This study investigated the use of drama in a Spanish native language literacy course to engage adult students in the process of discussing their world. Nine 2-hour class sessions with 18 students were videotaped. During this period, using the theory of emancipatory education, the students developed a theater script based on an incident in a Central American country. In class, the students interviewed each other, discussed and debated news articles about the incident and related events, studied grammatical structures, contributed and discussed additional articles about oppression and the struggle for justice, and collectively wrote and read the script. The students became politically vocal and emotionally involved in the class discussions, and the class was reorganized in the process. It is concluded from ethnographic analysis of the experience that by using the students' language, educators make statements about the political dimension of literacy, legitimating their experiences and allowing them to generate their own knowledge. In addition, through the use of theater, the students are allowed to critically analyze their world by examining issues of race, language, and culture alongside social, economic, and historical factors. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)