Culture Clash

"Culture Clash is a national treasure." - Philip Kan Gotanda

"These guys are funny daredevils of performance, totally fearless as they skewer convention and lazy thinking. Cool." - Eric Bogosian

"Important social satire for these urgent times." - Dolores Huerta, Vice President, United Farm Workers of america, AFL-C10

"Keep kicking them in the cojones." - George Carlin

You are holding Culture Clash - the book! After fourteen years of inspired comic genius we have finally managed to squeeze the best of Culture Clash between two covers! From its founding in San Francisco's Mission District on Cinco de Mayo in 1984, this three-person troupe of writers/performers - Richard Montoya, Ricardo Salinas and Herbert Siguenza - has surveyed contemporary Latino/Chicano culture in America from its own outrageous and unique perspective. Inspired by the clashing cultures of society in transition, Culture Clash physicalizes comedy and satire, blending the best traditions of Charlie Chaplin, Lenny Bruce, the Marx Brothers and Cantinflas, while transforming vaudeville into a political weapon.

Inside you'll find The Mission, in which three out-of-work performers living in San Francisco's Mission District kidnap Julio Iglesias in a desperate attempt to gain national recognition; A bowl of Beings, which features the tale of the world's first Chicano - Christopher Columbus's illegitimate son - and "The Return of Che," the story of a Berkeley radical who brings back Che Guevara for a hilarious political update; and Radio Mambo, wherein Culture Clash invades Miami, uncovering a stewing pot of ethnicity and creating "a work as shrewd, vibrant and outrageous as Miami itself," according to Time Out New York.

"Wicked, observant comedy interspersed with keenly acted monologues that make your heart ache." -Miami Herald

"[The] Latino comedy trio simultaneously makes mincemeat out of American cultural icons and skewers the hell out of their own ethnic heritage - all the while showing the links between the two. This brilliant team of writer/performers offers artful, intelligent work that deserves the rapt attention of large and diverse audiences." -Back Stage West

"Humorous, cutting and touching." -New York Times

"Important social satire for these urgent times."—Dolores Huerta, Vice President, United Farm Workers Union

This work by the ever-outrageous comic trio, Culture Clash (Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza) collects four of their investigations into contemporary American culture as viewed in four very distinct American cities. Each piece was commissioned by a local theatre company who invited our three lads into their communities and unlocked the doors.

Bordertown examines the twin border cities of San Diego and Tijuana with special guest appearances by Charleton Heston, Shamu the Killer Whale, and Sidewinder Sam.

Nuyorican Stories brings the Clash to the Big Apple as they delve into the personal histories of the early Puerto Rican political activists in New York.

Mission Magic Mystery Tour is Culture Clash’s return to their home turf of San Francisco’s Mission District as the locals withstand an all-out invasion by the dot-com generation.

Dreaming of Lincoln brings the fearless troupe to our nation’s capital for a unique look at the land of the free.

Culture Clash formed in 1984 to fill a unique role in American arts. Their nominal mission is to show cultures in opposition and, by opposing them, bring them closer together. But their talents are too expansive to be restricted to just "political theatre." Culture Clash have managed to gerrymander theatre’s traditional map, erasing the borders between any and all districts they choose to explore. They have a style all their own with a foundation that harkens back to the best vaudevillians of the U.S. and Latin America. Comedy and satire is what they feed on, in the tradition of Lenny Bruce, the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, and Catinflas.

“Midway through Water & Power comes a scene so perfectly written, so chilling and yet so hilarious [it] encapsulates all the anger and social criticism fueling [the play], beginning with the agonizing realization (also central to Culture Clash’s smash Chavez Ravine) that the fates of the L.A. many are held in the hands of the often capricious and heartless few.”—Variety

“The funniest show the Bay Area comedy troupe has ever written. Culture Clash uses the story [of Zorro] as a starting point for a devastatingly hilarious satire of just about everything Californians hold dear.”—Contra Costa Times

In this trio of plays, Culture Clash rewrites California’s past in the performance troupe’s own irreverent comic style, interweaving pop culture with their home state’s local history. In Chavez Ravine, called “a hell-raising home run” by Variety, they cover the land grab that uprooted an entire community and built Dodger Stadium. In Water & Power, the topic is the assimilation of Latinos and their rise to political influence. And in Zorro in Hell, Culture Clash re-imagines early California through the eyes of the original masked man.

Culture Clash formed in 1984 to fill a unique role in American arts. Their nominal mission is to show cultures in opposition and, by opposing them, bring them closer together. But their talents are too expansive to be restricted to just "political theatre." Culture Clash have managed to gerrymander theatre’s traditional map, erasing the borders between any and all districts they choose to explore. They have a style all their own with a foundation that harkens back to the best vaudevillians of the U.S. and Latin America. Comedy and satire is what they feed on, in the tradition of Lenny Bruce, the Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, and Catinflas.