[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING JOSEFINA LOPEZ ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF CASA 0101 IN BOYLE 
                                HEIGHTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIMMY GOMEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 16, 2025

  Mr. GOMEZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Josefina Lopez, a 
playwright, artistic director, and community leader.
  The daughter of a bracero, Josefina Lopez immigrated to the United 
States from Mexico at the age of 5. Her family settled in Boyle 
Heights, where Lopez grew up as an undocumented individual for 13 years 
until she was granted amnesty. Lopez's experience as a Mexican, 
undocumented woman is what inspired her to write her acclaimed play 
Real Women Have Curves.
  The play, which was later adapted into a film, is based on Lopez's 
lived experience juggling her family's expectations to work at their 
sewing factory, her dream of pursuing an education in New York, and the 
ever-present fear of immigration authorities entering their 
communities. Along with her other works, Lopez has had over 100 
productions of her plays performed in the United States.
  At the start of her writing career, Lopez was often the sole woman of 
color in the room, inspiring her to create a path for Latinos like 
herself to achieve success in the arts. In 2000, Lopez founded CASA 
0101 to, make this dream a reality by bringing theater and arts 
programs to the community she grew up in. For the last 25 years, the 
organization has produced hundreds of plays, provided free arts classes 
for young Angelenos, and supported the next generation of storytellers 
and artists. The impact of Lopez's work can be felt from Boyle Heights 
to Broadway.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Josefina 
Lopez.

                          ____________________