SIGNS FROM

THE HEART:
California
Chicano Murals
Edited with an introduction by
Eva Sperling Cockcroft
Holly Barnet-Sanchez
Social and Public Art Resource Center Venice, Califomia
SOCI AL AND PUBLI C ART RESOURCE CENTER
Published by Social and Public An Resource Ce nte r
685 Ven ice Boul evard
Veni ce, California 90291
(213) 822-9560
Copyrighr Soc ial and Publi c Art Resource Ce nter, 1990
All rights reserved.
Printed in Singapore
Cover: Las Lecosgneras, 198 3, Juana Al icia
2794 24t h Sr.. Mission Di st rict , San Francisco
total mural 30 x SO' , phoro: Tim Drescher
Book design by Cynthia Ander son and Chrisrienne de Tournay
Funded in part by:
Ahmanson Foundat ion
ARCa Foundation
Californ ia Communi ty Foundat ion
California Council on t he Humanit ies
McDonnel l-Douglas
Lear Siegler Foundation
Pacific Bell Corporation
National Endowment for the Art s, Visual Arts
University of Cal ifornia at Irvine, Fine Art s Department
ISBN ' 0-9626419-0- 1
~ .
PREFACE
J udit h F. Baca
1 - 3
INTRODUCTI ON
Eva Sperling Cockcrofr and Holl y Barnet-Sanchez
5 - 21
HOW, WHY, \'(IHERE AND WHEN IT ALL HAPPENED:
Chicano Murals of Californi a
Shifra M. Goldman
22 53
ARTE CHICA NO: Images of a Community
Tomas Ybarra-Frausto
54 - 67
QUEST FOR IDEN TI T Y : Profile of Two Chicana Muralists
based on Interviews wit h Judi th F. Baca and Patri cia Rodriguez
Amalia Mesa-Bains
68 - 83
MURALES DEL MOVIMIEN TO:
Chicano Murals and t he Discourses of Art and Americanization
Marcos Sanchez-Tranq uilino
84 - 101
CONTRIBUTORS
102
LIST OF PLATES
103 - 104
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
105
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his book can be seen as t he fulfillment of a dream begun in 1974 when the first
slide was collected of t he Archive of the Social and Public Art Resource Center
(SPARe). This process, whi ch began among muralists as one collects pictures fora family al bum
co record memories, changed as we realized we were in the midst of something important . As the
Chicano artist community became increasingly committed to the goals of the Chicano Move-
ment, the purpose of our communal work became clearer . What had begun as a casual recording
of our murals to share and exchange would soon outgrow irs picture taking phase and become
the basis of nationwide photo documentation of a powerful community based art . While the
Chicano coll ection represents only one part of SPARes larger collection of international mural
slides, it is an extremel y significant one as Chicano murals have infl uenced international
muralism greatly and contri buted to t he shift in emphasis from Mexi co to the United States as
the center of mural production in the world.
We are now at a junct ure where we can bring together t his photographic docu-
mentation with essays by scholars on Chicano moralism in California, i ts art ists, its imagery, and
its social and historical development . As one of the "cultural workers" of t he earl y Chi cano
Movement , I recall our desire to develop a new visual language which spoke from our own cultural
precedents in pre-Columbian art and our experience of contemporary popular Chicano cult ure.
~ h a t was appropriate visual language was t he subject of considerable intellectual (and not
so intellectual) debate among us. The hundreds of murals produced in Mexican-Ameri can
neighborhoods across the counrry attest ro the realizat ion of a personal and collective voice, as
1
NO COMPRE V/NO GALW
1974
Carlos Almaraz with young people from the 3rd St. gang
2 L3 South Sow Sr. formerly All Nations Center, East Los Angeles
8' x 30'
truly "public" art provides society wit h the symbolic representation of collect ive
beliefs as well as a cont inuing re-affirmation of the collect ive sense of self.
Paintings on walls, or "murals" as t heyare commonly called, are perhaps the quintessent ial publ ic
art in this regard. Since before t he cave pai nt ings at Altamira some 15,000 years before Christ,
wall paintings have served as a way of communicat ing collect ive visions within a communi ty of
people. During the Renai ssance in Italy, considered by many to be the gol den age of Western
Art, murals were regarded as the highest form in rhe hierarchy of painting. They served ro
illusrrare the religious lessons of the church and to embody the new Humanism of t he period
through artistic innovat ions like perspective and naturalistic anatomy.
Mter the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1 917, murals again served as the artis tic
vehicle for educati ng a largely illiterate populace abour the ideals of the Dew society and the
vi rtues and evils of the past. As parr of a re-evaluation of t heir cultural ident ity by Mexican-
Americans during the Chicano movement for civil rights and social justice that began in t he mid-
1960s, murals again provided an important organizing tool and a means for the reclamat ion of
their specific cul tural heritage.
The desire by people for beauty and mean ing in thei r lives is fundamental co their
identi ty as human beings . Some form of art , therefore, has existed in every society rhroughour
hiscory. Before the development of a significant private picture market in Seventeenth Cent ury
Holland, most art was public, commissioned by royalty, clergy, or powerful cit izens for the
g reater glory of their country, church, or city and placed in public spaces. However, after the
Industrial Revol ut ion and the development of modern capitalism with its stress on fi nancial
rat her than social values, the art world system as we know it today wit h galleries, crit ics, and
6
museums gradually developed. More and more, art became a luxury object co be enjoyed and
traded like: any other commod ity. T he break-up of t he stable structures of feudal society and the
fluidit y and dynamism of post- Industri al society was reflected symbolically in art by the
disruption of naturalistic space and t he experimentation charact er ist ic of Modernism.
Modernism has been a mixed blessing for art and art ists. Along with a new
freedom for Innovation and the opport uni ty ro express an individual vision t hat resulted from the
loss of d irect control by pat rons of artistic production, artists experienced a sense of alienat ion
from the materialisti c values of capitalism, loss of a feeling of clearl y defined social ut ili ry, and
the freedom to st arve. This unstable class sit uat ion and percepti on of isol ation from society was
expressed in rhe arrirude of the bohemian avant garde art ist who scorns bot h t he crass commer-
cialism of the bourgeoisie and the unsophisrocared tastes of the worki ng class, creeri ng work
exclusively for the appreciation of a new arist ocracy of taste. Especiall y in the Uni ted States of
t he 196Os, for most people art had become an irrelevant and mysterious thing enjoyed only by
a small educated el ite.
When mural ism emerged again as an importanrart movement in Mexico during
the 1920s, the murals served as a way of creati ng a new national consciousness - a role quite
similar to that of the reiig ious murals of the Renaissance although directed toward a different form
of social cohesion. Unlike the murals of the Ital ian Renaissance wh ich expressed t he commonly
held beliefs of bach rulers and masses, the Mexican murals port rayed the ideology of a worker,
peasant and middle class revoluti on against t he former rul ing class: capitalists, clergy, and
foreign interests. Since rhac rime in the eyes of many, contemporary mural ism has been identified
wit h poor people, revol ution, and communism. This association has been a major factor in
changi ng muralism's rank wit hi n the hierarchy of the "fi ne arts" from che highest to t he lowest.
Once the favored art of popes and potentates, murals, especially Mexican-style narrat ive murals,
now considered a "poor people's art ", have fallen to a level ofonly marginal acceptance within t he
art world.
The t hree g reat Mexican art ists whose names have become al most synonymous
wi th that mural renaissance, Diego Rivera, J ose Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros,
were all influenced by st ylist ic currents in European moderni sm - Cubism, Expressionism, and
Futurism _ but they used t hese stylistic innovations to create a new socially moti vated real ism.
Rather than continuing to use the naturalisti c pictorial space of Renaissance murals, t he
Mexicans explored new forms of compos ition. Rivera used a col lage- like d iscontinuous space
which juxtaposed elements of d ifferent sizes; Orozco employed non-nat uralist ic brushwork,
dist orted for ms, and exaggerat ed light and dark, while Siqueircs added expressive uses of
perspective wi t h ext reme foreshort eni ng t hat made forms burst right our or the wall. The sryl isric
innovations of rhe Mexicans have provided che basis for a modern mural language and most
contemporary muralism is based to some excenr or anot her on the Mexican model. The Mexi can
precedent hac: been especially irnporranr in the United States for the social realist muralists of the
Wotks Prog ress Admini stration (WPA) and Treasury Section programs of the New Deal period
and the contemporary mural movement t hat began in the late 1960s.
Mote rhan 25 00 murals were painted with government sponsorship during the
New Deal period in t he United St at es. By the beginning of World War II however. support for
social real ist painting and mural ism in general , had ended. During t he Cold War period that
followed, rea. iscic pai nting became identi fi ed with t otal itarian systems like t hat of the Soviet
Union , while abstract ion, especially New York-style Abscracc Expression ism, was seen as sym-
bolizi ng individual freedom in avant gardearr circles. By the early 19605, only the various kinds
of absrracr art from t he geometric t o t ee bio-morphic were even considered to reall y be an .
Endorsed by crit ics and the New York museums, abstracti on was promulgated abroad as the
Inremarional Style and cons idered to be "universal " - in much the same way as st raig ht -nosed ,
straight -hai red, blondes were conside red to be the "universal" ideal of beauty. Those who d iffered
or complained. were d ismi ssed as ignorant , unculrured, or ant i-American .
The concept of a "universal" ideal of beauty was closely related to t he "rnelring
poe" theory, then taught in schools, wh ich held that all the different immigrants, races and
nat ional groups which composed the population of the Uni ted States could be assimilated inca
a single homogeneous "American". This theory ignored cheexistance ofseparate cul t ural enclaves
wirhin t he United Scares as wel l as blaranr d iscriminarion and racism. Ic also ig nored the complex
dialectic between isolat ion and assimilat ion and the problem of ident it y fer people like the
Mexican-Americans of California who were neither wholly "American" nor "Mexican"but a new,
unique, and constantl y changi ng composite variously called "American of Mexican descent: '
"Mexican-American, " Lat ino or H ispanic. In t he 1960s the rerm "Chicano" wi t h its populist
origins was adopted by socially-conscious yout h as a form of positi ve sel f-idenrificac ion fo r
Mexican-Americans. Its use beca me a form of pol it ical statement in and of icsel f. '
The dialectic between assimilat ion and separat ism can be seen in the hi story of
l os Angeles, for example, first founded in 1781 as a part of New Spain. In spite of constant
1. 1hroughoul this boo k severa l terms will be used to ide ntify Ameri cans of Mexican descent : U.S.
Mexicans; ' and "Chicanos: Each carries Sl>l."<: ific meanings and are nor used in ren:hangeab ly. "Mexican-American" is primari ly
a post World War II development in regular USI' unnl rhe poliricizaricn oftl mwimitnlo, rhe Chicano civil rights movement of
the 1%Osand 1970s.lts UI;C acknowledges wit h pride the Mexican heritage which was hidden by an earlier, ltss appropriare t erm,
7
"La Famili' from CHiCANOTi ME TRiP
1977
East Los Srreetscapers (Wayne Alaniz Healy and David Rivas Botello)
Lincoln Heig ht s, East Los Angeles,
rotal mural 18' x 90" thi s panel 18' x 26'
A Cit ywide mu ral proj ect.
pressure for assimilation incl uding job discrimination and compulsory use of English in t he
schools, the Mexican-American population was able to maintain a cu lture sufficiently dis ri ncr so
rhat, as hist orian Juan Gomez-Quinones has frequently argued, a ci ry within a ciry can be
defi ned. This separate cul ture cont inues {Q exist as a distinct enncy within rhe domi nan r cul t ure,
even though ir is now approximately 150 years since Los Angeles was acqui red by the United
States. Thi s sit uat ion, by itself, tends {Q discred it the melting POt concept.
The Civil R i g h t ~ Movement, known among Mexican- Americans as the Chicano
Movement ore! moooniento, fought against rhe idea ofa "universal" culture, a single ideal of beauty
and order. Ir re-examined the common assumption that European or Western ideas represented
t he pinnacle of "civilization," while everything else, from the thought of Confucius to Peruvian
portrait vases, was second-rate, too exot ic, or "primitive. " The emphasis placed by Civil Rights
leaders on self-definition and cult ural pride sparked a revision of standard histories to include the
previously unrecognized accomplishments of women and mi norities as well as a re-examination
of t he standard school curriculum. Along with t he demonst rations, st rikes, and marches of t he
political movement came an explosion of cult ural express ion.
As was t he case after the Mexican Revolut ion, the Civil Rights Movement
inspired a revival of muralism. However. this new mural movement differed in many important
ways from the Mexi can one. It: was nor sponsored by a successful revolutionary government, but
came out of the struggle by the people themselves against the status quo. Instead of well -funded
projects in government buildings, these new murals were located in the barrios and ghettos of the
inner cities, where oppressed people lived. They served as an inspiration for struggle, a way of
reclaiming a cultural heritage, or even as a means of developing self-pride. Perhaps most
significantly, t hese murals were not t he expression of an individual vision. Artists encouraged
local residents (Q join rhem in discussi ng the content , and often, in doing the actual painti ng.
For the first time, techniques were developed t hat would allow non-artists working with a pro-
fessional to des ign and paint thei r own murals. This element of community participat ion, the
placement of murals on exrerior walls in rhe community itself, and t he philosphy of community
"Spanish-American." However, it' s hyphenated conuunion implies a level of equal iry in status berween the Mexican and the
American which in actuali ty belies the unequal treatment of Ameri cans of Mexican descent with in United States society.
)1. S. Mexican is a term developed by essayist Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilmo to replace the term Me"ican-American with one
that represents both mo re ge nerally and dearly all .fiofe:<icans wit hm the United States whether their families were here pr ior m
annexation in 1848, have been here for generat ions, or fe r only tWO days. In other words, it represents all Mexicans living wit hin
U. S. borders rega rdless of residen ce or citizenship status.
The mosr basic defi nition of the term Chicano was made by journali st Ruben Salazar in 1970: '"A Chicano is a Mexican-
American who does not have an Anglo image of himself. " It is a term of self-definition .rhar denotes poliricization
9
to
input, that is, the right of a communi ty to decide on what kind of art it wanes, characreriacd t he
new muralism
Nowhere did rhecommuniry-based mural rnovcmenr take firmer root chan In the
Chi cane comrn uniries of Cal iforn ia. With t he Mexican mural t radi tion as parr of their heritage,
murals were a particula rly congenial form for Chicano artists to express chc collective vision of
their ccmmuni ry. The mild cl imate and low, stuccoed bui ldings provided favorable physical
condi tions, and, within a few years, California had more murals than an}' other region of the
cou ntry. As home to t he largest concentrat ion of Mexicans and people of Mexi can ancestry
anywhere outside of Mexico City, Los Angeles became the site of t he largest concenrrarion of
Chicano murals in the Uni ted States. Est imates range from one thousand to fifteen hundred
separate works painted between 1969 and t he present. The Social and Public Art Resource
Center's "California Chicano Mural Archive" compiled in 1984 documents close to 1000 mural
projecrs t hroughout the state in slide form.
All arr has a relationship to the social st ruct ures and political events ofrhe sociery
in which it is created that is found in bot h content and form. For most arc, thi s relationship is fairly
indirect. However, public art (and in particular mural art) is more directly tied to poli tical and
economic st ruct ures and social imperatives. Mu ralism, unli ke- easel painting, requires substantial
patronage in t he form of funds and public support in order to fl ourish. Traditionally, t his support
came from wealthy indi viduals and official insri rutions like t he government at the church. In the
contemporary mural movement, the situat ion has been more complex.
Support can come enti rely from grass-roots sources, neighborhood. labor, or
issue-oriented groups. I t can also come direct ly from government sources - as in city-sponsored
programs or State and Federal Arts Endowmenrgrancs -c-c or indirectly through social service, job
t raining, and employment programs. Corporate. foundation, and individual grams, al though
imporcanc.general ly playa more mi nor role. Almost always, the amounc of funding is closely tied
to levels of social unrest and/or polit ical pressure. Thus, in California, the early level of support
(or murals was di rect ly related to t he impact of t he massive Ch icano mobilizat ion of el mooimimto
while the current revival of support corresponds to concerns about high levels of gang and drug
violence coupled wi th t he increased power of Lati nos, in gene. ral, as a consumer and voti ng bloc.
Other. more ideological factors include levels of pol itical consc iousness and communi ty involve-
ment on the part of art ists and intellectuals, art world trends, and t he general social at mosphere
as represented t hrough rhe media.
Changes in the themes, frequency and type of murals painted are determined by
specifi c combinations of social and economic factors. In the early period of Ch icano mural ism,
CHICANOPARK
J"1l EEWA Y PYLON
19n
JoR MonrOYAand
th.. Royal Chicano Air Fotee'
Chicaoo Park. San Diego
30' x 3 ~ '
quality became as important to muralists as t he immediate
Impact . In t hemat ic terms as wel l, serious muralists developed beyond t he
quesuon to grapple wi th more general t hemes. Traditional handling of symbols that had
dominated of t he early walls, such as the farmworkers flag, the Vi rgin of Guadal upe, and
Imagery, began to seem old-fashioned and cl iched as new social as well as artistic
Issues and concerns confronted t he artist s.
. . Ins: itutionally as well, t he nationalist phase of t he mural movement had ended .
Angel es C.ltywlde Murals program, for example, which began in 1974, al t hough headed by
Chi cana sponsored 250 murals t hroughout Los Angeles by Anglo, Asian and
Black amsrs as well as Chicanos. Baca's next project carried this multi-et hnic idea even further
t he Great Wall ofLox.Angeles mural , a history of mi norities in California painted in a flood control
channel, was begun 10 1976 by a racially and et hnically mixed group of 10 artists and some 80
12
from 1969-1 975, dun ng the height of poli tical acti"ism, most murals had mainl y grass-roms
sponsorship t hrough pol irical and neighborhood art isr-i niriarcd communi ty arts centers,
local merchants, and sel f-fund ing by t he artists. Themes tended to reflect the narionalisric
concerns of the ti mes and dealt largely wirh questions of Chicano Identi t y.
By the mid- to late 1970s, however, murals had been accepted by govcrurnenr as
an inexpensive means of ur ban revitalization and consrrucrive yout h act ivity. Art worl d
authorities saw street murals as an interesti ng new form. As early as 1974, a group of Chicano
artists, Los Four, were given an exhi biti on ar the LA. Cooney Museum t hat incl uded examples
of their murals. Increasingly, funding for murals came fromofficial rather than grass-toOtS sources
through federal. stare, and city programs as well as corporate and foundation grants. The formerl y
artist-run community arcs centers began to hire administrators as fund-raising and grant writing
became more important elements within rheorgan izations. Two national conferences ofcommu-
niry mural ists in 1976 aod 1978 increased communication between artists from different areas
of rhe counrry and different ethnic and racial groups. Several books abour murals, rwo of rhem
written by parti cipants in the mural movement, Tmuard a Peoples Art: The Contemporary Mural
!I1ovemtnt and The Mural "'1anJial were published in the mid-1 970s. To some extent, these served
as extensive, documented manifestos which systematized the philosophy of communiry murals,
designated major artists, and helped spread t he movement internationally. By the second
nat ional conference, in 1978, t here was a signifi cant participat ion by communi ty muralists from
England, France, Scotland and Mexico. As a result of rhi s conference an inremerional newslet ter
(later t he quarterly magazine, Community M" ralJ) began publ ication and continued to publish
regularly until 1988.
The ideology and implementation of communit y part icipat ion in public art de-
veloped by t he mural movement also infl uenced "official" public art in t he Uni ted States. First ,
a debate wi t hin t he art community on t he legitimacy of vprivare" images in "public" spaces was
initiated. Eventuall y, at least the language of community cont rol and parti cipat ion became part
of rhe accepted formula in commissioning publ ic art . Perhaps most important, interest generated
by st reet murals created a new impetus toward government responsibi lity for commissioning
public art char has been influential in t he fotmation of the numerous Percent for Art programs
in cities around t he nation.
Recognit ion and instituti onalizati on had several effects on bot h t he form and
content of Chicano murals. W hi le numerous arrisrs had participated bri efly in t he spontaneous
out pour ing of murals during eI mooimiento, by the mid- 1970s certain artist s began to be ident ified
and ident ify themselves as mural artists. Concerns about permanence, composition, formal
SONG OF UNITY
1978
(Ray Pat lan, Osh.a Neumann, Anna de Leon, O' Brian Thiele)
La Pena Cul rural Center, 310 5c Sharrock Ave., Berkeley
approx. 20' x 5c 0' .

