Teatro Jornalero (Day Laborer Theatre) .

Teatro Jornalero (Day Laborer Theatre) is a theater project created by Oakland day laborers who share their own stories of migration, survival, and resilience. Through live performance, the jornaleros (day laborers) recount their journeys to the United States and reflect on the realities of living and working here as immigrants. Their stories are raw, honest, and deeply human, offering audiences an intimate look at lives too often pushed to the margins.

More than a performance, Teatro Jornalero is a platform for visibility, healing, and collective voice. By stepping into the spotlight, the performers refuse silence and shed light on the human impact of U.S. immigration policy through their lived experience. Participation in the project offers hope and community, creating an alternative to isolation, addiction, and despair.

The theater project grew out of Undocumented Heart: Oakland Day Laborers Tell Their Stories, a visual art, storytelling, and history exhibition that debuted at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park in 2018. Following the exhibition, the storytellers chose to continue sharing their experiences through theater, forming Teatro Jornalero to bring these stories directly to communities throughout Oakland.

Since its formation, Teatro Jornalero has performed at outdoor festivals, libraries, and community spaces across the city, including Street Level Health Project, the Día de los Muertos Festival, César Chávez Library, and the Oakland Theater Project. The project continues to reach new audiences and is scheduled to be presented at the Oakland Museum of California.

Rooted in lived experience and shared in community, Teatro Jornalero affirms the power of storytelling as a tool for dignity, healing, and social change.

Donations help ensure that the day laborer performers are paid for their time, creativity, and labor, and that Teatro Jornalero can continue bringing these powerful stories to communities across Oakland and beyond.

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