's just create this box and then present shows, and then, but I do want to when you're talking about the show and presenting, doing the plays that you want.

Rita Gonzales:

But you've. I've talked to some. Well, we've talked to some artists part of Casa 0101, that you helped mentor, so you've helped a lot of emerging artists.

Josefina Lopez:

Yes, because I realized that, you know, I was lucky that I was mentored by two of the greatest Latino icons, irene Fornes and Luis Valdez, and I was I'm probably the only person who had both of them as mentors, and Luis Valdez and I was I'm probably the only person who had both of them as mentors. So I realized that I was so lucky that I was. There were so few of us when I started I think I was one of the very few women too that I felt a responsibility to mentor other people because nobody had shown me the path. I had to create my path. I mean Luis Valdez, to some degree, and Irene Fornez.

Josefina Lopez:

But so that I was like, oh, I want to make it. I always want to make things easier for everyone. Like, even right now, as I'm training as a shaman and I I've spent so much money, so much time, I said how do I teach everybody this for very little, so that it's not exclusively because every time I go to all these trainings it's only white, rich people who get to do these trainings. And I go, oh my God, like the people who really need it because they've experienced so much trauma, don't have access to this knowledge, techniques, information, because they can't afford it. So for me, it's always about how do I give it to the people, how do I take all this knowledge, wisdom, know how, and give it for free to as many people as possible, because then we'll have a better world.

Josefina Lopez:

So, yeah, I've mentored a lot of people and for me, like I started Brown and Out, because I was in a playwriting class and one particular class I saw that the same story kept coming up which is the perfect immigrant son, by day and and then at night they would have this gay, homosexual, like authentic life that they just could not bring together.

Josefina Lopez:

And the pain of being gay and not being accepted by your parents, but yet having to be the voice for your parents and having to be the model child for your parents and at night trying to live your authentic self, but then getting in a lot of trouble because of that.

Josefina Lopez:

And I just said, oh, my God, like we got to do a show or something where people get to write about what it is to be a full person, not just half a person, not just a person who's hiding in the shadows. And then for me it was like, yeah, how do we mentor more writers, and so I started Browning Out and it was so, yeah, how do we mentor more writers? And so I started Browning Out, and it was so nice because, as a result of that show, more writers were inspired to say, oh my God, I want to be a playwright too, and it's been wonderful to have a lot of writers be inspired by our work to become clean, to tell their stories and to share their story with their family and be like. This is kind of their coming out as artists and as gay people, you know.

Mario J. Novoa:

Josefina, this is Mario again. Can you talk about any upcoming projects or initiatives that you're excited about, and how do people learn more about you and Casa 0101?

Josefina Lopez:

So I have JosefinaLopezbiz, and that's my website, and I have a free screenwriting course there and just about every, any and every question that you could ask about being a writer I've answered there. They have. I have tons of free videos about being a TV writer, how to create a show, how to get an agent I mean like anything you can think of. I think I've answered it there and I also have resources, so it's like a free course. I'd rather save you the money and give you all the information and all like the magic, everything that I've learned to help you save that money. So you can find me there, obviously, Casa0101.org for the theater, and you can follow me on Instagram, and right now I'm sharing my journey of the Broadway show and I'm going to be going to New York and I'm going to be sharing that journey of what's it like to have a show on Broadway and what's it like to go from Boyle Heights to Broadway, from the barrio to Broadway, so anyway, so that's one of the ways you can find me. But as far as initiatives, you know, right now we have this thing called Fernando. We're doing a tribute to Fernando Valenzuela, who just passed. I worked with a muralist to try to get this mural in our neighborhood and it became such a sacred space. I'm going to write a little play about that experience, but we're going to have a playwriting workshop. I think it's open to anybody who'd like to participate. You just have to go info at casa0101.org, obviously, if you're in LA, but you can participate in this workshop to write a play about how Fernando Valenzuela inspired you or your family, and it's going to be a tribute and his daughter's going to, I think, participate or at least be. You know his family's going to come and see it. So it's kind of a way of honoring him and having the family celebrate with us. So that's something that we're doing in September for Latino Heritage Month. We're actually celebrating a hero for a community hero for Latino Heritage Month.

Josefina Lopez:

So right now we're trying to uplift women and we have a wonderful show right now called Women on the Verge, which I would recommend everybody see because it's hilarious. I mean there's four little short plays but they're really funny and very touching and very important. And I would say catch that before it ends March 23rd. It ends March 23rd, so check it out, because these four women I've mentored as playwrights, some of these women we've mentored as directors, and we need more women directors in the theater, in every theater company. Being a director is very challenging because men don't want to listen to you. I mean, that's the reality is, men don't want to take orders from you. So we really have to work at empowering women to take their rightful place as community leaders and leaders in the theater, and this is one of the ways you can support us is by coming to see the show that's directed by four women, written by four women and produced by mostly women.

Josefina Lopez:

You know, when I started the theater, there were hardly any Latina directors, much less there's very few female directors, and the ones that are working charge a lot of money because they had to work so hard, and I don't blame them.

Josefina Lopez:

So I decided to mentor women, to create a bigger pool of Latina directors, and so some of these are the women from these courses and also who've been doing it. And so for me at Casa, we're just trying to tell stories that no one's willing to tell. We're trying to do the kind of stories that show where our wounding is. You know, like one of the things that I've got that's been made clear to me is that being left out of American history is very painful, because we've contributed so much to this country and and we need to acknowledge our contribution and also the wounding and the hurt that our community has because we have been made to be invisible, like, despite being the majority in Los Angeles, we are constantly made to be in it.

Josefina Lopez:

Right now, especially, we're made to feel like we're replaceable, we're not even human, like it's just such a horrible time. So when we are in times like these, we have to create, we have to elevate and we have to celebrate. That's my new model is like don't don't go, don't go to hate, create, elevate and celebrate. And that's the way we're trying to do. It at Casa is saying no, no, no, you know, we're going to celebrate the fact that we're immigrants, we're going to celebrate the fact that we're women, we're going to celebrate the fact that we're LGBTQ, because that is a source of strength, not a burden, and so that's what we're doing. We're just telling these stories that need to be told so the truth gets out.

Mario J. Novoa:

We want to thank Josefina Lopez for today's interview. You can find out more about Josefina Lopez at josefinalopezbiz, or casa01 at casa0101.org at casa0101.org, and you can find out more about our Radio QGLU podcast at qglubuzzsproutcom.

Rita Gonzales:

I'm Mario J Novoa. I'm Eduardo Archuleta and you can like us on our Facebook page or email us at theoutagenda at gmailcom. I'm Rita Gonzalez. Thanks for listening, and have a wonderful week, and remember that being out is the first step to being equal. Now stay tuned for this Way Out.