13
14
reenagers under the direct ion of Baca. Even one of t he most mil itanrly grass roots: and nationalist
examples of the major mural projects . San Diego's Ch/(J}}f) Park (the painted pillars beneath the
Coronado Bay Bridge char began wit h a land takeover III 1970}, integrated non-Chicanos into
its 19-:-7 "Muralrhon. -, In t he Bay Area. Ray Patlan, a leading Chicano arri sr. JOIned with t hree
ocher arrisrs to form rhe multi-ethnic collect ive Commonarrs which created rhe classic Song oj
Unity mural in honor of the victi ms of the Pinocher dicrurorshi p in Chile and indigenous cult ural
expression in North and Larin America. More and more the idenrificarion became "minorit y" or
"oppressed" rather t han strictly "Ch icano".
The largest expansion ofcontemporary muralism in t he United Scares came in the
late 19705 when funds from t he Carter Administrat ion job t raini ng program (CETA), became
widely used to hire artists and create community arts programs. in cities around t he Count ry.
Described as a smaller version of t he New Deal art ist employment programs, CETA int roduced
hundreds of young art ists to muralism bringi ng public art" to the "heartl and" for t he first time
since t he 1930s. The prominence of local government in rhese programs, however, created an
implicit (and someti mes real) t hreat ofcensorship t hat tended (Q dilute the content of t hese walls.
The depoliricizarion of muralis m in the late 1970s also corresponded (Q decreased social activism
after rhe end of rhe Vietnam crisis.
Afrer CETA, many critics decl ared t hat t he mural revival was fi nished. l mni-
cal ly, however, rhe Reagan years have witnessed renewed vital it y, not onl y in rnurali sm and
Chicano art , but also in realism and social ly conscious art in general. The growt h of t he ultra-
conservati ve religious right coupled wi t h fears of U. S. mil itary involvement in Central America
created new activism at t he grass rootSlevel during the 1980s. At the same time, there has been
greater recognit ion for Chicano art and murals wit hin mainst ream inst it utions which has created
new opportunities for Chicano arti sts. Additionally, the buying and voting power of t he rapidly
growing Lati no populat ion of the Uni ted Srares has provided new recognition for Ch icano
concerns and Lat ino cult ures in general.
The 1980s have witnessed an explosion of major narional exh ibitions of Lat in
American and "Hispanic" art t hat have roured t he nation including "Diego Ri vera," "Art of t he
Fantastic," "Hispanic Art in the United States," and "Lat in American Spi rit .' "Ch icano Art:
Resistance and Affi rrnation , 1965-1985 ," an interpretive exhi bit ion exami ning t he relationship
between t he Chi cano civil rights movement and the Chicano art movement , opened in 1990.
Many of t he young rebels who ini ciared the Chicano mural movement have explored and
cont inued codevelop orher medi a in addition to muralism: easel paint ing, sculpt ure, assemblage,
installat ion, performance, and video. Many have been given museum exhibit ions and achieved
utrrtnc THE WALL
1984
J udith F. Baca
Harbor Freeway, Los Angeles
18' x 90'
-
' -... .
- --
16
narional reputations. This success has nor necessarily meant a denial of their heritage or their
acti vism as it might have before 1969. San Diego's Border Arr W orkshop, for example, formed
in part by veterans of rhe Cenrro Cultural de la Reza/Chicano Park murals. was invited to show
installations and performance pieces dealing with rbe plight ofmigrant workers and other border
issues at the prcsngious Arrisrs Space gallery in New York Ci ty in 1989. Tbeir arr is able to cross-
over inca the mainstream m spite of t he strong poli tical content because of rhc arr isricelly
innovative format of t heir installat ions. While al mosr all Chicano artisrs roday participate in
gallery exhibi tions, and for some t his is t heir major emphasis, others have conti nued to
concent rate on t heir work with the community and as muralists .
Over t he years, rhe city of Los Angeles has come to identi fy itself as the mural
capital of the worl d. During the Los Angeles Ol ympics in 1984, t he cit y commissioned a seri es
ofren freeway murals from t he leading local mural art ists, three of whom are Chicanos:) udy Baca,
Wi ll ie Her ron, and Frank Romero. There were a number of unoffi cial pieces as well , including
a large downtown wal l by the East Los Srreerscapers. The city of San Francisco has also continued
to provide significant patronage for Chicano muralists. Since 1988, t here is also a active program
in Los Angeles beg un by artists, for the restoration and preservat ion of land mark murals - some
close to t wenty years old. Between 1988 89, SPARes mural restoration program, the Mural
Emergency Relief Fund, has already made eig ht small grants to artists to restore t heir damaged
murals. Beginning in 1988, t he city of Los Angeles again became active as a patron of murals in
the various council districts of the city through rhe Neigbbodxod Pride: Great Wa/iI Unlimited
program. Ad ministered by SPARC and modeled after rhe precedenr esrablisbed in t he Great Wall
program for communi ty part icipation murals, Ntighborhood Pride commissioned nine murals in
1988-1989 and bas fiftee n more scheduled for 1989-90.
The followi ng four essays are devoted to the discussion and anal ysis of the
historical and social relat ionships through which Chicanos have used culture, and in particular
murals, to explore t hei r individual and collecti ve identi ty. The first essay, by art historian and
crit ic, Shifra Goldman , "How, Why, Where, and W hen it all Happened : Chicano Murals of
Cal ifornia, " provides a comprehensive history of Chi cano murals and an informed discussion of
t he diverse elements t hat comprise t he Chicano mural movement . In it she proposes several
categories whi ch make the California material more accessible, exami ni ng rhe work in terms of
period, region, subject, and organizational structures. Goldman develops a chronolog yof public
mural ism in the 1970s and 1980s providing an importanr tool for locat ing t his art movement
wi thi n its historical and art his torical contexts. She also analyzes t he t hemes and speci fi cally
Chicano iconog raphy developed by rhe mural isrs, indicat ing the special meaning t hese images
had for the arriscs curing rhe period when the work was painted. In addition, this essay examines:
t he changi ng nature of polit ical acciviry and social consciousness as they affected mural content
and patronage and looks toward the present status of the mural movement.
The second essay by cultural historian Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, "Aru Chicano:
Images ofaCcmmuni ry," ident ifies Chicano arras a hisroricallyevolving social process informed,
sustained and directed by the communi ty-based consrrucrion of a Chicano cul tural identity.
According to Ybarra-Frausto, to be Chicano/a requi res: the assert ion of one's self as an integral
component of the Chicano community. This affili ation is based on the recogniti on of a shared
li vi ng experience as Mexicans (and t heir descendents). In t he Uni ted States, t hi s identity is rooted
economically in the Mexican-Amer ican working class, supported generarionally and extended
geog raphi cally by way of Chicano barrios. These ba rriQJ were and cont inue to be an important link
in a network basic to the exchange of cultural influences borh wi th in and between regions. Thus,
long-established communal rituals, such as those followed by the penitentes religious g roup, and
tradit ional arts , such as the wooden sculptures of Ja tJtOJ (saints) made regionally by the Ja n/eros,
provided precedents for communal and performarive aspects of Chicano art . In t he 1970s these
resid ual forms and practices found an extension of t hei r tradit ional audience as barrio networking
reconnected them to emergent national forms of Chi cano arr.
Because Chicano art ists were consciously searching to ident ify the images t hat
represented rhei r shared experience they were continually led back to the barrio. Ir became the site
for "finding" t he symbols, forms, colors, and narratives that would assist rhem in t he re-
defi ni tion of their communit ies. Nor interested in perpetuating the Hollywood notion that art
was primarily an avenue of escape from reality, Chicano artists sought to use their arr to create
a dialogue of demys rificarion rhrough which the Chicano communit y could evolve toward
cult ural liberation. To this end, murals and posters became an ubiq uitous element of t he
barrioscape. According to Ybarra- Prausro, {heypublicly represented t he reclamation of indi vidual
Chicano mi nds and hearts t hrough rbe acknowledgement and celebration of their communit y's
identity t hrough t he creat ion of an art of resistance.
Amal ia Mesa-Bai ns examines t he issues of muralism from a different perspective
t han t he other aut hors in "Quest fo r Ident it y: Profi le of Two Chi cana Muralists.' She offers
insight into (he interdependence between personal and collect ive experience in t he development
ofself-idenciry for both the individ ual artist and t he communi ty as a whole. For those art isrs who
"came of age" wit hin t he Chicano Movement, t he relat ionship each had wit h their communi t y
was intensified. This was due to the fact t hat their home envi ronment, specifi cally t he shared day
to day living experience in the barrio, had become a "cul rural sanctuary" from which they drew
"
.'
18

not only material for rhcir an but also rhe persona l strengt h neccessary for leadership. These
artist, rrunstormed trems of personal and familial idenncy i nrc a public image signifying
resistance. This was especially important for women anises withi n the Chicano movement , for
whom the st ruggle for liberation as p::1r{ ofar. oppressed national cornrnuniry coalesced with that
of personal liberation within tilt: f amily.
In t he two cases described b" Mesa-Bains of]udy Baca and Pat ricia Rodrfguea,
beth artists typify all would-be Chicano art ists by thei r way of worki ng through t he new
challenges brought by different sett ings. Throughout, personal enlis tment into the Movement
was tantamount [0 a commit ment to the development of the self within a communit y engaged
in t he process ofincreas ing hi storical consciousness. As Mesa-Bains poi nts out, it is sciII necessary
to develop analyses t hat can explai n t he Movement as it pertai ns t o itsel f and the individuals
affected by it , as wel l as to other components of American society.
The fi nal essay "t\1liraiesdelMOllimim/o:Chicano Murals and the Discourses of Arc
and Americanization" by Marcos Sancbez-Tranquil ino exami nes t he role of conceprual st ructures
in the creat ion of a cultural movement . He emphasizes the pol itical significance of cuirural self-
definition, exemplified in the use of t he word "Chicano" itself, as a tool of liberation in t he
struggle by the Chicano community to emerge from its condit ion as an "i nternal" colony. In t he
same way that Chicano ident ity is formed t hroug h a specifi c combination of Indian, Span ish,
and Anglo infl uences, the specific "Chicano' mural style is a combinat ion ofcult ura l influences
whi ch include American "pop" cul ture, art-world, Mexican, and barrio infl uences. Sanchez-
Tranquilino highlights the specifi c role of yout h participat ion and gang calligraphy (g raffi t i) in
t he early murals. not only in terms of the specific st yle t hat developed. but also in relation to
structural factors like t he use of collective painti ng groups and the barrio locat ions where the
murals were placed.
Prior to the Chicano movement, U. S. Mexicans were defined externally through
a series of derogatory stereotypes with roral assimilat ion as t he only way to break out of the
situat ion of social marginalizati on. Art rbar integrated elements of U. S. Mexicaoor barrioculture
was also denigrated as "folk" arc and not considered seriously. The explosion of Chicano cul t ure
and murals as a result of t he polit ical movement , provided new recog nit ion and val ue for Chicano
art which weakened t he old barriers. According roSanchez-Tranq uilino, t his experience allowed
art ists to figuratively break t hroug h the wall that confined art ists eit her ro the barrio or to
unqual ified assimilat ion. It gave t hem the confidence ro explore new arrisric forms and a new
relationship to t he dominant society.

LA OFFR1J. NDA
1989
Yreina Cerv:intez
Toluca. St . under Ihr 1st Strret Bridge, Los Angelrs
16' I 52'
A NtiglMf b" I PritklGrut Wtt!/J U"lt,.ittd project .
I
I
I
INSPIRE 7U ASPIRE
1987
Mike RfO$
Sourh Van Nl:$s Ave. and 22nd S' Io.f" ' "
apprmr. 40' l( 120' . ., 1 rS510n DIUf lcr , San /;ranc;'!Co
All of the essays bring out the importance of the early )'ears of the Chicano
Movement when community activis m was at it height in generating the search for idenriry and
collecti ve self re-defi nit ion that resul ted in a flowering of Chicano culture and art. This cultural
renaissaoce including Chicano muralism continued CO develop and grow during the later 1970s
as the parricipanrsgrew in maturity and skill. The authors look (Q the furure with both opt imis m
and concern pointing OUt that as rbe century draws co a d ose, there is a need to reformulate
Chicano idenriry in a way that corresponds to both positive and negati ve changes in srarus and
to changed social conditions. To remain valid, an art istic movement needs roengage in conti nual
self-cri ticis m. It must change with t he times and the needs of the communi ty while remaining
true to its own vision, its own collective self. We call to the new generat ion of arcisrs, the new
act ivists for their community, to build on the lessons of the past , while creati ng a future of
their own.
Eva Sper ling Cockcrofr
Holl y Barnet-Sanchez

