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RAMONA, the pageant of Southern California, and especially the Inland
Empire, opens this weekend. It is staged outdoors, at the Ramona Bowl, in
Hemet, by local residents. It's a unique experience, if you've never seen
it. Stagings have become more culturally sensitive over the years, but
don't expect too much in that regard.<br><br>
<a href="http://www.ramonabowl.com/flash.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.ramonabowl.com/flash.html<br><br>
</a>Info from Website:<br><br>
<br>
<b>The Ramona Outdoor Play</b>, formerly known as (and still commonly
called) <b>The Ramona Pageant</b> is an outdoor
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Play_(theatre)">play</a>
staged annually at
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Hemet,_California">Hemet,
California</a> since 1923. The script is adapted from the novel
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Ramona"><i>Ramona</a></i> by
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Helen_Hunt_Jackson">Helen
Hunt Jackson</a>. It is held over three consecutive weekends in April and
May in the Ramona Bowl, a natural
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Amphitheater">amphitheater</a>
in the foothills above Hemet in
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Riverside_County,_California">
Riverside County</a>. The pageant features a four hundred member cast,
made up largely of area residents, and is described as the largest and
longest-running outdoor play in the United States.<br><br>
The Ramona Pageant is the official outdoor play of the State of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/California">California</a>.
<br><br>
<br>
<b><i>Ramona</i></b>, a
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Novel">novel</a> written by
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Helen_Hunt_Jackson">Helen
Hunt Jackson</a> is the story of a
part-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Scottish_people">
Scottish</a> and
part-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States">
Native American</a> orphan girl growing up and getting married in
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Southern_California">Southern
California</a>, suffering
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Racial_discrimination">racial
discrimination</a> and hardship. Originally
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Serial_(literature)">
serialized</a> in the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//w/index.php?title=Christian_Union_(newspaper)&action=edit&redlink=1">
<i>Christian Union</a></i> on a weekly basis, the novel became immensely
popular. Overall, it has had more than 300 printings, been made into four
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Ramona_(film)">film
versions</a>, and has been performed as an
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/The_Ramona_Pageant">outdoor
play</a> annually since 1923. The impact the novel had on the culture and
image of Southern California was enormous. Its romanticization of Mexican
colonial life gave the region a unique cultural identity and its
publication coincided with the arrival of railroad lines to the region,
bringing in countless tourists who wanted to see the locations in the
novel. These legends became so ingrained in the culture of Southern
California that they were often mistaken for realities. In later years
many who visited "Ramona's birthplace" in San Diego or the
annual "Ramona Pageant" at Hemet (eighty miles north of San
Diego) were surprised and disappointed if they chanced to learn that
Ramona was a (fictional) novel rather than a biography. Crucially, the
novel gave Southern California and the whole of the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Southwestern_United_States">
Southwest</a> its own unique cultural identity. The architecture of the
missions had recently gained national exposure and local restoration
projects were just beginning. Railroad lines to Southern California were
just opening and combined with the emotions stirred by the novel, it was
a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Perfect_storm">perfect
storm</a> of circumstances to suddenly thrust the region into the
national spotlight. One result from this was the sudden popularity of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//wiki/Mission_Revival_Style_architecture">
Mission Revival Style architecture</a> from about 1890 to 1915, which
still survives in a reduced form today.<br><br>
<br><br>
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John M. Ganim<br>
Professor of English<br>
Department of English<br>
University of California, Riverside<br>
900 University Avenue<br>
Riverside CA 92521<br>
TEL (951) 827-1540<br>
FAX (951) 827-3967<br>
ON CAMPUS PHONE 21540<br>
EMAIL John.Ganim@UCR.EDU<br>
<a href="http://www.english.ucr.edu/people/faculty/ganim/index.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.english.ucr.edu/people/faculty/ganim/index.html<br>
</a>
<a href="http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=0230602452" eudora="autourl">
http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=0230602452<br>
</a>
<a href="http://us.macmillan.com/culturaldiversityinthebritishmiddleages">
http://us.macmillan.com/culturaldiversityinthebritishmiddleages<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
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