What Is a Man?
An Excerpt from Samuel Valdez’s Play And He Became Man
By Samuel Valdez
• 2 minute read
In And He Became Man, a Latino disabled man questions his manhood by looking back at his life and recalling major events that influenced him, asking, “What is a man?”
Actor, playwright, and director Samuel Valdez performs the opening monologue from his play And He Became Man.
Manuel, the main character, takes the audience on his personal journey from the time his parents migrated to the United States through his breakdown dealing with his brother’s death. The story focuses on migration, the family, working in the fields, alcoholism, abuse, rivalry, and the questioning of identity from the perspective of a disabled person.
Discovering oneself can be a very difficult journey—looking into the past trying to figure out the future. Manuel’s journey is shown in this piece through music, dance, movement, and video, causing the audience to look back into their own past.
About Samuel Valdez
Samuel Valdez is an actor, playwright, director, and producer who has worked with several groups around San Diego such as Sledgehammer Theater, Chronos Theater, Los Amigos del REP, and currently his own binational performing arts company CARPA San Diego. He has served previously on the National Performance Network board and currently on the Alternate Roots Executive Committee. He was awarded the 2016 Ashley Walker Social Justice award from the City of San Diego for his community theater work and received the 2021 NALAC Border Narrative Change grant.