21
THE DEL RE\' MURAL
1968
Antonio Bernal
EI 'rearro Campesino CultuT1l1 Censer, Del Rey
6' ,, 15'
Muralism was the most important, widespread, cohes ive, and
publicized aspect of the Chicano art movement during the
1970s. As a major carrier ofpublic communication to Mexican
communi ties in the United Stat es, it has been a vehicle of
protest and demands addressed to the power St ructures for
equi table solutions to problems facing those communities. It also signaled the pride, cul t ural
values, hopes, and aspirations of Mexican community acri viri scs, especiall y among: the young
people who formed the "t roops" of t he Chicano movement in t he 1960s. Mural ism forged an
essential link between the newly emergi ng Chicano groupings and their Mexican heritage, en-
couraging a study of t hemes and techniques developed by the Mexican School of publi c art
(muralism and pri nt making) in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a study of pre-Col umbian
pai ncing, sculpt ure, and architecture which laid a basis for both the Mexican School and the
Chicano arr movement. In its insistence on a public voice, Chicano muralism parti cipated in rhe
development of a national mural movement which made its presence known, from 1967 on in
the United Stares - and event ually in t he rest of the world.
Chi cano muralisrn' began as a grassroots expl osion t hat swept numbers of artists,
,
arr students, and self-taught artists into t hat artist icact ivity. Cal ifornia leads the country insheer
quanti ty. Taking into account t he murals that adorn buildings inside and OUt in dozens ofcities
I . I t $hould be understood that Chicano murals may bf, painted by teams inc1ud ins non-Ch icano pnrricipants. or be headed by
non-Ch icano arc d irecwrs like Bill Butler in Li J" Valley. Los Angeles. Mexican Gilbeno R ~ m i r e ~ (San Diego and San Pralld .;co),
- - _..._----- -
23
24
large and smal l. there muse have been mor e t han 1,')O{) mural s in the state during the fi rst decade.
and mort' were pai nted every year . However. 1:1 certain number of exiscin!:: murals are dest royed ,
covered, or ddiKCd each year and u number "vanish" due to fault y techn ique or because paint
products have a finite life span when exposed to sun, rai n, and pollution. Such murals should be
subrracred from t he toral of exist ing murals, though t hey are available to us in reproduction and
thus remain parr of the his tory. For Californi a, t he most complete visual information available
is con tained within the California Chicano Mural Archive: the documented slide collect ion
compiled by the Social and Public An Resource Center where it is housed, wi th a duplicate set
at the Los Angeles branch of the Smi thsonian's Arch ive of American Art located in the Scot t
Galler y of rhe Huntington Library in San Marino, California. The archi ve lists 3,504 slides . Of
t hese, 74 1areofseparate murals credited to 74 groups and 4 11 individual artists. As is indi cated
i n t he documentation, the Archi ve contai ns photographic records of murals no longer in
existence. Al t hough t he Archive is comprehensive, it is not (and cannot be expected to be)
exhaust ive. Considering those murals not photographed over t he years, those t hat disappeared
prior to the beginning of the documentat ion project, and those pai nted since the Archive was
compiled , even 1,500 seems a conservative figure.
When one considers this prodigious output of paintings that are monumental
in scale, labor intensive, exhausting in terms of working condit ions, and relatively costly ro
produce, t he f-act of t heir product ion in such quantiry casts a clear light on t he political, moral,
and social imperatives that stimulated great numbers ofprofessional and potential acrisrs to work
on walls with dedication bur often wit h little or no remuneration. Murals are not for sale. Nor
are public walls (as French-Mexican muralist Jean Charlot once pointed cue) a proper surface for
the naked displayofselfwhi ch has been a ma jor focus in Buro-Amcri can art from 1945 on. Rat her
they are t he logical genre for pictures envisioned as social levers. Mural ists were not incercsred
in formalist experimentation for irs own sake, but only as it cont ributed to the community.
Chicano muralists, wi th t he high ideals and social (or revol utionary) concepts of rhe 1968-1975
period, were the artistic counterparts of the student and yout h movements which undertook t he
task of "changi ng t he world." Some artists were more than counterparts ; they were participants
and leaders in t he poli t ical and economic struggle, considering rheir art (as did Mexican mural ist
David Alfaro Siqueiros) an integral part of t hei r ideology.
and Puerto Ricar,-d"scent arti st Manuel "Spain'" Ro:lrfgun (San Franci$co). The existing dct errninant$ seem to a
prepond" rance of t he participants be Chicano, and/or the director be a Chicano. and the theme be related to or syrnpat heuc w, tl!
Chicano concerns
:0aJditio.o to dedication , muralists req uired skills: legal knowledge to obtain
and penmrs; chemical knowledge about the condition of arclu recrural walls, primers,
pamrs. anti scalers; research methods fur historical murals; and sociological methods fi
. . . b I or
neigh or. lOod tcam.s polling COmmun it ies for their interests and support. They
also acquired ski lls .m fund-raising and grant writi ng. These were techniq ues nor taught in
schools therefore artists had to improvise and teach themselves. Some sought training in Mexico
as they developed into professional muralists (such as Ray Patlan who worked wi rh Arnold Belkin
in the San Carlos Academy, and J udith Bam who attended the Taller Siqueircs in Cuecnavaca).
Most attacked the walls wi th the training t hey had received for easel painting and des ign i n art
schools. S.ome served apprenticeships with more experienced mural ists unt il they could launch
out on t heir-own. Many starred painting with no t raini ng at all but wit h an urgent need to express
what . they as "trut h." As a resul t the works were often ragged and needed better
drawi ng , composmg and painting skills. However, t hey exhi bited what one writer on Chicano
theatre has defi ned as rosquacbismo: t he vi rtue of opposing rhe refined fi nis hed product of
bourgeois art with "unpol ished virsliry."?
Chicano murals, born in the heyday of "modernism" - wi th its emphasis on
abstraction ro the poi nt ofminimalism, and an elite appeal- insi sted on repre-
senmrionalism If not actually social reali sm of the type. brought to its apotheosis in Mexi can
mu:als. The on "messages," on narrative, on history pai nt ing, in a period which
derided these attri butes 10 art . Chicano art students resisted their professors in art school and
ignored their lessons.after They drew together for mutual support, encou;age-
ment , and strength JO cheir oppositional stance. From this communalism came chicanidad and
(Chicano consciousness and brother/sisterhood) and the organization ofmural groups,
art gal leries, centers, and alternative publications.
Considering rhe above, it is pertinent to t he history of modern art ro develop the
chronology of public muralism in t he 19705 and 1980s; to set it within its historical and art
to indicate the themes and t he signifi canceof the iconography that preoccupied
the artists; to t he st ructures esrablished by Chicano artists to organize and provide
supporr for mural Ism; to examme t he changing nature ofpol it ical activit y and social conscious-
ness thes e changes affected mural content and patronage; and, fi nally, to indicate t he present
status of rhe mural movement in California.
2. Yvonne Yarbro-Bejarano, "Thc Female Subject in Chicano Theatre: Sexuality , 'Race' and Class," TiHarrejo"""41, 38.4 (1986).
25
26
BIRTH OF THE CHICANO ML"RAL MOVEMENT, 1968 - 19
70
.
Themes and Their Times
In rcprcsenrational an the theme (or subi ecr), as well as t he iconography, are the means by which
communicat ion is established. As we have seen. communicat ion - not just aest hetic pleasure,
though thi s was certainly not ruled out - was primary for Chicano muralists. In order co create
visual forms that could convey meanings nor previously exrsrenr, images and iconography were
both borrowed and invent ed. Content is also conveyed th rough forms themselves: the ways in
wh ich color, line, shape, space, value, scale, placement, and framing are used; or t he degree to
wh ich objects are naturall y rendered or expressivelydisconed. [ 0 rhe conrinual struggle between
idea and renderi ng, between erudition and experiment, between skill and apprenciceship, the
t hemes, meanings and formal language of Chi cano muralism were developed. A constant
dialogue took place between the power st ruggle of the movement against t he domi nant societ y
to achieve its needs and aspirat ions, and t he unfold ing of t he artist s' abilit ies to translate,
commenr on and contribute to that st ruggle. In t he course oft hat dialogue, mot ifs weredeveloped
from t he concepts of the movement itsel f to which t he artist s gave visual form. W e can do no more
in t he confi nes of t his chapter than to give some examples of t his d ialog ue, and indi cate t he kinds
of themes that were prevalent in various t ime periods.
As far as can be determined, t he earliest Chicano murals in Cal ifornia are t he rwo
1968 panels painted in Del Rey by Antonio Bernal on the United Farm Workers' Teacro
Campesino Center. They merit special attention not only for their earl ydat e, but for the example
they present of iconography larer prevalent in the pol it icized murals of t he 1970s. In one, pre-
Columbian! rulers line up Bonampak-l ike horizontally, headed by a woman; in the ot her, a
sequence of admi red leaders from t he Mexican Revolut ion to t he 1960s are led by " La Adeli ra",
a revol ut ionary woman soldier. She is followed by Francisco "Pancho" Villa, Emiliano Zapata,
J oaquin Murieta (3 Mexican or Chilean outlaw-hero on this side of t he border), Cesar Chavez of
the United Farm Workers, Reies L6pezT ijerina of t he New Mexico land g rant movement , a Black
Pant her, and Marti n l uther King. Jr.
4
The mural t hus encompasses rhe past events and
personali t ies that most influenced the Chicano movement: t he ind igenous cul tures of pre-
3, Ilonampak is chI' sic"nfan ancient Maya cit y now locared b Chiapas, Mexico. It wasabandoned prior to 900 A.D. and cont ai ns
a series of murals.
4. The Black Pant her f igure has been ident ifi ed by Luis Valdez of t he TeaHo Campni no :u Malcol.m.X (te!<.>phone
wit h author, N",ember 10 , 1986). However, despiee cheeyeglnses, t he figul'(; w<.>arn dashikI, has a panther on h' s shlt-t ,
and carries a machi neg l:n - symbols and inst ruments not wit h Malcolm Xor the Black Musl ims. The BI:ICk Panthers
wen- organized in Califcmia in 1966 aod made t heir base in Oakland. It is possible that t he artist. II Chicano welfare worker from
Col umbian Mexico and the Revol ut ion; and (from t he 1960s) the Black civil rights movement
and leaders of the Mexican/Chicano Movement in the persons of Chavez and LOpez Tijerina.
The yea-s from 1968 to 1970. when the mural movement began to pick up
momentum, were fil led wirhsignificanr evenrs. 1968 proved to be a year of international student
protest ; from Tokyo to Paris, from Mexico City to ma ny cities in the United States. In Easr los
Angeles, the famous hi gh school "blowouts" had repercussions among Chicano srudencs across
the country. By May 1969, 10,000 people attendee the "Fiesta de los Barrios" organi zed by the
"blowout" commi t tee at lincoln H igh School. This was the first g iganti c Chicano cult ural event
of Cali fornia and it inspired Francisco X. Camplis of San Francisco's Casa Hispana de Bellas Ar ces
to assemble "Arre de los Barrios," a t raveling exhibition of lati n American and Chicano en.'
Event ually the cooperat ive g roup Acre 6 was formed, and it became, in it s turn, the (largely
Chi cano) Galerfa de la Raze of San Francisco.
At the same ri me t hat the Piesra was being planned in Los Angeles, a seminal
g roup of San Francisco artist s organized the Mexican American Liberation Art Front (MALAF)
which, in March 1969, sponsored the "New Symbols for la N ueva Raza" art exhibit. MAlAF
was a militant group for med "for t he purpose of organizing Chicano arrisrs who are interested in
integrating art into the Chicano social revolution sweeping the coumry.:" The four arcisrs who
formed MAlAF were Manuel Hernandez-Trujillo, Mal equfas Montoya, Esteban Villa, and Rene
Yanez - all key figures in the product ion and promoti on of mural painting. During 197 1
Yanez, as co-d irector of the Galerfa de la Raza, was insrrumenral in promot ing a mural program
in the Mission dist rict of San Francisco. Villa. and Jose Montoya (who also participated in
MAIAF>, established the Rebel Chicano Art Front (later known as the Royal Chicano Air Force,
based on the ini t ials ReAF) along wi t h t heir st udents from Sacramento Srare College. Thi s
occurred after t eaching posit ions had opened up for t he rwo arrisrs in 1969and 1970 respect ively.
Between 1969 and 1970, Villa and his students painted the mural Emergmce of tbeChicanoSocial
Stragglein a Bim/Illra/ Sociery on t he wall s of the Washington Neighborhood Center." Employing
five gigant ic expressi ve figures, the mural delivers a message about liberation t hrough mil itant
self-defense and self-enl ig ht enme nt. At t he same ti me, Malaq ufas MOntoya and Hernandez-
Trujillo began worki ng on mural s in the East Oakland Development Center. T he former
Fresno Who used t he professional name ForeseHopping , intended t ht" fi gure to bea composite of Malcolm X(who was assassi nat ed
before formati on Black and the Panthers. Both gTOUpS offered ideological altt"rnat; ves to those of King.
5. FranclSCQ X. Camplls, intervIew w,th author. 29 Sepc"mb\"r 1978.
6. "Nueva Rau Art Show in Oakland,- San Pr,mrio Ch"'nidr. 2 1 March 19<>9.
7. Alan \'(/. Barnet! erroneously da les rhis mural to 1968. See Com1HIIIl;ly Mllrals (Cranbury. NJ : a ssccuced University Presses,
lnc., 1984), p- 67 and paui .
27
28
concerned armed srrugg!e, education, and self-knowledge; the lat ter symbol ically projected t he
idea, through pre-Columbian images of the jaguar (night) and sUl1 light, rnar maize plants (i.e.
hu man beings) can grow in spite of vultures and oppression.
In 1969-70, the Gonzalez brot hers of Ease Los Angeles , working with a ream,
painted the mural, The Birtho!O/trAI'! . j r was to be affi xed to t he facade of t he new Goez Imports
and Fine Arts Gallery when it opened . The mural represented t he IllHtiznje(mixing)of t he Spanish
and Ind ian peoples, rhc Mexican ancestors ofrhose who were t o produce Chicano art . Goez Gallery
was a for-profi t space from t he time ofit s inception. The gallery offered services such as "art sales
of rradi rional , modern and pre-Columbian painti ngs and sculptures, restoration of the fine arts,
imports from Mexico and Spain, custo mdes igned furnit ure, frames, advert ising des ign, [and t he]
designing and ccnsrrucrion of murals, monuments, sh ri nes, and fountains." ~ Subseq uently,
Goez became part of the communi t y mural program and obtained fund ing to make wall
paintings. Arti sts from it s ranks were to play an import ant role in the East Los Angeles mural
communi ty. Such was rhe case for David Borello, who (wit h Wayne Alaniz Healy) became one-
halfofLos Dos Srreets cepers; and Charles "Garo'' Felix, who , by ini ti ati ng and headi ng the mural
program at Estrada Courts, made his commi tme nt ro enhancing the l iving spece ofa worki ng class
communit y.
In 1970, j udith Baca expanded the defini tion of her teaching job wirh the
Deparrmenr of Recreation and Parks in order to organize gang members of East Los Angeles into
mural teams. Starting wit h twenty people from four different neighborhoods, Baca painted
murals during rhe summer, including Mi abuelita (My Litt le Grandmother), in a t hree-sided
bandshell of Hol lenbeck Park. After th is experience, she began to understand t hat murals and
the visual symbols they employed could "break down the divisions among.. .people, g ive them
information and change rheir environment ." 9
W it h t hese several examples, we can see that [he mural movement resulted from
an al most "spontaneous combustion," influenced d irectly or indirectly by the strikes and
. boycotts of t he United Farm Workers Union, the mili tant Chicano Movement , and the spiri tual
and cultural concerns of writers and artists who were acrive in the movement . Tearro Campesi no
was one of rhe earliest cultural manifestat ions of the new Chicano Movement . Outward ri ppli ng
effects from the Union and the Theatre spread to ot her expressive forms includi ng literature,
8. GoezGallery brochure, c. 197 1. , . . .
9. J udith Baca, "Our People are the Internal Exiles," an interviewby Diane Neumaier 111 C"IturllJ In ContmllO'I, cd. Douglas Kahn
and Diane Neumaier (Seattl e: The Real Comet Press. 198;'). p. 67.
visual arts, mus ic, and dance to produce what can rightly be called a "cu ltural explosion."
Bet ween 1971 and 1975, early experi me nts led to a virtual flood of murals, part icularly in l os
Angeles which could be called [he mural capital of rhe Southwest, if nor t he nat ion. Parall el
movements blossomed in the San Francisco Bay citi es and in San Diego. From these areas it
spread, by rhe end of the decade, to many orher ciries in t he state . We can record (in arb irtaryorder)
Santa Ana, Orange, Tustin, Anaheim, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Redwood
City, Gilroy, Watsonville, Palo Alto, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Bakersfi eld, Delano,
Visalia, H anford, Sanger, Fr esno, Malaga, Highway Ciry, Madera, Merced , Davis, and Vacaville.
The San Francisco Bay area includes Daly City, Berkeley, Oakland , Emeryville, Hayward, and
Union Ci t y. Smaller cities surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego were also invaded by mu rals.
MURAL SUBJ ECTS
Ear ly T hemes
Themes for mural s were suggested to artists by contemporary event s and the newphilosop hy of
the Chicano movement. The following categories g ive some idea of t hei r range:
Religion: Pre-Columbian (especi ally Olrnec, Tolt ec, Aztec, and Mayaj dei ries such as Querzalcoarl
(the feathered serpent), t he rain god Tlaloc; t he Aztec "Calendar Stone;" the Chac Mool and other
pre-Columbian signs and symbols; West Mexican funerary dogs; pre-Columbian rituals; pyra-
mids and temples; Christ ian churches; Christian signs and symbols ; alt ars; t he Virgin of
Guadalupe and/or her roses; the crucified Christ and/or crosses, bleeding or flaming hearts ,
t horns; bishops and parish priests (someti mes sati rically).
I ndigenoltsmotifs:The reipart it e head (Indian Spaniard/Mexicanor Chicano), contemporary Nati ve
Americans, Pre-Col umbian warriors and families.
Historical events: Pre-Columbian rulers (l ike the chronicle of Mixrec ruler 8-Deer); t he Spanish
conquistadores; colonial Mexican culture; t he Mexican Revolution; Nat ive American and
Chicano history.
lHodem port raits: Cesar Chavez, Reies Lopez Tij erina, Bmiliano Zapata, "Pancho" Villa, "La
Adeli ta ," BenitoJ uarez, Father Mi guel Hidal go. j ose Maria Morelos,John 'F. Kennedy, Emesco
"Che'' Guevara, Ruben Salazar, Lui s Valdez, Mart in Luther King ,Jr. , Pablo Picasso, and David
Alfarc; Siq ueiros.
Political and social: On local issues: educat ion, pol ice brutali ty, drug abuse, prison cond itions;
gang warfare and gang pride reflected in memorials ro deceased members; images of "home boys"
and "home gi rls;" health care, and portraits ofcommun.i t y peopl e. On national issues: the strikes,
29
30
marches, and boycotts of rhe l' rured Farm "(lurker; of Americu (liF\'V'): c-orking conditions of
tarm workers tstoop Iabor , '",rorkers): grapes and wine themes reflecting che boycotts;
caricatures of Sam:' and rbc paramilirary self-defense Chicano group called rhc Brown
Berets. On inremanonal issues: Images of the U,S. mi litary; guerrillas in the Third World ; the
war In Southeast Asia; and celebranons of Lati n American and Caribbean culture.
spnboiJ: COli Solo; or "OS" (roughly translated as "the same to you") graffi t i, scales
of justice, tomb stones, hearts, feathers, chai ns and broken chains, mirrors, the Mexican eagle, the
UF\'(f black eagle, and the U,S. eegfe Iall with different meanings), The UFW flag; the U.S. flag;
t he Pan-African , Puerto Rican and Cuban fl ags;calmlerl/J (animated skeletons ala Posada); atomic
symbols; suns and sun symbols; fi re; extended hands, clasped hands and clenched fists; moons;
bags of gold; and dollars.
Landscapes, flora and/ auna: Volcanos, snow-capped mounrains, deserts; cact us planes (nopal or
prickly pear, and maguey), palm rrees, corn planes and ears; horses and other animals.
Decorative motift: Superg raphics and other geomet ric abstractions; p re-Columbi an geometric
forms used decoratively; organic abstractions, motifs from Mexican folk art,
Family: Morber and child, mother and children. whole families, grandmothers. Famil ies in many
social sit uat ions.
Urban culture: PlUh"co;la;, cholo;ltlJ. lowrider cars, graffiti , ciryscapes, skyscrapers, barrio homes,
freeways, t rains, etc.
Legendary or Illytbiral figllm: La U Qrona (t he Weeping Woman), Superman, Popocarepd and
Ixt eccihuad (volcanos in Mexico: Indian warrior and t he sleeping woman, or rhe wam or carrying
the woman).
Texts: Words and phrases used in the body of (or to one side of) a mural: man ifestos, titles,
explanat ions, names of personal ities, documents (his torical and contemporary), memorials,
poetry, and slogans li ke "Viva la Raza," or "End Barrio Warfare. "
Later T hemes
Looking ahead t o t he post - 1. 975 period , we find that many of t he above cherries cont inue t o
appear. New subjects emerg(:, Most notable is the tendency to incl ude and comment on
i nternat ional themes - parti cularly, in recent years, on unit y between peoples of color.
Increasi ngly, solidarity with t he oppressed peoples of Central America (wit h an emphasis on
N icaragua, EI Salvador, and Guatemala) are expressed in murals. The most extensive projeer of
t his nature was San Francisco's PLACAProject. The "Balmy AlleyMural Environment' incl uded
UNTI TLED (HOAIEBOY). derail
1974
Manuel Cruz
Ramona Ga rdens Housing Project, EUI Los Angeles,
total mUI"J J approx. 161 x 20'
I
THE HlS'rORY OF LA., 1\ A1EX1C:::A,!'-J PERSPECTIVE
1981 -8} .
Barbara Carrasco
portable, unmounted 16' x 80'
h
, _,e my-fi ve murals on Central America, which were painted by a mulri-erhnic group
more t an w
r
" In I 984.
10
Mu ral s wt: rt: also commissioned during national and local celebrations such
o arnsrs
b U S
g j cenrennial in 1976, t he Los Angeles Bicentennial in 1981, and the 1984 Olympic
JS t e .
Go es held i n Los Angeles. On the occasion of t he Los Angeles Bicentennial , moscof che murals
.....: One t hat was critical and undertook rodocumenr the history o( L.A. minorities.
was Barbara C arrasco's portable paint ing The HiJ101) cfLos Ange/eJ: A Mexican Perspeane. As a
result, it was ( ejected, and bas nor been installed as of this writing. " The Olympic murals, painted
by a mul rieth nic group includi ngJuditb Baea, Wi llie Herron, and Frank Romero, were eclectic
in style and tJ1eme. Baca, for example. undertook to celebrate (as a continuation of her historic
VIVA LI\ RAZA
1977
Dan iel Galvcz; with Osha Ncuman , Brian Thi ele and S. Barre t t
1112 Adeline gc., San Francisco
I" 11: 70'
10. C01/ItJ:JWJI1 J\lIlrals Alagazi nt (Fall 1984): 1O- 1}.
I I . See no. 9 (September 1983): 20- 21.
33
Gr"" Wlatl mural prcjccc) rhe spo rts successes of women of colo r. Un forrunarcly, t he locat ions
chosen for rhc rcn orrises were rhc wails of downtown freeways. a haza rd boch til the: painters and
the mororisrs who wished to see the work..
Porrrairs included an expanded cast in thc:posr19?j period: Diego Rivera, Frida
Kahle, and Jose Clemence Orozco were added to the rosrcr ofMexican artists; Los Angeles leader
