Actress/writer/artist Rose Portillo lives in the house she was born into, in the Silver Lake section of Los Angeles. It’s the annual scene of her legendary Day Of the Dead parties, and it was the setting for her family’s story of ascension, assimilation and culture clash — as well as the long, wary dance of accommodation, spanning life and death, that Rose has performed with the formidable spirit of her grandmother, Mercedes Mendoza Portillo.

Music:

• “Los Chucos Suaves,” by Lalo Guerrero Y Sus Cinco Lobos


• “Pachuco Boogie,” by Cuartato Don Ramon Sr.


• “Solido “Joaquín,” by Dacita & her Orchestra


• “Ay Jalisco,” by Jorge Negrete


• “Chicano Boogie,” by Cuartato De Ramon Martinez


• “Chicas Patas Boogie,” by Lalo Guerrero Y Sus Cinco Lobos


• “El Bracero Y La Pachuca,” by Dueto Taxco Con Mariachi Caporales Del Norte


• “Los Blues,” by Don Tosti Y Su Trio

Altar photo from Day Of The Dead 2009 (upper left) courtesy of CJ Gronner.

Thanks to Rose Portillo, Roger Bowers and Mark B. Perry. To learn more about Young Theaterworks, go here.