“The Cactus Chronicles,” a musical drama that traced the story of the Valle family’s triumphs and struggles as the first Latino family in Garland, sold out at the Plaza Theatre May 15.
Manuel and Maria Valle came to the United States in 1928. They had eight children and each of them took to heart their mother’s advice that a good education was the best path to a successful life. The couple also stressed service to country and community.
“You can do anything if you tell yourself you can,” Maria often told her children.
The drama is primarily told through the eyes of Pascual, one of Manuel and Maria’s sons, and his wife Sylvia. Pascual celebrated his 90th birthday the weekend of the production.
All the children graduated from Garland High School. Pascual was a star on the football team and was selected for the all-state team. He also led the Owls to the state semifinals.
Sylvia first saw Pascual at the pool near her college dorm room. She went out to talk to him and returned to her dorm room sure that he was her “Prince Charming.”
Kay Moore, who penned “Becoming Garland Avenue” a couple of years ago, also wrote the script and songs for “The Cactus Chronicles.” Her husband Louis served as emcee and also worked long hours on the project. The show was a great success — from selecting the cast members and musicians to the set design.
The couple agreed that it was a privilege to honor the Valle family.
Kay did a wonderful job depicting the closeness of the family and its history. She also successfully described the discrimination they faced without dwelling on it, which is exactly the way the Valles handled it. The bigotry certainly hurt them. It even kept them from getting jobs they wanted early in their careers, but they faced it head-on and lived their lives with the hope that the situation would improve.
And although it hasn’t come nearly as far as it should have, some progress has been made. A few years ago, a Garland ISD building was named for Manuel and Maria Valle.
Some of the Valle ancestors were proudly portrayed by family members. Lacey Valle played the role of her great-grandmother, Maria Valle. Richard Valle played the part of his real-life father, Jesus Valle. Hal Ticknor III, portrayed his father, Hal T. Ticknor Jr.
Katie Welch, daughter of Kay and Louis, was honored to portray her real-life grandmother, Mrs. Wheeler, who worked at Garland High School. Hunter Welch, the Moore’s grandson, played the role of Bobby, friend of the Valle children.
“The Cactus Chronicles” was followed by a fiesta on the spot where the Valle family home was situated. During the party, the new cookbook, “Garland Latino Heritage Cookbook,” was unveiled. The book contains recipes and stories from Garland’s diverse array of citizens with Latino backgrounds.
“It serves as the first written history of Garland’s Latinos and reflects on these individuals’ contributions to help make the city a better place,” Kay said. “It is produced by the nonprofit Friends of Garland’s Historic Magic 11th Street.”
The Valles and Moores were grateful for the positive outcome of both the drama and the fiesta.
“It was a great honor to have “The Cactus Chronicles” written and produced about the Valle Family— the first Hispanic Family in Garland,” Sylvia said. “With Hispanics now at 42% in Garland, we are happy to have contributed to opening the doors for them. We harbor no ill feelings toward anyone as we have proven our worth as loyal, outstanding citizens.”
Kay also expressed gratitude.
“Pascual and Sylvia provided any information and were extraordinarily kind and obliging, a dream to work with,” she said. Their servant-hearted spirits (just as with Manuel and Maria before them) needed to be properly lauded.”