Bert Corona, movie star Ant hony Quinn (among port raits of many actors and actresses), UF\'"
leade r Dolores Huerta, L950s labor organizer Luisa Moreno, murdered Chil ean folk singer Victor
j ara, and Northern Californ ia songwriters Daniel Valdez and Malvina Reynold s now appeared .
Some unflarrering portrayals or Ronald Reagan also showed up, as di d portraits of Northern
California art s people, incl uding murali st Ray Padan.
Themes from urban culture began to include street and community people ofall
t ypes particula rly in the phororealisr murals of Los Angeles' John Valadez, and Oakland's
Daniel Galvez. Slum lords and arson, food contamination, and junk food have been added t o the
roster of social evils. Finally, a g roup of ten mul t ierhnic muralists in San Francisco, undertook
a mural sculpture, All 11lj IJry 10 One is an btj llry 10 All . Sponsored by the Internat ional
Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU)and t he Mayor ofSan Francisco, t he mural
commemorated the 50t h anniversary of the 1934 General St rike. Ray Patlan took a leading role
in the production of t his mural , as he did in the PLACA endeavor.
WHO DID WHAT WHERE,
Art and Mural Groups
AluralgrouPJ hat'tb11 rhnractn-iud by1lx"teant"approarh, i.e. all art dirtdor working wilh
a grollp of artiJIJ analOf' romml/nilY raidous. Mitral amsn ahololiriud romRllln;ly
i/lPllt as a gltidt 10 rdeeance ofa gillt1J tbene and in art iculation. The notion of an artistic
reatu collaborrltin8 011 (I publicmural (all be fOll 1ld in theearly writillgI of Siqlle;roJ, however
theinausio of (of ten untrained] COl/lIIl/O/ity partir;pnnl1as painters appears 10 be unique 10
the U.S. slrm fIlllralmo'tflltnt of 1M 1970s. Subscribing toa colleel;f/;II philolOphy at the
point of prodll(/iOl1 com//trjhzrtJ 0 similar philosophy in regard 10 diJltf1J11lalion. Britfly
summarized [most] puhlicartiitl UJ()rk aJa :eamandaddrtJl lhnr workloacommllnity which,
hoptfitlly, w;lI ullderJIatldandllibseribe 10i ts mmagt. Tbis Jlona l1tgOIt! lilt il1dividlJalism
and elilhpl common 10 mainstream{t nt arts.I}
12. Suzanne Muchnic,. ' An From Ihe' Fast Lan.:," LM' ''''yl t:l Ti llltS, 15 April 1984, Fum.,,1A[I/Kazi /U' , pp. 76-79; and "LosAngeles
FI"C'C'WllY Mu...ls Honor tho: 23rd O lympiad , 1_ &t:I Itml l JJ;IC'/. 5, no. 1 QuIr tAugust 1984): 19...
13. Shirra M. Goldman and Tomis Ybarnl-Fl'llUSI O, t\neC;'wZI'4: t\ A" fIOI4UJ Bi!iotr"phr "Chir"". An. 196.5 -
1981 (& rkd C')': ChinDo S<:udiC'S Librtry Pub!i(lllior!s Uni l, UnivC'rsicy of California, BC'rkl.' lC' y, 1985), p. 53.
The notion of a "team" or collective, which characterized mu.ral production of [he early 1970s.
docs nor preclude ind ividual murali sts making works of grear power and relevancy. However,
Chicano artists in all disci plines tended to ,group toget her for murual support and , in the face of
insri curional neglect or hostili t y, for commissions and funding. We will briefly trace the
interaction berween g roups and individual artists and highlight some examples.
Northern Cali fornia
Sacramento. Like many Chi cano arts organizat ions in Cal ifornia, the Royal Chicano Air Force
( 969) and t he umbrella g roup known as t he Cenrro de Arrisras Chicanos ( 1970), which form
the st ructural base for murali sts in Sacramento (applications for funding, locating wall s, signi ng
cont racts, and other logisti cal , not to mention spirit ual support), maintain profiles on a number
offronrs. Wi t h roors in t he farm workers organizing drives and boycotts, as well as MALAF(t he
Mexican American Liberat ion Art Front of 1969), t he thrus t of t he Centro and the RCAF has
been economic, polit ical, cult ural , and social . In addition to murals and sil kscreen programs, t he
Sacramento group has run classes for chi ldren, teenagers, and seniors; reg ularl y celebrates
Mexican national and folk holidays; participates in Nat ive Amer ican rituals; has run a free
breakfast program for children; and maintains a booksrore and a gal lery. Poerry (Jose Mont oya
is as well known for hi s poetry as his art), t heatre, dance, music, and spores round our the
community curriculum.
Vill a's 1969 mural (ment ioned earlier) provided t he inspiration for a continuing
mural program, some of it - supported until the program was cancelled - by federal funding
from CETA, the Comprehensive Empl oyment and Training Act . According to a Los Angetes Times
article of Jul y 22, 1979, RCAF artists pai nt ed fifteen murals in Sacramento, incl uding a major
work depict ing various aspects of Chicano culture at rhe city's Southside Park. I" The Southside
Park murals of 1977 are by J uanishi Orosco, Esteban Vil la, J ose Monroya, J uan Cervantes,
Lorraine Garda, Sam Rfos and Stan Padilla. Centro artists also painted murals in Seat tle
(Washington), Burley (Idaho), Tempe (Arizona), Chicano Park in San Diego, and Los Angeles.
Armando Cid decorated La Raza Bookst ore with a mural in 1973, and when Sacramento Park
changed its name to Zapata Park in 1975 due [0 t he efforts of communit y acti vists and Centro
art ists, Cid did a mosaic mural t here. In 1979, Louis "The Foot" Gonzalez and J uan Cervantes
painred a large mural, AtrollmleJ de Aztldn, on a wall of their cooperat ive garage. It depicted a
14. Charles Hillinger, "'The Roya] Chicano lIi r Foln': AcrivislS in Sacramento USC' Humor (0 Inst ill PricC'," lM Thms,
22 Jul y 1979, SC'Clion I, p. 3 .
3'
36
proud Chicano mechanic holding a wrench and surrounded by bi llowing douds. a blazing sun,
and an eagle. In 1980. Centro arrisrs Esteban Villa, Stan Padilla and j uani shi Orosco designed
do four-story. 6') foot symbolic muml lor t he downtown city parking lor facing t he Sr reer MaU.
The exuberance and colleen vise pn nciples of the RCAr as well as rheir dedicancn ro chc educative
and commurury uplift nspecrs ofpubli curr were not li mircd to t he Sacmmenroarea. Like MALAF.
t he RCAP was an important influence on Chicano nrtis rs throughout t he scare, many of whom
did snrus wit h rhe Sacramento g roup or visited them to learn about t heir methods and
philosophy. Ln fact , networking was est abli shed early, not only withi n California but throughout
rhe Sout hwest. Artists t ravelled ro the various "Canro al Pueblo" national events which, from
1977 on, broughr together Chicano artists of all disciplines, and at whi ch visual artists painted
murals. The group whi ch unified Cal ifornia was t he State Coal it ion of Arrisras, founded in 1973
and known from 1975 on as CAP, the Conci lio de Arre Popular. Among its activities. CAP
published t he magazine ChismeAru.
San FranciscoBay Area. When the Galerfa de la Raza of San Francisco printed its fi rsr mural map
- rhe "Mission Community Mural Tour Guide" - ir listed ten mural sites: the 24 t h Street
Mi ni-Park the Mission Coal it ion Organi zat ion (Neighborhood Legal Aid, 1972);
Horizons Unlimited ( 1971); t he Mi ssion Rebels mural ( 1972); Jamestown Communi t y Center
( 1972); the Bank of America (1974); the Mission Model cities Neighborhood Center (974);
Paco's Tacos (974); and the Balmy Alley murals (197 3). In t he overwhelmingly Lat ino and
Asian Mission Dis rr icr are early works by some of the key Raza (Chicano and Lati no) muralisrs
of t he city: Michael Rfos, Anthony Machado, Richard Montez, Domingo Rivera, J erry Concha,
the Mujeres Muralisras, Luis Corrazar, Jesus "Chuy'' Campusano, Manuel "Spain" Rodrfguez,
Ruben Guzman and ot hers, directed or assisted by non-Raza artists. In 1971, the Galena de la
Raza was a germinal force for Bayarea mural ism. Itsel f an expression of increasing consolidat ion
wi t hi n the ChicanofRazaartcommuni ty (MALM, rhe Casa Hi spana de Bellas Artes, Artes6, and
t he Artiscas latina Ameri canos), t he Galerfa was established in 1970 under the direcrorship of
Nicaraguan Rolando Castell6n. It was homeless in mid 1971, at wh ich t ime Rene Yanez applied
for mural funding which permi tted the production of some of t he wall paintings listed above.
The Galerfa fi nally set tled ar irs present 24t h St . & Bryant locat ion where it functi ons act ively
to t his day.
In 1975 , rhe Galerfa added an innovation to commun ity murals when it "appro-
priated" a Fost er and Kleiser billboard on t he side of its buildi ng to serve as an "announcement
mural." Removed by t he commercial company in December 1976, t he billboard was replaced
due to public pressure, and it changes reg ularl y as art ists paint new images and messages. A5
FRIDA. BIU...80 ARD
1978
Mi ke Rios
Galerfa de la Rn a. Missio;l Disrricr, San Francisco
8' x 20'
Women Muralists
Three Chicanas _ Parricia Rodrfguea, Irene Perez, and Graciela Carrillo - and a
ar tist , Consuela Mendez, were t he ori ginal Bay Area ream t he
AUbur Mendel. had done rbei r fi rst murals in Balmy All ey t he prevIOus year. Thei r friendship
Victor j ara. In 1979, t he tea m of Patl an, Neumann, and Thiele was commiss ioned by
BaySkills Center in Berkeley to paine a work skills-relared ":,llral. and Galvez work
conr inuously in thei r very different realist styles. regrouping their arnsuc scrucrures as new
possibi lities and oppo rtunities arise.
38
Yanez poiured our, "Times. [weds, issues shift" and n frequen t changing of images and ideas
makes the billboard into a living and constant part of the community. The Galerfa withdrew
from mural prograrnnung 10 1976 when funding issues and the changing character of public
murals (for Yanez. their increasing vagueness and loss ofconcern with contemporary issues) made
such a move desirable.' San Francisco was not the only City that saw a dec rease in mural relevancy
and an increase in decorative murals by t he end of 1975. Such a phenomenon has been observed
nat ionally. It was accompanied by g rowing difficul ti es with national am funding that had
support ed communi ty mural ism and char had been part of government pol icy in t he earl y 1970's
to "cool our" mili t ancy and protests in inner cit ies across t he narion.
Despite t he Galena's wit hd rawal . many signifi cant murals cont inued co be
painted in San Francisco and ot her Bayarea cities during t he next ten years . Portable murals were
int roduced. Most notable were t he eight "People's Murals" commissioned by the San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art. Pai nted by fourteen mul rierhn ic art is ts, includi ng Graciela Carrillo,
Anrhony Machado, Robert Mendoza, Irene Perez, and Michael Rfos, many of the works were
powerful and milit ant statements . Theyconrrasred with manyof t he Bicenrennial arr product ions
found elsewhere char were bland, "trendy" or decorati ve. Six years later, inMay 1982, the Galerfa
commissioned nineteen mulri-erhnic artists t o create portable murals in its gall ery space as part
or a month- long event called "In Prog ress", wh ich encouraged the public ro watch the artists ar
work. Included were Raza art ists Tony Chavez, J uan Fuentes, Daniel Galvez, Rayvan Gonzales,
Yolanda L6pez, Raul Martinez, Emmanuel Montoya, Ray Pat lan, Michael Rfos, Pat ricia Ro-
d riguez, "Spai n" Rod riguez, Herbert Siguenza, Xavier Viramontes, and Rene Yanez.
Galvez, Montoya, and Patl an are rhree artists who starred to be known in rhe Bay
area after 1975 . Patlan came to t he Bayarea from Chicago where he had produced a notable body
of murals during the earl y 1970s. By 1977 , Patl an and Patricia Rod riguez, working with
University of California Chicano Srudies st udents, had painted rwo murals in Berkeley.
Between 1977 and 1979, Patlan and Galvez were active with Commonarrs. Galvez, a younger
arri sr working in a photorealis r style, collaborated with Osha Neumann, O ' Br ian Thiele and
Stephanie Barrerr on hi s design for Viva La Raw (1977) in Berkeley: it featured t he image of a
huge t ruck dedicated to the farm workers and rhe Mexican muralis ts. Patlan, Neumann, Thiele,
and ceramisr Anna de Leon achieved a major artisti c and social breakt hrough wi rh t heir t hree-
dimensional mural on rhe facade ofBerkeley's L1. Pefi a Cultural Center. Song o/ Unity ( 1978) was
dedicated to t he popu lar music of North and South America and to slain Chi lean songwriter
15. Barnerr, p. 243 _
PARA EL MERCA DO. detail
1974 ,
Mujeres Murahsras (Patricia Rodrfguoa, Graciela Caril.l o, Mf ndcz, Irene Perez)
South Van Ness Ave. and 24th Sr., Mission Dist rict , San franCI sco
toea! mural approx. 10' x 50'
39
40
was cemented when they rccci vcd their first commission for t he Mission Model Cines Neighborhood
Center office parki ng lot In 1974. LII' f}/()(lIlu!"i td , (originally titled PtOZPlile,.;C(1) whi ch
was intended J.S ;\ celebrurion of the Larin cultu res in rbe Mission disrricr, each arcisr rook
responvibiliej- for her own subjecr matter. Venezuela. Bolivia, Mexico, and Pew were featured
wirh Images of the planes, animals, tradirional dances. costumes to be found in each stressing rhc
ma jor role of rhe famil y in each country. As rhe four arti sts developed and painted rhe mural ,
each modified her sect ions as she worked to crcare a unifi ed whole. No color sketch ever existed;
balancing was done in advance wirh line drawings and at the mural site itself as rhe painting
progressed. Each arrisr worked individually, secure in her confi dence rhar rogerher rhey could
achieve a good resul t. The second mural Para el Mercado (For rhe Market) was painted in two
halves by Carri llo and Mendez for Paco's Tacos stand and dealt wirb foods for t he Lat in American
marketplace. Brilliant color and fl at drawi ng were characterist ics that the four shared (all had
previously done silkscreen posters as well as paint ings). The Mujeres' murals were challenged in
the community for being apoli t ical; however they had decided that t he men's murals of t he t ime
had tOO much "blood and g urs" and that they wanted a more positive image of thei r culture."
Wi th rhe help ofa number oforher women - Ester Hernandez, Miriam Oli vo, Ruth Rodriguez,
and non-Latina Susan Cervantes, t he Mujcres pai nted murals for t WOyears and t hen disbanded
and worked on as individuals.
Women have been very active in Bay area muralism. As with J udirh Baca, who
played a pioneering role in Sout hern California in an artistic genre where women's part icipation
was discou raged by conventi on and thei r menfolk, the Muj eres were both germinal and inspi ra-
t ional for women art ists of Norchern California. Many li ke Las Mujeres Muralisras del Valle of
Fresno took courage from t heir example. Fifteen Fresno women incl uding Helen Gonzalez,
Cecelia Risco, Sylvia Fig ueroa, Theresa Vasquez, and Lupe Gonzalez , started work in 1977 on
an outdoor 60 x 80 foor mural for Parli er labor camp which was funded by La Broche del Valle.
Vandalized a year later with t he words "The white race is the right race, " it was rescored and
housed indoors.
Women sr udenrs fromSan Di egocalli ng themselves t he Mu jeres Muralisras were
organized by Yolanda LOpez in 1977 to contribute a pillar mural on Indi an women duri ng the
Mural tbon which revived paint ing at San Diego's Chicano Park. (The same park has an early
(c. 1973) women's mural byt he Grupo de Santa Ana, alsofromSout hern California, on t he growth
of corn, the human fetus, and la Raza). A 1975 mural picturing women of Latin America and
rwo joyous nudes with flutes was painted at Chi cano Park by RCAF women Rosali nda Palacios,
16 . Irene Prrel, interview with aut hoe, 29 Ma)' 1982.
Antonia Mendoza, and Celia Rodriguez who had returned inspi red from the first International
Women's Conference of 1975 in Mexico City. They also painted a tribute to southern Black
prisoner, Joan Lircle, who had killed a sexually abusive guard.
In the 1980s, Juana Alicia has emerged as a strong mural ist with several works
in the Mission District including Leu Ltchligtras (The Lettuce Pickers, 1983), and a 1985 mural
on the San Francisco Mime Troup's headquarters.
Mid California
Fresno. By no means was all mural product ion spontaneously begun, as seems the case in rhe
1970 period. Further research may reveal connect ive links even in this early period, not excluding
the infl uence of reachers with remnants of New Deal ideas . In t he decade of t he seventies,
however, news t ravelled ourward from mural centers like San Francisco end Los Angeles through
personal and organizational conraccs. Emesco Palomino, "elder statesman" of La Brocha del
Val le of Fresno, received his art education in San Francisco from 1956-1 965 and began teachi ng
at Cali fornia State University, Fresno, in 1970. Poli t icized in the intervening years by his search
for cultural idencicy and his contact wit h t he Chicano movement in Colorado where he went to
live, he was active with the Colorado Migrant Council and was a friend of poet Abelardo
Delgado. He knew of the Los Ange les High School walkouts and the strike at San PranciscoSrare
University when he painted hi s first mural in Fresno in 1971 : a flatbed truckseat ing farmworkers
on thei r way to t he fields, surmounted by a nude Chicana "Virgi n" and an eagle with radiating
sun rays taken from rhe Sunkisc Raisin logo. Both wefe flanked by a pre-Col umbian warrior, a
skeletal farm worker holding g rapes, and a great serpem. Palomino was fami liar with Antonio
Bernal' s Del Rey mural , and with Esteban Vill a's calaveras which t he Re AP adapted from 19th
century Mexican engraver Jose Guadalupe Posada.
La Brochadel Valle was beg un by Palomino and other Fresnoires about 1974 and
officially incorporated as a non-profit g roup in April 1976 by Palomino, Fernando Hernandez,
Salvador Garcia, and Francisco Barrio. It t hen launched a program of exhibi ts and mural
production. La Broche was also affiliared with the Conci lio de Arre Popular. From 1978 on,
murals were painted in summer programs with young people under the di rect ion of t he founders
of Brocha, as well as by Cecelia Aranaydo and J uan Turner. From 1976 to 198 1, Los Angeles
and organizer Gilbert "Megu" Sanchez Lujan raughr at Fresno CiryCollege and became
active i n Brocha. Bet ween 1979- L982,John Sierra completed a 6600square foot mural, Planting
ofCultures , on the Californ ia State Building in Fresno."
17. IJoyd C. Caner, Valley Life Mural in Fresno FiN lly Complete," lAS ""gJn TilWS. I Aug ust 1982, Mecro secti on. p. I.
4'
8i\LLPI..A YERS (TLACHfT)
1978
Tcrruga Pat rol ( R a ~ Olmo and Ralph de Oliveira)
Chicano Park, Gi lroy
8' x 50'
S,W.!OJt/SIJJJ!iI Crez. Santa Cruz, San J ose, Watsonvillc, and Gi lroy are so close to each ocher that
inrerchange occurred between them. and with Fresno. In the early 1970s, painterJ aime Valadez
\.. as associated wi th the Cent ro Cultural de la Genre de San J ose, and in 1978 he conducted the
Tierra Nues/ra and t he Plor de la Comunidad mural projects. According to Al an Bamerc who
teaches in SanJose, the fi rst mural was probably a frieze upon a legal-aid office pai nted in 1972
by Malaqulas Montoya. In 1974, Rogelio Duarte of Los Angeles, apparendy working alone,
painted three murals at San J ose State and on a local market. II
In 1972, painter Eduardo Carri llo came to teach at the Uni versit y of California,
Santa Cruz. His first mural had been a collective one i n 1970 at me Chicano Studi es Research
Center of the Uni versit y of California, Los Angeles, painted wi t h Ramses Noriega, Sergio
Hernandez and Saul Solache. A respected easel painter since the early 1960s, Carrillo had been
arrested in Los Angeles duri ng t he 1970 Anri-Viecnam War Moratorium, and had taught at
Sacramento State College from 1970-72, dur ing t he early years of t he RCAF. In 1976, he
donated a 2500 square foot mural to t he Palomar Arcade in Santa Cruz called Birth. Death and
Resurrection which was destroyed in 1978; Carri llo was never successful in having it restored. In
1979, he engaged a Mexican independence t heme in a commissioned tile mural located at t he
Placita del Dolores of Los Angeles' Olvera St reet.
\Vatsonville/Gilroy. In its Summer 1978 issue, Chij1JleArtt magazine illustrated a new mural by
the Tortuga Pat rol from Watson ville whi ch was pai nted by students in the Gilroy recreation
Center, and directed by Ray Romo and Ralph D'Oliveira. Humor, and a major input from)osC
Guadalupe Posada, ate evident in t his work . The same year, the Tecolore Corps pai nted a large
outdoor mural for t he Gi lroy Unifi ed School Disrri cr.'?
Southern Californi a
Sa11!a Barbara. More than any other individual , Manuel Unauera has provided t he inspiration
and leadership for muralism in Santa Barbara. His activities have been centered at La Case de
la Raza, wi th the enthusiasti c support of its di rector of cult ural arts, Armando Vall ejo. For a
number ofyears Unzueta also taught mural classes at the University of Californi a, Santa Barbara.
"When I first accepted the challenge to paine murals at La Casade la Raza in 197 1," says Unzucra,
"I engulfed myselfin one of rhegreaces r experiences ofmy life." Comment ing on his murals inside
re. Barnett , pp. J57D8.
19. Reproduced in rhe 1985 Social and Public An Resource Center calendar.
43
.4
Casa, he connnues: ' T he mural To tb t\fa i cfl u Son}.:. (19-3) shows :l1}' concern and pride rewards
my Mexican past. A ByoJ/ s ."elIJOI) _(972) is a very personal expression on my own views about
education and knowledge. Tbe NtlI., Spirit. (19' 3) is an intention ro portray the real it y of t he
Chicano movement. (Allegul)' to] Brosberbood, (1 973) shows my sincere atti tudes to re late ro all
people regard less of color of skin or cul t ural background. ":" In 1979, Case approached the city
"for moral and financial support to paint murals over the g raffi ried walls of Onega Park"
(unofficially known as Ruben Salazar Par k in place of the "old California Spanish family" after
which it is named). Under the d irect ion of Val le]o, ni neteen murals were produced by six local
artists guiding communit y volunteers. The themes ranged from t he Aztec era co cosmic un.iry. 21
Los AngtltS COlinl) and City. In 1969, about 2000 people organi zed by the Brown Berets
demonstrated in East Los Angeles to protest the Vietnam War and the high percentage of
Chicano military being ki lled in Southeast Asia. Another march of 6,000 people took place in
February 1970. In August 1970, the National Moratorium Committee swell ed the Los Angeles
demonstration to between 20,000 and 30,000 people. Attacked by sheriff' s deputies, the march
was d ispersed wi t h tear gas and, in a rela ted incident, Los Angeles Times reporrer Ruben Salazar
was kill ed. Vict ims from rhe arrack were car ried to the East Los Angeles Doctor's Hospital where,
a year later, Frank Marrfnez of Mechicano Art Center painted an unfinished fresco picturing
Ruben Salazar surrounded by children, pre-Columbian art, and folk motifs. Reconstructed in
mosaic, the mural was mounted on an outside wall of t he hospital wi thin t wo yeats. The same
theme was repeated in 1973 by W ill ie Herron and Gronk in their Estrada COutts black-and-white
mural wit h a photo-derived image of the sheriffs outside t he Silver Dollar Cafe where Salazar was
ki lled. In 1974, Sergio O'Cadiz of Orange Counry, working wit h fi fty Sant a Ana College
students and three professionals, painted a memorial tombstone to Ruben Salazar in a section of
the Neally Library mural H istory and Evolut ion of the Chicano in t he Uni ted Stares. Salazar's
comb appears under a cruc ified Indi an which was "quored" from Mexican muralist David Alfaro
Siqueiros' 19 32 whi tewashed mural in Olvera St reet , Tropical America, to suggest rbe parallel
ma rtyrdom of Salazar. 22
As t he cit y (and county) wi th the largest Mexican population in t he United
St ates, Los Angeles also counrs with t he largest number of Chicano murals in the count ry. In the
20. Manuel Unzuera, Itl lffa/s Art Art (Sama Barbill-;l . CA: Casa de la Raaa, n.d .)
2 1. Armilfldo Vallejo. en progreso," XJllllan, 3. no. 1 (980): 24-37.
22_ Sec chI' brochure TiN MEChA Mlmlt: r,,1I1h AllnilUUlry, / 974-1984. lnl:l by Shifn Goldman (Santa Ana, CA: Rancho
Santiago Community College Diserice, 1984).

