The Hank Tavera Papers include files related to his work as an actor and director, a gay activist, a member of TENAZ (Teatro Nacional de Aztlán), a journalist and editor, and an organizer for the 11th International Chicano Latino Teatro Festival in San Francisco.

Hank M. Tavera, a performer, director, cultural worker, counselor, and activist in the Chicano and Gay and Lesbian movements, was born in East Los Angeles. He lived in Santa Barbara from 1976 to 1979, then he moved to the Mission District in San Francisco, where he remained until his death in 2000. Tavera performed in Brujerías, Hijos 1 and 2, and La Victima with Teatro de la Esperanza (Santa Barbara) and directed The Leash and Reunion with Teatro Gusto (San Francisco). He also published and edited columns on theater for the newspapers TENAZ Talks Teatro and El Tecolote. Tavera served as chairperson and board member of TENAZ, co-coordinated the 11th International Chicano Latino Teatro Festival, directed the AIDS Theater Festival and the Performing Arts Show of Latino/a GLBT Artists, and served on the California Theater Council. In addition to his theater work, Tavera worked as a high school and community college teacher, a counselor and an AIDS intervention specialist. He founded and directed La Casa Counseling Services, the Third World Counselors Association of California, and the Mission/Southeast Adolescent Day Treatment Center of Children’s Hospital of San Francisco. He was head of Client Services at the San Francisco Aids Foundation and co-chair of the Third World Aids Advisory. Tavera also co-founded LLEGO, Latino/a Lesbian and Gay organization. AGUILAS (Asamblea Gay Unida Impactando Latinos a Superarse) has established a Hank Tavera Community Service Award, and the Mission Cultural Center has an Annual Hank Tavera Performance Show in his honor.

12.5 Linear Feet (16 manuscript boxes, 8 flat boxes)

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