Padua Hills Theatre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Padua Hills Theatre
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Entrance to the theater
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 Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4467 Via Padova, Claremont, California |
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| Area | 6.6 acres (2.7 ha) |
| Architect | Marston & Maybury; Storm & Manhoney |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001660 |
| Added to NRHP | January 23, 1998 |
The Padua Hills Theatre was a special place in Claremont, California. From 1931 to 1974, it was the longest-running theater in the United States to feature musicals with Mexican themes. It worked as a non-profit group, aiming to help people from European American and Mexican backgrounds understand each other better.
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A Special Place in Claremont
Padua Hills began as a large area of land, about 2,000 acres. Bess and Herman Garner managed this land. A small part of it, about 6 acres, became an artist community called the Little Theater Association. It had a main dining room, art studios, shops, and a small theater.
These beautiful Spanish Revival style buildings were located near mountains in Claremont. They were surrounded by many trees and bushes. The National Register of Historic Places described the area. It said the complex had three buildings: a theater and restaurant, an apartment, and a studio. These buildings were grouped around a central courtyard.
The area also had olive trees, rock walls, and an outdoor stage. A sign with Mexican folk dancers and a statue of an Indian maiden added to the special mood. The Padua Institute, a non-profit educational group, ran the theater. It offered classes in Mexican folk music, dance, and Spanish. The institute wanted to help preserve the Spanish and Mexican heritage of early California.
The Unique Theatre Performances
The Padua Hills Theatre started as a small community theater. It featured the Claremont Community Players in the hills of southern California. But during the Great Depression years, it became known for its "Mexican Players" who performed dinner theater.
This group performed plays, songs, and dances for audiences from 1931 to 1974. Even though they performed in Spanish, most of the audience members were not of Mexican descent. These performances were part of a larger trend. This trend was called the "Spanish Fantasy Past." It was a way of remembering a romanticized version of California's past before American settlement.
Other examples of this idea include the San Gabriel Mission Play and Los Angeles's Olvera Street. Helen Hunt Jackson's popular novel Ramona also showed this trend.
The Padua plays were special because they mixed this "pastoral pageantry" with "ethnic theater." The goal of ethnic theater was to teach people about the culture of Mexican, Spanish, and early Californian life.
The Mexican Players (Paduanos)
The "Mexican Players" were the heart of the Padua experience. The Garners often found these players in the nearby Claremont neighborhood. Their main job was to entertain, but they also cooked, took care of the property, and served tables.
After each show, there was a jamaica, which was a party. At these parties, the audience and the Paduanos (as the Mexican Players called themselves) could meet and have fun together. The theater's main goal was to create "intercultural understanding" between Anglo-Americans and Mexican Americans.
While the institute wanted to show Mexican culture in a good light, some people later criticized their efforts. They felt it sometimes changed California history. They also thought it replaced old, negative ideas about Mexicans with new ones that made them seem less powerful.
Despite these criticisms, being a Paduano offered many good things. Players found chances for self-discovery. They built strong friendships and had successful careers in theater and other fields. The plays allowed Latino/a actors to share their artistic talents. There were few other places for them to do this at the time.
For the wider community, the theater helped reduce negative feelings towards Mexican Americans, at least for a while. It also gave young Mexican Americans training in song and dance. This helped them grow in their theater skills. Bess Garner worked closely with the players. She is remembered fondly by some. Others saw her as well-meaning but sometimes controlling. She discouraged players from going to Hollywood and could be condescending to the young people living on the Padua grounds.
Famous Players
- Natividad Vacío, a film and television actor
- Maximina Zuñiga
- Lilly & Manuel Aguilar of Lilly Aguilar Dancers. Lilly Aguilar received a Pioneer Award for bringing Mexican folk dance to Los Angeles County.
What It's Used For Today
The theater closed in the 1980s. Since then, the main dining room and grounds have been used for weddings and special events. It was first managed by Chantrelles Fine Catering, and later by Padua Weddings.