BLACK AND WHITE MORATORIUM MURAL

1973
Wi llie Herren and Gronk
Esrradu Cour ts Housing Proj..cr, Easr Los Angeles
approx. 20' x 30'
1970 to 1975 period, most were pai nted under the sponsorship of several imporranr organiza-
t ions and agencies: Mechicano Art Center, t he Goez Gallery, the Cultural Arts Section of the
Department of Recreation and Parks ( 197 1) - which in 1973 established t he Inner City Murals
Project (bot h mulrierhnic) - t he Ci ty Council-funded Citywide Mural Project esrablished by
J udith Baca in 1974, and, finally, Baca's non-profi t Social and Publ ic Art Resource Cenrer
(SPARC) set up in 1976. In addi t ion, t here were individual muralists and small g roups who
worked within and without these st ructures, raising money (or working wit hout pay), in various
ways.
The most notabl e individual is Charles "Gar o" Felix who, though associ ated wit h
Goez Gallery, single-handedl y organized painters (includ ing hi mself) to create murals wit h t he
communi ty throughout t he 1970s (beg inni ng in 1973) at t he City Housing Authorit y'Sproject,
Est rada COUtts. Felix had as an example t he murals pai nted earlier at rhe Costello Recreat ion
Center by Las Vistas Nuevas, d irected by judi th Baca. His fi nancing was of t he most meagre (or
non-exis tent) variety. Murals at Estrada were done with Ot without teams, by professionals, and
4,
46
by self-raug hc painters. In addition to Fel ix, t here were G il Llcrmincl ez, Alex Maya. Roberto
Chavez. David Borello, Sonny Marrinea, The Murali srics, Richard Hero, Manuel Gonzalez,
Norma Monroya. Prank Lo pez, W ill ie Herron. and Gronk. The Congrcso de Arri scas Chicanos
en Azdan from San Diego, led by San Dieg uen Mar io Torero, pai nted a mural of Che Guevara
with the slogan "\'<It: Are Not a Minority: '-\
Mechicano Art Center - whi ch in 1971 moved to Wh it t ier Boulevard near to
and with t he aid of the Doctor's Hospital (a constant patron of Chi cano art) afrer a year on "gallery
row" in West Los Angeles - nor only provided "open walls" for artists in it s galleries, but also
taught community silkscreen classes and pa inred murals. Until 1976, when it dosed its doors
at another location, Mechicano was, for Los Angeles, the equivalent of the Galena de la Raza for
San Francisco. Directed for many years byLeonard Castell anos , Mechicanc was the artistic home
and nurturing medium for artists like Frank Martinez, Frank Romero, Lucila V. Grijalva,
Arma ndo Cabrera, Leo Lim6n, Carlos Almaraz, W illi am Bejarano, Ismeel "Smiley" Cazarez, and
veteran artist David Ra mirez - aUof whom produced or directed murals. Mechicano's walls
and sidewal k were decorated with changing murals by Mexican artist Anton io Esparza, Susan
Saenz, Ray At ilano, Martin Marti nez, Limen, and Cabrera. Castellanos was alsodevoted (0 super-
graphics which he painted in t he neig hborhood and with a team on t he outdoor stairs opposi te
Echo Park. (None of these mural s exist roday.)
In 1973, Mechicano met to plan some t wenty proposed mura ls in Los Angeles
neighborhoods. By t his ti me, t he g roup had experience wit h a competi t ion funded by the
Docror's Hospital (0 paint the backs of bus benches (971), and had received mural funding
from the Nat ional Endowment for t he Arts and t he Ci ty Housing Authority. In the early 1970s,
murals were ofte n welcomed as a means of g reffi ri-abaremenr by governments and busi nesses
ali ke. Though Chi cano artists ag reed to paint murals ever graffi t i, among themselves many
considered the g raffi ri as an art form and i nregrared it into or near their murals. (For example
Herron and Gronk in a Ci ryTerrace mural. and Carlos Almaraz at the All Nat ions Neighborhood
Center. In con-rase boch Mechi cano, and artist Frank Romero, used sp ray cans for g raffiti-type
mural painrings.)
Mechicano direcred the painring of murals near and within the Ramona Gardens
Housing Project from 1973 on. Among the artists were J oe Rodriguez, Manuel Cruz, Wayne
Alani z Heal y, ] udi rh Hernandez, Wi Jl ie Herr6n, Lim6n, Cabrera, Cazarea, and Al maraz. By
1974, Almaraz was part of Los Four, a g roup organized by Gil bert sanchez Lujan which also
2}. mural W1$ twice vandaliud(dlC.last rime: in 1984 irnmediarely prior [0 rheOlympicflLnll'$ byaCubangroup)and twice
restored by Charla Fi li:.: .
included Roberto de la Rocha and Frank Romero. They were joined by ] udirb Hernandez, and
sti ll later byJ ohn Valadez - both of whom were muralisrs c-- and produced murals as individuals
and as a g roup.
Other mural painting teams included rhe vanguard group ASCO, rwo ofwbose
members , \'(Iill ie Herr6n and Gronk, starred painti ng murals in 1972, individually and collec-
t ively. Abetted by Parssi Valdez and Harry Gamboa, Jr. , ASCD iconoclastically lampooned all
murals by producing "instant murals" (such as tap ing Valdez to a wall) and "walking murals"
(wi t h cost umes and masks) as a form of performance art. The two-man team, Los Dos
Srreerscapers fl-iealy and Davi d Botello), enlarged their group with George Yepes and became the
Easr Los St reerscepers, producing fixed and portable murals in Los Angeles and ot her ci t ies.
In 1976, Baca - under the auspi ces of the Social and Public Art Resource Center
began what was to be t he longest mural in Los Angeles - possibly anywhere: The History of
Calif ornia, also known interchangeablyas t he Great WallofLosAnge/esor t he Tujunga WaJh Mural .
Carefull y researched , and drawing on t he skills of many people over the years , t he Great Wall has
been done in segmenrs starring with 1000 feet and continuing with 350 feet every summer for
1978,1980, 198 1, and 1983. It follows California history from the prehistoric dinosaurs, the
Indian serrlemems, t he Spanish conquest, and t he mig rat ion of Blacks, Mexicans, Chi nese,
Japanese, and whi tes to California, but at the same t ime rewrites t hat hi story. Sections of t he
mural deal with t he U.S. conques t of tile Sout hwest, women's suffrage, World War I , the g rowth
of Hol lywoocl , the Great Depression, W orld W ar II , t he figh t against fascism abroad and racism
at home, t he Zoot Suit Riots, ) apanese internment camps, ) ewish refugees.Iabor organizers and
t he social reverses for women, progressives, and people of color in t he 1950s. It continues with
t he et hni c origins of rock and roll, the history of gay and lesbian rights, t he Black civil rights
movement , rhe emergence of the Beat movement , t he forced assimilation of Nat ive Ameri cans,
and , finally, t he images of Olympic champions from 1948 to 1964 - especially champions of
color, and women . Baca is considering adding to the mural , which now measures over 2400 feet
long by thirreen feet hig h, and updat ing its historical component. (Among the Chicana art ists
who have worked with Baca on the mural are J udith Hernandez, Olga Muni z, Isabel Casrro,
Yreina Cervantez, and Parssi Valdez.
Space does not permi t a list ing of all t he art ists, to say nQt hjng of all t he murals,
in Angeles. It is esti mated t hat t here were 1000 throughout t he ci ty in 1978,24 of which,
24. Barnett , p. 166, citi ng a Cirywide Murals press J uly 1978.
47
\

THE BROADWAY MURAt . deDi!

1981
John Valadn .
Victor Cl othing Company. Inu:tLor
742 South Broadway. Los Angeles,
8' x GO'
wirbour question, rhe greatest number were Chicano-painted or directed. As ofnus writing, over
ten years later. the quant ity has risen.
There has, however, been a drastic curtailing of mural production in Los Angeles
since the 1971 to 1975groundswell. Most sel f-taught artists have retired from muralism (or art)
altogether. Among the professionals, art ists have turned (0 other artistic modes. Of those still
doing murals, especially worthy of ment ion (in addition to J udith Baca with SPARC) is rbe
Victor Clothing Company complex of murals in downtown Los Angeles. The bui lding at 240
S. Broadway (now an arrisrs' haven) had long been adorned with a several-story mural by Kent
Twi tchell of a br ide and groom, and a mural inside Victor's Clothing store on an indi genous
t heme. After J ohn Valadez moved to a loft studio near Victor's Clothing, he began working on
The Broadway Mural, originally a 48 x 8 foot oi l on canvas mounted on eight 8 x 6 panels. Later
expanded to 60 feet , it was installed in 1981 above eye level inside Victor's. Based on Valadez's
immersion in, and photography of the buildings, stores, and crowded srreers of shoppers on
Broadway, the mural is an aest hetic and social achi evement equal to Berkeley's Song 0/ Unity in
1978. After the Olympics, three murals were added ro the same building: next to Twitchell's
work, the Ease Los Srreerscapers did a huge mural on sports. On the Third Street side of the
building, Eloy Torres executed a gigantic phororealisr portrait of actor Anthony Quinn, and
Frank Romero designed a brightly colored and joyous image of a galloping horse and rider.
OrangeCOJl11fy. Two arcisrs are responsible for the most important murals of this area: Mexican-
born and t rai ned Sergio O'Cadiz, and Emigdio Vasquez who has lived since 1941 on Cypress
Street in t he ci ty of Orange. Since the 1960s, he has painted the urban experience of working
people in the barrio. In 1973 O'Cediz painted a semi-abst ract 40 x 12 foot mural using as main
moti fs the eagle and the jaguar. These appear on t he facade of the J ames Monroe Elementary
School in Santa Ana. He also direct ed t he 1974 MEChA mural at Santa Ana College, for which
Emigdio Vasquez painted the PachJlcosection. In 1975, O'Cadiz directed an enormous mural in
Fountain Vall ey, anold Mexican barrio whi ch had been wal led offfrom a modern Anglo town by
a 600 foot concrete wall .
Vasquez himself pai nted Reoerdos eM pasadoy nnagenes del presente (Memories of
the Past' and Images of the Present) in 1978, a mural which traces Mexican history from Zapata
to Cesar Chavez, In 1979, he painted The History ofthe ChicanoWorking Class. Commissioned by
the cityof Anaheim, Vasquez continued with a series ofmurals painted with young peopleamong
which are a History of Anaheim and, most notably, the 6 x 106 foot mural Nuestro Experiencia en
eI SigloXX (Our Experience in the 20t h Century; 1980) on a Salvation Army parking lot wall.
This last work begins in 19 10 with images of Flores Magan, Zapata and t he Mexican Revolut ion,
49
50
NUESTRA EXPERIENCIA IN EL SIGLO XX, del ;l.il
1980
Emigdio v asquez
Salvation Army parking lOt", Anaheim
6' J( 8'
and visually follows the history of the Mexican/Chicano peoples and their heroes and heroines of
t he 1960s and 1970s. Nor only is Ruben Salazar included, but also Ben Corona, intellectual and
acrivisr from the 1950s to the present in t he Los Angeles area -ahero whose image has appeared
in no other mural to my knov.... ledge. In more recenr years Vasquez worked as muralist-in-
residence for Bowers Museum, and for Rancho Santiago Col lege, both in Santa Ana. For a period
of ri me, Manuel Hernandez-Trujillo, co-founder of MALAF in 1969. painted mural s and taught
muralism at rhe University of California, Irvine, in Orange County and J udi t h Baca has been
teaching a mural class at t he same institution since 198 1.
GER6NJAlO
1981
Victor Ochoa.
c.rnlto CUl l Ur.U de 1;1. RllZll , Balboa. Park , San Diego
15' 9' x 60'6"
' 2
San Diego10 tbe Mexican Border. Unli ke other areas, the t wu major sites of muralism in San Di-
- Ch ic.ano Park and (he Centro Cultural de la Raza - have been the subject ofl engrhy his-
rorical studies: Eva Cockcrofr's "The Story of Chicano Park," and Phillip Brookman's "EI Cen-
rro CUl t ural.de la Raza, Fifteen Years." l) Therefore, we can introduce materials on the San Diego
area murals In a more abbreviated way. Chi cano Park was const ructed under the terminating
of the Coronado Bridge which spanned the Bay beginning in 1969. The bridge, built
middle class commuters to t he mainland , bisected and t hreatened ro destroy the Logan
nelghborhoo:t . 1,970, the Chicano cornmuniry claimed the land beneath the bridge as a park
and planted It with t rees and fl owers - thus making it into "liberated rerrirory'' in the spirit of
people's parks of the 1960s. Since 1973, its pillars have been pai nted by artists fcom San
Diego an.d many other pares of California, and it remains a living symbol of unit y for the
NO( onl y are new murals reg ularly added , but a comprehens ive restoration project
IS underway to refurbish t hose t hat have suffered the results of weatheri ng.
One ofthe leading spirirs of Chi cano Park since its inception was Salvador Robert
"Queso" Torres, who was educated in t he 1950s at t he Col lege of Ares and Crafts in Oakland at
t he same time as J ose Montoya and Esteban Villa. Beyond the quest ion of muralized pi llars,
Torres. has. had a long-standing interest in t he park as an environmental project involving its
extension mro t he water under the bridge. The low retaining walls of t he freeway were t he fi rst
areas painted .by Torres, Guillermo Aranda, Victor Ochoa, Armando Nunez, Abean Quevedo,
Barajas, Arturo Roman, Guillermo Rosete, Mar io Torero, Coyote, and J oe Cervantes.
Pillars painted by local and invited artist s: groups came from Santa Ana, Los Angeles
(Charles Feli x), ar.d Sacramento (members of the Royal Chicano Air Force). To t he local arti sts
over the years were added Felipe Adame, Pablo de la Rosa, Feli pe Barbosa, Mane Lina, Louie
and many ochers. A second set of pillars in 1977-78 (during t he Mural thon) were
painted by Tony de Varga , Socorro Gamboa, and Anglo art ist Michael Schnorr. Many murals
were painred wit h the assistance of communit y activists and st udents.
EI Centro Cul tural de la Raza also has a long history. Its establishment was due
to t he need for artists, dancers, poets, and actors ro have a space of their own. In 1971 under t he
gUidance,of poet Alurista, and of Torres, t he Tolrecas en Aztl an acquired, through persistent
communIt y-based demands, the round building in Balboa Park whi ch is t he present Centro. The
fi rst mural was begun in t he interior by Aranda working with a team, and was finall y finished
Eva Cockcrorl, 'The Story or Park ,- "u,U". I'. I (Spreng 1984): 79- 103: al\lf Philip Brookman, - EI Cenero
C
ult ural de la Rau , Years. m Abu IN li Z/InN. ed. PhilIp Brookman and Guillermo Gomea-Pena (San Diego' Cenrrc
ulcural de la Raaa, 1986 ). pp. 12 _ 53. .
in the mid 1980s. The outside murals, some of which have changed over t he years, are by
Aguilar, Aranda, Barajas, Arturo Roman, Nero del Sol, David ,Avalos, de
Samuel Llamas and Antonia Perez. Vietor Ochoa, rhe one Chi cano artist who has
worked on murals chroughour the years and served in multiple capaci ties, painted of
Geronimo whi ch repl aced a huge calaiera on the srreerside curve of the wall. Ochoa, 10 addition
to murals at the Centro and Chicano Park, has painted with groups in Sherman Littl e Park, at th.e
Bal boa Elementary School , in Oceanside, and many other locations. San Dieguans consider rheir
"turf" to incl ude all t he area from the cit y to the Mexican border -s-and beyond. The latesr gro.up
to be organized from the Centro has been the Border Art Workshoprraller
which promotes cult ural events between San Diego and its sist er city in MexICO. TI Juana.
CONCLUSIONS
It is obvious that many locat ions, murals, and artists have been left out of t his account. has
been attempted has been a general overview of mural production, geographically .orgamzed; a
recounting of the participation of numerous arrises; t he dynamics of interaction between
individuals and t he infrastructures they establ ished to carry out t heir projects; and t he response
to localand world events by Chicano artistic communit ies.
The eighties , starti ng wi t h the Carter administ ration, have by a
swing to right wing politics in government, and a worsening economic and political for
t he majorit y of Nort h Americans that is parti cularly oppressive for peoples of t he Third
living in the United St ates. These condit ions are ac companied by the threat and of
continental warfare t hat could escalate into an international nucl ear encounter. SOCIal services
have been cut to the bone causing tremendous suffering, and there has been a reversal of many
ga ins won by labor and worki ng people during t he last fift y years. Support go:ernment for
community and grassroots arc projects has also been drasticall y cut , and the Situati on
under the Reagan administrat ion which fostered a "small business" approach for artists and
advocated support to the arts by large corporations and foundat ions. The of such
support often leads to subtle, and not so subtle, censorship and to 10 form of
decorative soluti ons to murals. Ironically, the interest of mainstream insti tuti ons Chicano
"Hispanic" art production in recent years has had che cent rifugal effect of forcing
apart, of engendering elitist compet ition and indi vidualism (the old "every man :or himself
syndrome.) Combined with fundi ng difficul ties, these new atti tudes can have a SCtlOUS
effect on community murals. For those courageous and ded icated murali st s who conti nue to
paine meaningful works in t he face of adversity, we owe our supporr and assistance.
' 3
I
HUELGA

