Technology Department. He is credited with assisting in the development of a university program that prepares students in the entertainment industry: filmmaking, writing, sound, cinematography, and the like. His recent play Valley of the Heart, debuted October 30, 2018, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He resides in San Juan Bautista, CA. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2015. Zoot Suit (play and film) Valdez's first work that brought him attention to larger audiences was the play Zoot Suit which ran in 1978 at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and played for forty-six weeks to more than 40,000 people. With Zoot Suit, Valdez became the first Chicano director to have a play presented on Broadway in 1979. In 1981, it was made into a film. In Zoot Suit, Valdez weaves a story involving the real-life events of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial—when a group of young Mexican-Americans were wrongfully charged with murder—and the Zoot Suit riots. In 2019, the film Zoot Suit was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". La Bamba The film that brought Valdez his "breakthrough into mainstream America" was La Bamba which debuted in 1987. The film, about Ritchie Valens, a popular Chicano 1950s rock and roller, "was an overwhelming box office success" according to BookRags. It was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2017. Filmography Coco (2017), voice actor Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice (2000), narrator Ballad of a Soldier (2000), actor. The Cisco Kid (1994), writer and director. Valdez also had a small role as Presidente Benito Juárez. La Pastorela (1991 Great Performances), writer and director. Los mineros (1991), narrator. Fort Figueroa (1988 CBS Summer Playhouse), director. Corridos: Tales of Passion & Revolution (1987), writer and director. La Bamba (1987), writer and director. Zoot Suit (1981), writer and director. Which Way Is Up? (1977), actor. El corrido: Ballad of a Farmworker (1976 Visions television series), writer, director, and actor. Fighting for Our Lives (1975 documentary), writer. Los Vendidos (1972), writer and staging I Am Joaquin (1969), documentary short film "Bandido!" (film) Story of Tiburcio Vasquez who resisted incursion of Yankees into California 1840s to 1875, writer, director and narrator. Shown on PBS. Honors and awards (not exhaustive) Golden Globe Award nominations Zoot Suit (Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy) and