Andy Zermeno, T311 er of rhe United Farm Workers
photo off:;<:[ pest er
At significant junctures in our human development we ask and
respond co fundamental questions concerning our self-iden-
riry, our history, and our fucure. The same q uest ioning occurs
wit hin g roups of people at particular moments in their hi stori-
cal trajectory. For Mexican-descended people in t he Uni ted Scares, the 1960s was such a period
ofi mrospeetion, analysis, and act ion. Mult ipl e socio-political mobi lizat ions brought forth issues
of deep resonance within Mexican American communit ies rhroughour the COUnt ry. Rural
agrarian struggles, urban civil right confronracions, srudenr acrivis:n and myriadocher bacrles for
self-determi nation and cult ural reclamat ion coal esced inro a collect ive national consciousness
knownas t he "Chicano Movement ." The repertoire of varied poli t ical responses reflect ed a hetero-
geneous community uni ted by social positioning ofclass, race and erhnici ry wh ich cut across gen-
erational and reg ional lines.
Among the common denomi nators were the faces t hat most Chicanos belonged
to the working class, that they maintained varian ts of a generalized Mexican culture, and t hat all
had the experience of living in t he United States . Also t hey were mainly a young populati on
worki ng and living throughout the country in the Nort hwes t , Mid west and Southwest.
Inscribed wit hin a social nexus ofexploitation and disenfranchisement, Chicanos
asserted t heir hi storical imperati ve as generators ofculture rather than mere receptors ofcultural
expression from t he dom inant cult ure. Reclaimi ng t hei r imaginat ion, t hey proclaimed thei r self
invention within an aestheti c project t hat linked visual artists, poets, musicans, and dancers to
t he var ious political fronrs of el mooimiento.
'6
THE CHICANO AESTHETIC PROJECT
An ini t ial task was to re-think representat ion, t he role of che anisr, and the social function of art.
In opposition to the dominant culture, t he Ch icano had been conceived as t he "ot her" and reduced
co a system of ideological fictions in North American culture. Configurat ions of the "other"
always included themes of backwardness, degeneracy, and inequality. As Chicano visual artists
countered the exremal visions and commenced to create vital and pos it ive visions of t hemselves
and their environment they provide a challenge [Q orthodox, hierarchical culture by posit ioni ng
a more democratic forum wi t h open participation. Individuals could be bot h workers and artists.
In fact , t he visual art ist was seen as a sort of cult ural worker. Art was necessary but not privil eged
or special. Visual experience was thought to sti mulate the viewer to fuller comprehension of the
complex hu man environment and the social needs of people within it .
Remai ning outside t he offi cial cultural apparatus, Chicano artists organized
alternati ve circuits to create, disseminate, and market t hei r artist ic production. The interpreti ve
communit y, those who decide what counted and had value as art were often the art ists t hemselves.
Goi ng against the normative t radit ions of art as escape and commod it y, a prevalent atti tude
rewards Chicano art objects was t hat t hey should provide aesthet ic pl easure and del ight whi le also
serving to educate and ed ify.
ALTERN ATIVE FORMS AND SPACES
Uni fi ed by the shared intenti on of using art as part of the st ruggle to achi eve new and more
cred ible human values, Chicano art ists by the mid- 1970s had become producers of visual educa-
t ion. Murals, bi llboards, posters, easel pai nt ings, and new forms of communal ceremonies all
served to establish a code of visual sig nificat ion that was meaningful, commonly undersrcod, and
collect ively validated. Reflecti ng a multi -cul tural realit y, Chi cano art amalgamated and united
elements from both Mexican and Anglo American artist ic t raditions. This art istic syncret ism
corresponded to t he historical 11JeJl izaje of t he Chicano and provided art ists a vast repository of
subject mat ter and a wide repertoire of styles.
Beyond the formulation of aest hetic models, t he artist ic community began t he
arduous task of creat ing a viewing audience. Recognizing the "high art" system with its norms
of privi lege and exclusion would be intolerant to Chicano art , a non-art world centered net work
of support and informat ion was established. Exhibitions were not to be mounted in museums or
galleries but rat her in community sites such as parks, storefronts or meet ing halls. An was
integ rated with polit ical rallies, barrio social events, and communi ty cult ural celebrat ions where
viewers were encouraged to interact with t he art and art ists. Exhibi tions promptly became
communal celebrat ions in comfortable environments where art was demysnfied and given an
accesible ordinary dimension.
A NEW ART OF T HE PEOPLE
Having cod ified t he role of the artists as a visual educator, having st ruct ured an alternative art
circuit for production and di stribution, and steadil y working to create an audience, the
fundamental task was to elaborare lin mmlO artedel pJleblo(a new arr of t he people) created from
and based on communal art t radit ions. Necessarily, a fi rst step was to
rnvesngare, vali date, and incorporate aut hent ic expressive forms arising wi thin the complex and
mul ti -faceted Chicano community. In opposi t ion to the hierarchical dominant culture with
implici t di st inctions for "fi ne" and "fol k art ", at tempts were made to eradicate boundaries and
inceg rare caregories. An initial recogni tion was t hat everyday life and t he lived environment were
the g rime const ituent elements for t he new aesthet ic.
-\
PUERTOALEGRE BAR
19805
CordoVll
Mission Dist rict , San FDnciKo
apprcx. 10' x 25'
AP.'lfwriiI-lYpe mural.
'7
SACRED HEA RT
OFJESUS
20lh cemury
.... "onymous
.Yfexican lit hograph
9' x 12"

Culrural practices of everyday life were seen as nutrient sources for Chicano art
forms . As barrio customs, rituals, and tradi t ions were investigated, they yielded boundless
sources of imagery. Many communities have long supported Spanish language newspapers (like
LeI Opinion in Los Angeles) in which artists have created a vigorous t radiron of sat irical caricature
and illust rat ion. These graphic tradi t ions were now conti nued in t he Chi cano Movement press .
Large scale out door painting (mural s) in the exuberant style of Mexican pltlqlteria art often
decorate barrio groceries, meat markers, restaurants, and bars. Created and signed by skilled
commercial artists, such paintings can be nostalgic (anevocat ion ofa Mexican village), humorous
(a butcher shop wi th a frieze of little pi gs dressed as chefs and cooki ng humans), hi storical (a
restaurant wit h panels depict ing heroes of the Mexican Revol uti on) or informat ional (a bar named
"La Sirena" wi t h a facade featuring cavorting mermaids , Neptune, sea nymphs and assorted sea
creatures). Painted in brilliant color wi t h simple compositi onal schemes and a direcr rendering
of forms, Chi cano p/llqlteria t ype an is a colorful and charming ongoing rradirion of art in public
spaces; it is lively, witty, and often rhetorical. The historical panels from this tradi tion are
especially signi fi cant in t he develpmenr of Chicano murals. Opposed to t he decorativeplllqmria
t ype art whi ch is ou tdoors, the hi storical panels were painted indoors in resrauran rs or commumrj-
meeting halls, places where families gathered. These panels were self-contained pictorial
renderings of historical events such as rhe Battle of Puebla (in the 19th century) or t he legend of
Cuauhtemoc (an Aztec hero of the 16th cent ury). Function ing as didact ic tool s, they served as
visual reminders of t he histori cal past .
Another pervasive form ofpopular art in the barri o is the yearl y issuedalmanaqNe
(chromo-lithographed calendar) given to Cust omers by local merchants who commission t hem
as promotional materials. Although created as advertisements to sell products, the atmanaqne
cradit ionall yexcl udes rhe prod uct from the visual itself. Rather, t he plates feat ure Mexican genre
scenes such as evocations ofmilpas and rancbitoi (agrarian landscapes), charms and their senoritas,
indigenous myths, and t he full pantheon of Mexican nat ional heroes . The Virgen de Guadalupe
is another preferred image in rhe almanaqlles. Often the calendar illustrati ons are saved from year
to year and displayed in rhe household l ike contemporary posters.
Since the Catholic rel igion is a paramount infl uence in rhe lives of rnosr Chicanos,
ie is natural t hat artists gain imspirat ion from religious imagery and pract ices. ESlampas and
al tares have been a di rect iconog raphic infl uence in t he work of many Chicano arrisrs. Estampas
are chromo-l it hographed reli gious images t hat are sol d in barrio stores or dispensed by church
g roups. They are vivi dly embell ished depictions of favored images such as El Sag rado Corazon
de J esus (t he Sacred Heart of J esus), El Santo Nino de Arocha (the Holy Child of Arocha), La
59
WHERE HEROES
ARE BORN
1983
J uan Ord ui'ie1
3881 No. Broadway
WI Los Angel"
6' X 20'
Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos (t he Virgin of San Juan of the Lakes), and myriad ot hers .
Inexpensively or elaborarely framed, such images stand in almost every room of Chicano homes.
Each saint has an accompanying rale, and many young children are enthralled by t he oral
rendi rions of thei r anci ent and heroic exploits. Indeed, the sai nts in theestampasare often regarded
as cultural heros. Having such an impact on the imaginat ion, it is no wonder that eJla"lpaJ
emerged as primary sou rces of Chicano imagery found in murals and other an forms .
In the ongoing assessment and re-interpretations of barrio cul ture, many arr isrs
focused on (ll'ara (home rel igious shrines) as expressive forms whi ch typified the confl uence of
tradition and change. They are environmental pieces chat project conti nui ng cultural and
spi rit ual statements. In their creative eclecticism, allares reflect particular concepts of beauty,
ort hodox religi ous and spiritual beliefs, and display t reas ured objects deri ving from significant
events and si tuat ions in t he lives of their creators.
In Chicano homes , t hey served as part of dai ly life. Typical constit uents might
i nclude crocheted doill ies and embroidered clot hs, family photographs, reaerdos (personal
momenros such as flowers or favors saved from a dance or parry), JIW/OJ (religious chromos or
statues) especiall y venerated by the family, and a melange of many ot her elements. The grouping
of the various objects in a particular space- atop the television set, on a kitchen counrer, atop
a bedroomdresser, or in a speciall y constructed nicho(wall shelf) appear to be random, but usual ly
respond t he a conscious sensibil il ry and aest hetic judgement of what t hi ngs belong together and
in what arrangement.
By t he mid-1970s in rhe rhrusr to foment a nl/cvo arledel pl/ehle, Raza artists began
the process of investi gation and rei ntegration with vast resources of barrio popular arr. One
necessary cultural task was to demonstrate how the Chicano community had mainrained and
adopted elements from Mexican folk cult ure. AllIlaT/aq/(eJ. altareJ, estampas and pl(lql(eria t ype art
were appropriated as examples of cult ural continuity and adaptation. There was also a conscious
effort to val idate expressive forms specifically rooted in t he American urban experience. The
st yle, sta nce, and visual discourse of sub-cultures wit hin t he Chicano communit y were also ac-
knowledged as generators ofspecific art forms . Placas (spray painted gang graffit i), It:ll/(aje.r(india
ink rarroos made wit h improvised needl es), customizing of ranjlaJ(low-rider cars), yout h ga ng
regal ia, pinlo(prison) arc such aspanllelilOJ(ballpoint or pen and ink decorared handkerchiefs), the
self- presentation of tbotos and countl ess other expressive forms evoke and embody a barrio
sensibil ity - a sense of self worrh t hat is defi anr, proud, and roored in resistance.
Wh.i1e learning and drawing inspirat ion from conremporary barrio expressions,
Chicano artists also began the rask of reclaiming arti stic rradi rions rooted in ancestral heri tage.
61
62
Sculptors especially found historical affi ni ties in the santero and penitente art of t he Southwest. The
potent santero traditon has ebbed and flowed but continues as a vital contemporary idiom. Santos
are sculpted or painted representations of Christian saints often anonymously created by self
taught or semi-professional artists. When carved in t he round either in separate sections or in a
single piece, t he image is called a tndto; when pai nted on wooden panels, it is a rezablo. Santos were
ord inarily used in the home or in local ch urches as objects of venerati on. Alt hough funct ioning
as religious icons, they were given human dimens ions and integrated as art objects wit hi n the
everyday life of the home. Chi cano artists seeking to relate t heir work in a direct way with
community concerns gained impetus from this historical antecedent ofan art form developed and
nourished directly wit hin a social context .
The PenitenteBrotherhood, a secular religious order, was another significant force
in t he formarion ofa d urable arrisric expression in the Southwesr. Penisente esxmost often portrays
Chr ist in his Passion through life-sized. realistic statues of t he Ecce Homo (sor rowful Chr ist) .
Other t ypi cal penisentesubjects are t he skeleton or deat h uanitas fi gures representing t he folly and
transience of human li fe. Forceful examples are the caretas dela nuarte (deat h cats) which contain
powerful images of dearh affectionatel y known as Dona Sebastiana. The striking imagery and
emoti ve power ofpenitenleart had a profou nd impact on t hose Chicano artists fo rging an art which
sought to communi cate content with integrit y.
In penisente art , careful anencion to precise detail is secondary to the more
significant "expressive" qual it ies often rransmi rted by distortion and exaggeration. Vigorous
colorarion, crude texture, and rhetorically simplified forms aid in creat ing the passionate mood
ofpenitente sculptural figures . These stylistic aspect s coul d well be related to the socially consc ious
mural art being created in California. Con temporary Chi cano ar t, much of it ful l of indignation
and outrage, could clai m rightful affinity wi t h the emotively charged antecedent expression of
penitente art.
Knowledge about the Indo-Hispanic art forms of t he Southwest came neither
from academic or scholarly sources. It was gained from sources wi thin the movement like El Grito
del Norte, a newspaper issued from Espanola, New Mexico starting in 1968. This journal had a
gress-roors orienracionand placed a major emphasis on preserving t he cult ure of t he rural agrarian
class. Often, photographic essays focus ing on local artisans or documenti ng t radit ional ways of
life in the isol at ed jJlleblitos of northern New Mexico were featured. Cleofas Vi gil. a pract icing
santero from t he region, traveled widely speaking to gtoUPS of ar tists band ing toget her to form
the nascent Chicano arts movement . The carvers Patrocinio Barela, Celso Gallegos and J orge
lopez, all master senteros, whose works were collected, documented, and exhibi ted by Anglo
DOLOR
1979
Ralph Ma radiaga
Galeria de ]a RazafSrudio 24
silkscrcen
24 ' l( 30'
64
patrons during the fi rst part of the century. gained renewed significance within the budding
associations of Chicano art ists. Old and tattered exhibit ion catalogues, newspaper clippings and
barely legi ble magazine articles t hat documented t heir work were xeroxed and passed from hand
to hand CO be eagerly scrut inized and savored. Some an ises made pilgrimages ro the museums
and collect ions where their work was displayed and made photographs available co Movement
newspapers and magazi nes. Pri mar ily t hrough this process oforal t rad iti on and informal sharing
of visual documentat ion, arrisrs in California became aware of one of their ancest ral folk
traditions, an art isti c tradition rarely incorporated into "offic ial" art history. Thus the recovery
and transmiss ion of sanrem and penitente art was accomplished by t he same SOrt or working class
artist s who had produced it.
Al thoug h penitente and sanrero art are not acknowledged as primary or direct
influences on Chicano art (except for artisans maintai ning the tradition in t he Sourhwest), they
form explicit nutrient sources in t he establishment of an art ist iccont inuum with Chicano com-
munities. Because of t heir popul ar roots and thei r development in a commu nal social nexus, they
offer abiding proofoft he process by which a durable art t rad it ion can be integrated inro dai ly life.
Stressing public connection rat her than private cog ni t ion, artists continued t heir
quest to evol ve flu id and integrat ive art forms. The goal was not si mply co recl ai m vernacul ar
t rad itions but to re-interpret them in ways allowing for hi storical change.
An original inventive manner of organizing the community through art-centered
act ivit ies was the creation ofcollect ive secular celebrat ions often based on rradironal customs. La
Fiesta del Maiz (Corn Festival), 1 Die de los lHlIertoJ (Day of the Dead) and many ot her group
observances were developed to nurt ure and sustain ethni c pride and cult ural solidarity as a
necessary first st ep towards t he formulation or a new cul tural resistance. Artists working at the
various art ceaoer chroughour t he counrry set themselves the t askof inventing new forms ofsecu lar
ceremonies and rituals; rhei r purpose being ro suscain and t ransmi t t he pol it ical goals and cul tural
ideals of t he emerging Chicano et hos.
Especiall y prevalent were ceremoni als that st ressed nee-indigenous elements.
Ancient and survivi ng Indian cult ures were valued as root sources from whi ch to extract last ing
values that would bring unity and cohesion to the heterogeneous Chicano communit y. Re-
enactment of indigenous ritual s gave the modern Chicano communit y access to the now myt hical
sources of its cultural identity and to assert rhar identity through symbols that made St atementS
about unity, dest iny, survival and endurance. Furthermore, the neo-indigenismo purveyed in the
rit uals and ceremonies gave aut hority and legi t imacy to t he political indigeniJ1Jlowhich fl ourished
as a dominant aspecr of the cultural nat ionalist phase of the Chicano Movement.
Affirmation ofindigenous heritage led artists to study and internalize the works
of Miguel Leon- Port il la, Angel Gari bay and ot her scholarly interpreters of t he p hilosophy and
an of the ancient Mexicans. Through such intellect ual channels as well as through the oral
traditi on of community elders and sages such as the Conchero dancer Andres Segura, Chicano
artists gained insight into the spi ri t ual and aest hetic roots of t heir own expression. The pyramid ,
rhe Aztec calendar stone, design mot ifs from ancient cul t ures and t he entire pantheon of gods
from Mayan, Tol rec, and Aztec cul tures became root metaphors in Chicano arr, not as empty
reminders of past glories bur as powerful symbols of contemporary relevance.
T he integration of cul tural symbols with artistic expression was also generated
by t he newly designed form of communal ceremonies mentioned above. One such spectacle of
much resonance was the commemoration of the firsc day of November of 1 Dia delos AtHer/ OJ.
Customaril y in Chicano communi ties, thi s day was set aside for vi siti ng the cemetery, cleaning
thegraves of loved ones, setting out fresh flowers and rememberi ng deceased family members and
fri ends. There were no special rituals saved for individual medi tat ions on mortality. Some
communities also maintai ned the custom of publi shing calaveras, broadsi des of sat irical verse
embell ished wi t h drawings of skulls and skeletons based on t he art of Jose Guadalupe Posada.
Recent arriva ls from Mexico might st ill bake pall demertos, or set up an of renda (a profusely
decorated altar with food and drink offerings honori ng recent ly departed kin).
Perhaps receiving impetus from EI Teatro Campesino which had long since in-
corporated the colaiera tradition in its production, art ists at the various antros focused on this
traditi on as a spri ngboard for devel ping viral new forms of communal ceremonies. Self Help
Graphics, an art ists cooperati ve and communi ty art center in East Los Angeles, can be cited as
an example of how artists used the Day of the Dead t rad ition to mobili ze t he community while
creati ng a spirit of un it y and cultural pride. As described in a Self Hel p Graphics p ress release,
the celebration takes pl ace t he firs t week of November and is open to all of Los Angeles. Openi ng
with an indigenous ceremony at a near-by cemetery, t he activiti es of t he day continue wi th a
colorful parade featuring costumes, pflpier macbe crosses and masks, skeletons with smiles and
papel pimdo (curour ti ssue paper banners). Led t hroug h the streets by t he sounds of tradi tional
music, t he crowds watch and spontaneously join in to conclude t he march in front of al tars
assembled at th e Self Help Graphics st ud io. Here t he celebrants present offerings to t he dead at
fes t ively decorated altars const ructed by community parti cipants in workshops held months
b e f o ~ e t he event. Performin g teatros, musician g roups, and other festiviti es continue into early
eVenmg concl ud ing with a candle lit procession.
6'
67
In the spontaneit yand spi rit of the fest ival, the communi ty has time to speculate
and take cog nizance of itsel f and its cul tural traditions. The new forms of communal celebrations
funct ioned as art is tic st rategies to symbolically t ransmit key assumpt.ions of the Chicano an
movement. They introduced and propagated many of the symbols, themes, and mot ifs being
codified into a visual vocabulary by Chicano art ists. While stressing pte-Colombian and in-
digenous subject -matter, t he emergent visual vocabulary also incorporated urban rypes and
explorations of t he hybrid Chicano social mil ieu .
Integrally related to the human concerns of their local neighborhoods, artists
pursued the vital tasks of creati ng art forms t hat strengt hened t he wi ll , fort ified t he cult ural
identi ty, and clarified rhe consciousness oft he communiry. The foremost aesthetic ai mconci nued
to be search for an organic uni t y bet ween actual social livi ng and arr. By t he mid- 1970s posrers
and murals were ubiquitous purveyors of visual culture in Chicano communit ies.
For their visual dialogue, artists soon cod ifi ed t hemes, motifs, and iconography
which provided ideologi cal direction and visual coherence to mural and poster product ion. In
the main, rhis arrisric vocabulary included referents to pre-Columbian, Mexican , Chicano, Anglo
American, and international sources. The search was for a visual language t hat was clear,
emotionally charged, and easily understood.
Pre-Columbian citat ions include pyramids, the Azt ec calendar stone, cul t ural
heroes like Querzalcoarl , and deit ies like Tlaloc and Coar lic ue. From t he Mexican heri tage
references to revolut ionary heros and cul t ural traditions are widespread. Potent cultural symbols
like e/ maglley, La Virgen de Guadalupe, and la ralavera are prevalent . Chicano motifs l ike placas
or the hlle/go thunderbird appear constantly with such heroic fi gures as Che Guevara and Cesar
Chavez. Anglo America provides sat irical visions of Uncle Sam, rhe Srarue of Li bert y, and
caricaraures of t he bourgeoisie _ bosses, landowners, and robber barons. Internationalism
entered the pi ctorial vocabulary of Ch icano murals and posters with motifs and iconographic
details from t he people's struggles in Vietnam, Africa, and Lat in America.
Creati ng a dialect ical an is an ongoi ng process and marks the mature stage of the
Chicano an movement in t he 1980s. Thi s phase entails the appropri ation of t he most advanced
styles, techniq ues. and technologies in the persistent ,discipl ined, and cont inual effort toward de-
velopi ng an enhanced artof resistance - an art whi ch is not a resistance ro rhe marenals and forms
of art , but rat her a resistance to entrenched social systems of power, excl usion, and negation.
ABAJD CON LA /l ll GRA
1979
Malaq uiu Mont oya
black and whi tC' silksc rcen poster
24' x 30'

I. Erik Erikson, U/ t Him '] aNd fbt HiJ/Or ;mf MomeNt (Nrw York: \ 'iI . W. NOr!on & Co., 197'5), p. 21.
69
Amalia MsaBains

Quest for
Identity:
Profile of
Two Chicana
Muralists
on
I with
Judit h F. Baca
and Patricia

A his/orical periodmay pmtn/ asingularchlICl fora col/edit't rmeuiai which opens up unlimiud
idtmi/ie,s ffW lhoseu'ho, b)' a combina/ioll ofuRYl/linm, giftedness, and rompttttlct, rtpmmt a nnu
leadership, a newelite, and newl}peJ rising /0dominancei" t1 flewpeep/t. I
The Chicano Movement can be seen as a coming of age, a self-
defi nition rooted in a cri t ical per iod of development both
individual and social. Concerns with improved educat ion,
labor condi tions, bilingual support, land retrieval, and com-
munity empowerment were bound together within the
encompassi ng challenge of ident ity. For the art ist, this self-
definition by vin:ue ofits historical placement was the impulse
for both personal and coll ective expression.
In a historical sense, the Chicano Movement co_uld be interpreted as collect ive
act ion toward cult ural , polit ical , social, econom.c, or educational change. Viewed privately
t hrough the self of t he singular artist , the Movement was a st ruggle with past heritage, societal
rejection, adolescent cont radict ion, and inevi tabl y, t he need for purposeful ethical en list ment.
This need to blend a historical and personal identi ty as Ch icano was a dr iving force in the social
act ivism of el mooimiento.
Those individual arcisrs whose developing self was indelibl y marked by this
experience refl ect t he larger and more massive q uest for identi t yof t heir group. Accordi ng to Erik
Erikson in his groundbreaking book, Life History and the Historical Moment:
-Zoot Suil Riots ' , derail, GREA. T WAU OF WS A"JGELES
1981
J udith F. Bao.
Tujunga \'(Iash Dr-.linage Canal San Fernando V, II- to A I
I I . ' -y , s nge es
[01".1 mu.... 1/2 mile long, [his derail approx. 13' x H'
70
The Chicano mural rnovemenr was a major effort in che expressive arts which
expanded these concerns ofidentiry t hrough a public discourse. Murals served as a larger than life
visual voice linking communities, narrating missing histories, presenting cult ural themes, reap.
propriacing neighborhood space, and creat ing a new imagery of t he Chicano. As a funct ion of
identity development, murals provided idealized portrai ts which celebrated fami ly and cul t ural
practices. Thei r themes often outl ined poli t ical demands and spiritual beliefs significant to the
larger Chicano community.
Wi t hi n t his mural movement collectives and brigades which sought to develop
col laborat ive models and st ruct ures provided important leadership. This leadership was marked
by the active presence of women muralists. As women they brought gender perspective to the
issues of identity and community; as artists t hey affirmed a public expression that incorporated
both historic and personal narrati ve. Patricia Rodrfguea formerl y of the 1970s mural collective,
Mujeres Muralisms, is a significant figure in Chicano cultural activity within t he movement.
J udit h F. Baca, creator of t he Great \'Voll of Los Angela cont inues to be a moving force in mural
activi t ies internati onally. In looking at rhedevelopmenr ofthese two leadi ng muralisrsas women,
art ists, and parti ci pants in t he Ch icano Movement we can perhaps begin to understand the rela-
tionshi p between social and indi vidual identi t y. Their journey is of an individual and personal
natu re, yet like a mirror it refl ect s the life history of a community.
PATRICIA RODRIGUEZ
For Patricia Rodriguez the earliest childhood sense of boundaries was ofsolidity and protection
from her own communit y as well as of excl usion and alienat ion from an Anglo societ y. She was
born in Texas to a Ch icana single parent of the Zoot suit era and was raised by her grandmother
while her mother worked. Her earli est recollections were of a racially tense separation bet ween
Mexicans and Anglos:
\'Veknew tbat thn-e were certain territories ue didn'l go into. erptciolly in TO:OJ. It U'aJ
oery dose-emt, WI! hod0/11' oum barrios and0111' owndistricts. In Jchool wegot ((dIednames
and thingJ like tbas.
Despite the restrictiveness of t he community set t ing, Pat ricia Rodrfguea' grand-
mother was abl e to provide an optimistic model, clearly becoming a source of st rength. Her
caretaki ng played a major role in the early development of a feminine ide nt ificat ion.
She had(/10/ ofstrengtbandenergy. Sbebrongbt meupmuil tbeflgeojJel/t!1l. JO I uias molded
after her pretty much instead ofmy mother. She u-as /-'elY prodllctive. 11f')' creatne... She
enjoyed every/bing abonr lift. She was never bitter, never depressed.
FANTAS Y WORLD FOR Ol/LOREN
197::>
Patricia Rodriguez. Graciela u,-i llo, and Irene Perez .. s , .
. . B S '{ ' on D' Sfr1CI . an ranCISCO
Ralph Maradlaga Mini-Park . 2ith and ryant [S., ,. ISSI
approx. 30' x IY
72
It was in this setting of community cul tu re that Rodrfguea experienced those
sources that have cont inued to playa parr in her creative identity. The interplay of fami ly
gatherings and barriofestivit ies provided an acceptable method of fe mi nine creat ivi ty. Through
cultural and communal traditi ons the artis t developed a sense of product ivity:
\'Vhen I was grouang liP in the little Texas fown, we J/Iedto hatlt 10fS o[ jamt/) ctJJ. which
are les/hlt days - chllrch celebrafionJ, Alo/her's day, or something like that - and
everybody uf() rks IOWd l,J tbat day. lt's oery f estive... \Vomen producea 10/ ofpillow ram.
embroidery, knilling. )oJholders or aprons or doilies. All tbar WfI.J very colorf u/, tt tva! a
big event. II hada lo! of ellKIon me. I was "'erJ excitedabofll what mygrandmother WaJ
showing and tht neighbor mas showing,
This sense of shared expression provided by the nurt un ng setting of her
g randmot her's support stirred her fi rst explorations in art making:
I Can remember being creative ever since I uos a tbitd.: the earliest thing I can remember
is being at a neigbbor'sbouse when / still tioed with my grandmaberin Texasandcreating
a dress and trying tosew it, Aclllally, / didn't sew it ~ a l m when the lady tried 10 PIli
tbedress all the doll, it cameapart, 8 111, it toasa dress tbat had IWOparts 10 it which usas
very interesting 10 her, She was amazed that I cOllld dothat,
The move to Cal ifornia in her child hood allowed Pat ricia Rodriguez to negoti at e
a new sense of openess about cultural boundaries, It also provided a conflicrual sit uat ion as she
struggled with the loss of her g randmother, the eme rgence of a new stepfat her and a new
cornmuru ry:
I Camef roma'I-'eTJ repressivetypeof back.grolmdwhere)'oll jllst didn't hangoat with}.nglos
- m,[w they 'Urt very poorand lhey camefrom tht s4meneighhorhoods wecamefrom, ln
California the division wasn't as blatant, \Veall bnng ast togober.. It WaS no/ easy in
tbe beginning became/ didn't knowifl sholtldtrill! them, or whether it WaS theright thing
todo, or if l wOltidgel intot1'OlIble.
Adolescent st rugg les gave way to the opportunity for self-expression under these
new infl uences. During this period, Rodriguez began ro formulate a sense of herself as an artist.
This ambit ion was influenced by recogni tion from ochers:
\Vhen l toas in junior high / had a uJOnderfll1 art teacher who 'WtIS gay and very creative
...Hekepftl1COllragingme. Hesaid, "YoII' regoingtobeanartist, YOII'vegOItogo tocoUege."
And J said, "lVell, J'I/t always wanted tobe an artist."
The interact ion wi t h a caring ad ul t outs ide the family served as a bridge to greater
aspi rations. As for so many adolescents, t he interest and concern of a significant teacher provided
l.tI TlNOAJlIEHJCA
1914
las Mujeres Mu ralistas
(Patricia Rodriguez, Oreclela Carillo, Consceto Mendez, Irene Perez)
Mi5.Sion St reet !xtwt>en 2 ~ t h and 26th Srs.. Mission Distri ct , San Francisco
approx. 2 ~ ' x 70'

7.
the motivation for independence. \Vh ile the Anglo environment was at nmes isolati ng,
Rodriguez' artist ic aptitude was essent ial to her self-esteem and competency.
With this wideni ng sense of ident ity her artistic impulses flourished and she
began to envision her futu re as an anise. For Rodriguez as for many Chicanos of her generation,
the limitat ions imposed bysocial attitudes were an obstacle in developing her sense offuture. YCt
Pat ricia Rodrfguez reli ed on her growing sense of endurance and perseverance, encouraged by the
model of her mother:
I ioas vny imprwed with her became she was alsovery enduring and hardworking. She
hada eoerytbinganddidn't let dllylhingget in her way. Shea/Ii'ays
tlJfJlighf tbat I sho,,/dstrioefflY the best, I shouldstrivef or the highest JJ(JJJible, uibetber it
be in high school or togel a job.
Duri ng this st ruggle for independence and future, she was for a time married to
an Anglo. After her marriage ended in di vorce, she began reali zing her potential as an arrisr. The
collect ive force of the poli tical change for Chicanos began co sweep her along as she joined the
Movemenr.Tbe turning point was rhar I was, for t he fi rst t ime, in che erwironmenr of t he Chi cano
Movement.
There werea lot of things going Off, a lot of dC111011JiI"ations, a lot ofexciting moments. I
decided if I can do all these things and bea woman who can work for the rigbts 0/ Cbi-
({1I1 OS to be at the University, 'Work for the rights of women. work for therights ifuoreers,
then I sbosld be ableto work/or my own rights, to makemydreams cometrue. It was the
ideal oftrying tobe liberatedand trying to befeminist, oftrying10 WGrk f or something yo"
co,,1d never achieve otherwisebecallSe sKiety wo" ldn'tlet yo". I jasr worked towardtbat,
Making use of an art scholarship, she went to arr school, however she found it to
be isol ati ng and chaotic. The formali ty and srrucrure she expected to fi nd there was based on a
romanticized percept ion that proved to be untrue.
t rbosgbt art school was going to be like the Hollywoodmovies ofthe ] 940s where )'0" have
to wear a smock and a beret. The only role models I had were television and maybe
Hollywood movies where some middle-class gid went to Paris to art school.
In t he ferment of new ideas and potentialit ies generated byelmovi"'ientoshe joined
other Chicanos committed to fight ing for their right to higher educat ion. In the conrexr of this
momentum. a newconsciousness was formed and earl ier idenrificarions ofst re ngrb and persever-
ance became layers in t he development of her self concept as an art ist . What she was unable to find
in support in t he majori ty inst it ut ions she discovered in her barrio activit ies. But even th is
collective work was restricted by the polui cel expectations of her male counterparts:
They responded untb "well, it's aile bill it dcesn't sayvtry much. " And I said, "well, nat
everythinghas10 bepalitical. " T!Je,-e'; osbertbingsthat onecansay, especial/y asan artist,
I mean it's in an artist's creed toexpress howlhey feeL.I net," believed thai )'011 had tobe
so dogmatic, in/act. I resentedit, But I uenrti-Iongwith it becameI wasvery much involved
with the group.
She began studying t he work of t he Mexican murali sts and was inspired to join
other women art ists in a group called Mujeres Mu ralistas. The development of t he women's
painti ng group allowed her access to new ideas and expressions on a public level.
Thef act that ! UJo;painting.that I was doingIarge-scalefignres, that I was working with
massive scale and I was 0111 in pllh/ic, made it a lot more exciting.
As her community arrachmenr deepened, t he artist relied more on t he cultural
sources of her own experiences as content and model in her murals. In particular, the consistent
patterns ofcelebration, ki nshi p, and communi ty from her chi ldhood became pa rt oft he muralist 's
themes and imagery t hat were translated t hrough t he collect ive vision of the Mujeres Muralistas.
A lot of the rimalsandthe richness 0/theculture, tbe combinations 0/mltuml beliefs that
the/amily has and 0/theparticular groups I'vebeen iaitb aretbe influences I have now.
But they all go back to my grandmother, or to my eartychildhood. They derive/rom my
early stages of development.
J oining wi t h the collect ive mural movement she conti nued to maintain an ideal
sense of arti st ic iden ti t y, a role imbued with a larger mission. .This sense of mission, despi te t he
changes in her art all iances and in the Movement, is expressed by her perseverance:
Aty philosophy is that an artist should IN dedicated. Sometimes it is very'diffimlt. Some
poplesay, "bmband and wifeand kids first, and iftbm'stime, there's art. .. And I say,
"no. " I say, "art first. Art first, everythingelse second", It takes work and means some
sacrifices illyosr lif e...i/)'oll call yoursel]anartist, )'0/1 have 10 Pl1t 0111. YOl1 htweto work
hard. YOl1 hatlt toproducework,
The inspirations, sources and contrad ict ions that provoked change for Patricia
Rodriguez sol idifi ed a commit ment and sense 0: self inextri cably tied to bot h her identity as a
Chi cana and as an arti st . In a collective sense t he Ch icano adolescence provi ded a major impetus
to el mooimimto. The awareness of inj ustice rbar is intensifi ed for evety adolescent was doubly
intense for minorityyouth. Like orher adolescenrs, Patricia Rodriguez relied on her own growi ng
artistic competency as an escape from t he sense of frustration and li mitation encountered in
school where tracking and discrimi nation were everyday events.
75
76
You understood what discrimination was about,.. 1jelt that I hada responsibility, 1had
a duty aspart of this )'otmger gmeration u-itb this kind of consciousness totry andcorrea
someof those things. It was like enlisting in the arm)' . If I had tohave art become part
of that duty for x amount oftime. thm it would, became it was simply something that I
would have felt terrible if 1had not done.
Personal development propelled Pat ricia Rodriguez coward her own amsnc
needs and t he Chi cano collectivit y provided a context for social change. Mujeres Muralisras was
formed out ora need for women to work together ina supportive way. Like earlier familial models,
the Mujeres Muralis ras incl uded only women: Irene Perez (Guatemalan), Graciela Carrillo
(Chi cano), Consuelo Mendez (Venezuelan), and Patricia Rodrfguez. In many ways, the group was
also a prototype for t he development of movemenr values which reinforced publicly accessible,
anti-elite work ofe ccl lective nature. The images of their murals, Laci noamerica and Pecos Tacos,
expressed a pan-American aesthetic where highly visible images of women and emphas is on
ceremony, celebrat ion, caretaking, harvest and a conti nental terrain worked toward the creation
of a new myt hology. The power of t he murals relied on precisel y t hat widely held memory of the
everyday which allowed the work of t he Mujeres Mural isras to provide a recollective function for
a broad commun ity during a historic period or t ime,
JUDITH F. BACA
In t he period of t he Chicano Movement life pat hs crossed t he historic t rajectory of the group.
Making sense out of th is juncture requires us to refl ect on the key elements, personal histories,
memories, and recol lecti ons that marked th isexperience. ForJudith Baca, perhaps it was the srory
of her own famil ies migrat ion to Cal ifornia shortly before her birch that fi rst made her aware of
t he oppression and resistance of women. She was reared in a matriarchal family. As for many
Chicanosof her generat ion, her grandmot her offered a constant nurt ur ing while her single mother
made a living .
Aly Mother ioasu't youngwhen I was born, she was 23. They hadbeenIivillgin Colorado.
The barrio was a very big, very oJd A"exicall collmumity. She had oIder brothers who
complelely rontrolledber lift, a situation which she collldll 't bear allY more. SIx madethe
journey west. She was thepioneer in the f amily.
The st ruggl e of th is family of women became a model for t he artist's later
struct ures of feminist empowerment . J udit h Baca was greatl y influenced by the character and
indigenous sensi bility of her grandrnorher while her mother's working class perseverance in
providing for a di sabled sister, an elderly mother, a younger sister, and her daughter created a
UPRISING OF THE tl1 UJ ERE.S , d.,lai!
1979
)udi[h F. Baca
portllbl.,. aeryl;, on wood
8' x 24'
78
model of service and dedication that inspired the young J udi th Baca. In part icular, her
grandmother's beliefs and practices created a worldview for the arti st (hat remains a potent force
in her own ph ilosophy regarding the environment, harmony and world relations:
My grandmolherU1aJ a lJerY spiritual, vtry Indi,m. /ooleing woman. I remember walking
down thestreet withherandheldingher handandknowingthai sonIehowwewerewolking
down the uTong streets in/he wrong coumry and we wert completely 01({ ojslep with what
was happming here. Shegovt mea rremendom spiritualforce. Ilhink she bame theideal
ofwhat love shouldbe. I reallyfindthisthe absolillejOlmdaf i on ofmy cOllfitiuln . Jknow
my sense ofself wasformed al thai time.
Her mother's marriage ro an Anglo proved to be a confli crual relati onship for
Baca. She responded co this sense of al ienation by increas ing her reliance on rhe extended family
and assert ing more and more control of herself th rough her an. An early marriage co an Anglo
made possible some separat ion from family conflic ts and provided a suppe-r for her an ed ucation.
Her marriage ending in divorce, Baca found solace, consolation and a sense ofpower in her errisric
abilities. Yet her early an lacked a sense of purpose. She remembers a moment after graduat ion
when a simple inquiry by her grandmother called t hese issues into ques tion:
I was thefirst woman in thef mnily ever tograduatefrom college. There was a bigparty.
Everyonecame. l tookmycertificate tomygrandmotherthenight of llrygradl!otionandsaid,
"Look." I was very happy. She took meillt!) the back bedroom ofIIry littleapartment and
she said, "Showmewhat yOIl do. " Sol twk ont what / couldfind that was realistic, some
drawings, and showed them to her. She said jllJ1 One thing, "What's it forl" ! was
devastatedby that onelittleremark. ! 'wasgoing to say "To hang on your usdls," but she
was right. "What was it f or?" Her qtastion really gllided mefrom that point on. l knew
I hadto UIe this partimlar skill ! had, bllt that it hadto be connected with something that
had meaning or purpose beyond my selfgralijicalionandcouidspeak to the people ! cared
most abollt, 'ny f amily and cOHim/mity.
Baca turned more intensel y co her work as an art ist and reacher as she struggled
to defi ne her role. As a woman and a Chicana she did not seem to fi t wi thin the romantic image
of the bohemian whi te male art ist working in a garret:
! didn't think / had the right to ca// myselfa" artist, becametheimage ofwho em artist
was didn't fn. / did,,'t know tbat / couMmakemy OMI definition.
The cole of rhe artist, the issue ofdefi nition, conrinued co be a problem as) udi rh
Baca began to work wi t hin rhe collectivity of the Chicano Movement . She q uestioned whether
1 e Of her work was valid as art. Yet , her col lective work wit h yout h gangs in
the commune narur d I .
barri breakthrough in her own self-defi nit ion, her own eve opmenc:
the arrm was a . .. fi he
he l ked 'th the kids theexperience WaJ JO 1/tOtJing and so big: 1/, t
\\'1 11 WOP'. WI .. . her They were g IVing 1JOfceJ to
first timepeoplewere takhtg co",m/lmty action 111 art toget . d k ' h
the people whobad not spoken, whose stories werelargely not told':/1 fa mg J:;m; a:
' I ownedbv other hNl h/e. l sawthe men who were Pllltlllg medown 0 w at
were large y J r -rr . . ho he people l was
did, follow Illy lead. I began to see that something was on, u: I
working with 'wert king changed, bow l was alsochangmg and teaming.
Her involvement with young people has been a conti nuing aspec t of her work
whi ch is refl ect ive of her own st ruggles and beliefs:
/ 'm very anatbedtoJoung/Jt'Op/ebecame / identify with their ndJtllion, tbe
. through! be/itvt that they hafJtafuture, that they are thegaltgeof what ;
1;;;;111g or nor'doingtonatJlre - theyare theharometerofracism. That's whyl work wit
youth. ki f h G t U't. 1/
Moving from barrio communi t y murals to the underra 109 0 e.. TM a,
Baca moved into a period ofg reater producti vity and issues remI01s: . It : :
a movement nor wi thout some conflict s, but as her sense of Identi ty as an art ist grew, r ere
an acceptance of t he unconventional path her life would t ake.
. , f . Jr' r wore Tberearenorolemodels T beronstant isyOllr;elf Andtbeextension oJ ISyOIl . . . kfi '
tobe a woman memially aloneand willing todo that - wzllmg toPllt II/Y.u:or mt.tn
my lifeanddeal with what that might mean. Thereis a be/weenr:and
a lone woman, it; a conflia between not making the comentional laHuly,
thecomfort and Jecurity of that without doing it the way it has been done 111 my . asory.
Yet even her new model of a femini st identity d id not sever her link to.cu.l tural
sources. She derived energy from t he cult ural beliefs and experiences of her comrnumry:
/ struggle not to be lost from my CIIlturebecause ! think it is the Vtl': spirit .of /r:
My work is informed by theconnection. There'sf orce in the cannearon. / 1 IS t ease rom
which thework flows. ,
T he pervasive element of resistance that colored t he larger Chicano
. . b be rivar e and elit ist nature of arti st and art-
also affected Chi cano artists as assumpoons a out t p . f blic collecti ve
I I ed with che conscrucrion o a pu I,
making were overt urned. Even as a mura rsr mvo v . . hi b sh ped her
' J di t h Boca did nor lose touch wi th rhe personal motivations W IC a movement In art, u I ,
product ion:
79

81
Although the collect ive process draws in manydi verse infl uences, it is Baca's well
developed fi lmic nar rat ive using connecting images that lends the unique quali ty to works such
as t he Great \'(1011. She describes its metaphoric quality as follows:
In the case0/the Great Wall the metapbor really is tbe bridge. It's aboli/ the interrda-
tionship between nbnic and racial groliPS, the develop1llt1lt of in/erracial bannony. The
prodllct _ there art nail)' two prodmts - the 11111'-01 and anotber prodsct which is
invisible, the interracial harmony between the!Jeople whohave been involved
In t he long history or Californ ia's communit ies of color conflicts bet ween racial
groups are a historic reality, J udith Baca's work serves to bind together di sparate hi stories and
adversarial consriruencies. In particu lar. t he individual [uncrures of her life have intersected wit h
the historical moment of the Chicano. Femi nist . and Public Art movements. In this respect her
life history has encompassed mult ipl e cultural realit ies. Yet there is a common thread of social
If /here's a sosra ofpain, I do not avoid it. I think mgeand the transformationofit ima
positive action is one of tht great somas 0/productivity f or me. Rageat injusticeor 0/ the
spirifflal disharmony with the earth, u dtb uibat is[emaleis a starling poimfrom which
10 develop alternatnes. In thesubsequent problem solving one thing leads 10 anotber. 1am
part ofthflt proem, [ really believe tbat someumes I'mcarriedby this great wave of uhat
happens when I Pllt people /ogtfhw,
From Baca' s earliest work of organizing yourh gangs ro do mural work. ro the
Great \Vall. ro her current t ravel ing piece The World \'(IaU(on societal t ransformation ro peace).
the arrist has been concerned with public space. community empowerment . and creat ing
relationships between discordant people.
Onedoes 0 1/ analysisof a siteandit doesn't matter whether it 's East Los Angeles or whnher
it's Skid Rowor whether if's a migran/ fa rm worker's toum. In each cast )'011 begin isitb
ananalysisof lhat site, Andy OIl begintofind0111 iobat aretbesocial oswell asthephysical
elements ofa parliclliar jJlace...jJri111ary, is toreally look (1/ the social siluation even be/ore
thephysical side becameifthe social situation dictates tbat it is an important site towork.
at, then even ifthe physical si ft is difficult or almost impossible, I may sriil rbance II.
The community part icipatory process Baca developed. which involves impur
from histori ans, cultural informants. sroryrellers, communi ty residents and young artists, has
become an irnporrant model for collecti ve murals. The coll ective process was based on the need
ro create murals by Chicanos for Chicanos, Consequently. models of communit y invol vement
were essential ingredients in allowing the hisroriesand ideas of the murals to reach t heir inrended
audience.
of [he Barrios and Chavn Ravir>t' " from the- GREA T WALL OF LOS ANGELES
1983
J ud ith F. Baca
Tujunga Wash Drainage Canal, San Fernando Valley, Los
tot al mural over 1/2 mile long. [his derail epprcx- 13' x 35'
82
indignation, res istance and struggle for justice that permeates her murals. Through her work she
has forged a new defi nit ion of the urban art ist:
I consider myselfan urban artist, ' hal is, I'mparliadady toned into an urban environ-
man which couldhe the barriothaI I grew lip in. I believe that OJ an erban artist Jhaut
to be respomioeto theurbanenoiromnem. I'm interestedin tbetransformation of/hephysical
el1t1;r0Il1Iie111 aswt!/1andtberreation of a sparethaI initselfreflectsthepeoplewholive there.
I see nl)'selj as an imlrJI11le111to gitlt ooias (0 the the general sentiment.
CONCLUSION
The parallels between the idenu ry development of Parrica Rodriguez and Judith Baea ate nor
surprisi ng when they are viewed in the context of their generation, their region, and their
hi storical epoch. The forces of migrat ion, extended family, racism, and sexism were encountered
in a historic period of massive social change for countl ess orher Chicanas of t hei r age. The manner
of transformation available to t he arrisr has al lowed them to use what was personal and individual
in service of t heir group. Like other Chicanas under si milar ci rcumstances of migration and
change, the grandmorheeserved as a sanct uary ofcult ure and a bridge to memories and heritage,
serving both as conrenr and model for t heir murals. In the same fashion, t he folk ceremonies and
healing and religious arri facrs of t heir famiIies formed aspiriruali ryand sense ofcontinui ty crit ical
eo their development.
The crisis of adolescence, as well as the discrepancy bet ween the accepted norms
of Anglo America and thei r own experiences propelled these women into t he development oftheir
talent, their only avenue ofselfesteem. Most important is the conti nuous st ruggle eo resolve t he
role of woman as art ist. Beset by the gender-bound image ofa whi te male art ist, both) udi rh Beca
and Patricia RodrIguez redefined , in thei r individ ual manner, t he arcisr as fema le. Forgoing
marriage and children, the journey of the self has been marked by the creat ive expression of
cult ural belief.
As women of a movement dominated by men, t hey have provided rheir own
reparations for the pain of personal confli ct, societal racism and t he limi tat ions of gender roles.
In the largest sense t he women 's models ofcol lecri vi ty, inel usiveness, spat ial retrieval , and histori c
and personal memory have become shared elements in the development ofmural narrat ives among
Chicanos. In each, life history has encountered his torical moment ina juncture where only women
of their" unruliness, gifeedness and compet ence" could have risen to leadership. The explorati on
of individ ual identity has become a reflection of a g reat er cult ural identi ty among Chicanos. In
this period of historic redefi nit ion t he role of these leading women mural ists provides a study of
intention and belief common to Chicanos of their generat ion.
"Pi ckers" from GUADALUPE " ' l U R A l ~
1990
J ud it h 11. Baca
Leroy Park, Guadalupe
acrylic on pl ywood ,
total mural (4 panels}, S' It 2S' S' . [hi s panel S' x 7 2 .

Marcos
SanchezTranquilino
85
A Cbicano is 0 Aftx;( a 1l Amtri{on who doe!
1/ot Milt 0 11 Anglo imoJt ofhim!tlf
_ Ruben Salazar, 1970
~
Murales del
Movimiento:
Chicano
Murals
and the
Discourses
of Art and
American-

Ilation
"O RALE RAZA!," t he textual focus of Frank Fierro's colorful
1974 mural at t he Est rada Courts Housing Project in East Los
Angeles, is an exuberant greet ing to all Chicanos. The literal
English t ranslat ion of this g reeti ng is awkward, meaning
"Right On! Mexican American People: ' However, the idio-
mat ic Chicano t ranslat ion would be close r to "Right on! my
People," or even "my Community." The g reeti ng imrnedi-
arel y establishes a cult ural recognition between t he Chicano
muralist and t he Chicano viewer, acknowledging both as be-
longi ng to the nat ional Chicano community. The murals as well as the other arts of this
community played a seminal role in the establishment of this important intra-cul tural bridge,
the effect s of wh ich ulti mately had significant implicat ions for United States societ y in general
and Chicanos in pat t icular. As wit h t he majori t y of Chi cano murals of its period, "Orale Raza!"
art iculated a cult ural represe ntation of bot h reg ional and nat ional political agendas for el
mooimiento, the Chicano civil rights movement wh ich began in t he mid- 1960s and cont inued
through various nansforrnarions into the late 1970s and beyond.
Chicanos (men) and Chicanas (women) representing this new cultural/pol it ical
identity emerged from the long establ ished U.S. Mexican (or Mexican Amer ican) community,
and sought to red ress t heir plight through a series oforganized pol itical efforts desig ned to recover
their civi l rights as American ci tizens. Towards its goal to effect substantial change, t his new
communiry enlisted the assistance of Chicanos on all fronts, i.e. from labor, educat ion, and
pol itics, as well as from t he visual and performi ng arts. The response from everyone was
ONAL[ RAZtl
1974
f rank Fierro
Esrrada Court5 Housing Projecr East Los J\ , I
approx. 20' x 30' ' nge es
86
overwhelming, incl udi ng that of the artistic communi ty, due in part to its particular excl usion
from meaningful partici pation wi t hin t he mai nstream art world.
T he call to arrisrs to activel y participat e in this movement coinc ided wi t h their
personal and political needs for individual self-fulfi llment and t he opportuni ty to demonst rate
t heir capaci ty to create legitimate forms and practices equal co t hose of Anglo culture. There was
no Chicano art produced before 1965; ir came inroexisrence wit h t he Movement. What is called
Mexican American art fit s a categ ory of art production in which both the works and the artists
represent various degrees of assimilati on. ' Unlike Chicano art which was considered an integral
component ofChicano liberation, Mexican American art was mainly concerned with formal and
artistic resolut ions. Chicano art represented t he artist ic output of men and women who:
identified themselves as being in alliance with the means and ends of el movimiemo: bel ieved
t hat an was never for its own sake; survived Americanization and sought to reclaim their Mexican
heritage as necessary to their cu rre nt U.S. identities.
For Ch icanos, "Ame rican history" has not been a fair retelli ng of t heir histories.
It has instead meant the imposit ion of a whi te Ang lo-Saxon proresranr cul t ural t rajectory over
ti me and space as t he United Scates increased it political borders in t he 19th century to include
Texas, Arizona, California, N ew Mexico, Utah, Nevada, parts of Wyoming and Colorado, that
is the terri t ories and peoples ofwhat is now called t he Sout hwest. Those populations represented
a regionally d iverse development of Mexican cul tures in t he United States who had to be
"Americani zed" under t he mandate of Manifest Desti ny, t he prevaili ng expansionist philosophy
of t he times.
The Americanization ofMexicans in this country can be seen as a history of bath
resistance and affi rmat ion i n their struggle to survive not as an alien residenr underclass, but
rather as a multi plici t y of cit izen classes contributing co t he American social whole. Unfortu-
natel y, their history also has unt il very recen tl y been circum scribed by social assignment on t he
part of the domi nant class. Al though cl ass ified as an American minority, U.S. Mexicans
nevertheless found li t tle acceptance unless t hey would assi milate, This meant that acceptance
was predi cated upon t he expressed display ofa preference for Ang lo cult ure - especially the use
of Er.glish - over Mexican cult ure, Whi le some members of this group could and would
assi milate, others were not wi ll ing cr able.
I . For funll<"r d iscussioo orMexican American art sec: also: J acinto Quirarte, MexICan Ameriran ArciJIS(Ausrin:Uni versit yofTexllS
1973), and Shifra M. Goldman and Tomas Ybarra. Fl1Iusto, AmChicano: .... C_ prchtIlJio't AlinolalMBibliograpby ojChiral1O
II.rc. 196:H 981 (Berkeley: Chicano Studies Library Publia t ions Unit , Uni versity of Cal ifomilr. , Berkeley, 198)), p 26 29.
. ilacion in addition to t he absence of
The myriad responses co assi m " ' d" ible for Mexicans in the United
. "A Icanhisrory rna e ltl mpossl 1960,
U
S Mexican contribuu ons (O men .' 11 iaed gcoup befote t he lat e ,
. . I" n hesive nanona yrecogru - if
States [0 develop as a po mea y co .' h d d earl ier. Thus, they had litt le.I any,
I
OtgaOl zlOg a occure . I
alt hough many regiona attempts at d nde rstood by the larger SOCiety, n
. h h e acknow euge or u . . I .
voice in the mannet in whic t ey wer . s conti nued to be practiced In ISO anon
. d M .can Amencan art '- b
the real m of the arts, Mexican an eXI . . in rhe national discourse of fine art ur
\I ed to parti cipate I ' .
in the barrioJ.
2
They were not a ow T his lack of cultural-political representauo
n
confi ned regionally at t he level of. folk S Mexicans not only lacked cul ture bur were
support ed uni nformed populat nouons t . .' ' of Mexicans livi ng in Mexico done by
. ' Wh'l t here extsreo Imagery , d irhi h
incapable of creat LOg It. Ie. his sid of the border were unrecognt ze Wit LO r e
raiseworrhy Mexican artists, MeXI cans on r ISsr e
p . h ' try .
c:;w:egories of art produced In t IScoun . .. from American popular imagery, MeXicans
Although not complete ly rmssmg . n by derogatory stereotypes.
h telegat ed to repres
entlo
f U S
and Mexican Americans were, owever,. of hi scorically or art istically correct 0 ' . '
Prior [0 the Chicano Movement , the creation ld h consti t uted a visual contradlCtlon to chis
Mexicans by other Americans or themselves WOli . ave "
country' s insist ence on it self as a from England in the
Since t his country s dec 0 bil i present irself as a unified sovere ign
nod h be
dicated on u s a I icy to 1 (
Cenrurv it s narionh as en pre . . . depended upon the acrua or
-P . I ' l ik II uOlfymg st rategies, .
enti ty . Arnencan nat rona Ism, I e a. h . ulations Thetefore, the malOstream-
. . f hi nT'S dlversc et OI CpoP ' . . J 1
symbolic) co-habltatlono r ISCount . / I I pot " could only be achleveo as ong
f
. a "cul rura me ung . . f II
ingeffect of t he concept 0 Amenca as d. 1 It.. eal uniry. What ever socLn1plta s
b
b ppose nat rona cu \.U ,
as ethnic d ifference was su surnec ya su . kl gaping holes whenever ItS
. hi inon t hey qurc Y ... ...
were inherentl y included Wit h r IS propos. ,I, h pl uralist myth, a homogeneous yet
C II h l nslstence on c e .. I '
pract ice attempted to IO ow t eory. f 1 s privilege and erhnic exclusion. r rs
. " . eiled a structure 0 cas. " it s
pluralist ic "American soc iet y v I I I ngaged in nat ionali st st rategies 10 I
important to note t hat rhe emergi r.g Chicano cu rure a so e
st ruggle for survival. . a! image of the Chicano communit y (often
Prior to t he Movement, t he. 1 ) h d been pri marily defined by non-
I b n sklOneu peop e a
ethnical ly misrecogni zed as on y rOW-
A I 178 \ 1985 (Los Angek-s: Chicano
I Cast illo 11.1/ IllNltralMHiJ/Ory 8/Mexican I..IIJ tl
i7
...nhorsci(edass segralion;
2. Antonio R'os. Busraman
b"
, . p Angeles, I self--defeOSf"'
Studies Research Center Pu rcsncos. d raging Mexican arts to sray wllhlr, t "'
alielUtion,and isolation in Los Angelesan enCOU
87
88
3. George Carpent er Barker. "Porh"ro: An Ameri can-Spani sh 1H80l and irs Social Functions in Tucson, Arizona," StJ(;ol Sritllrt
lilll/el;" (Uni versity of Ariwnal no. 18, reissued December 1 9 ~ 8 . p- 19.
4. Whil" t he term "Chicmo" Can be read to signify a :><,panll;St sranct-and indeed, such an interpretation was cncounlg''<l by
Chi canos at the time-it can be interpreted simultaoeously as a synt hesis: as an idemity of mrvival emerging [rom rhe meshing
nf two bisrcrically antagonistic cul tures.
READ BETWEf:N THE LINES
1 9 7 ~
David Rivas Borello
Ford and Olympic Hlvds., EllS! Los Anl)dcs
10' x 20'
90
The subsequent recog nit ion by U.S_Mexi cans of t hemselves and t hei r commu-
nityas "Chicano," was a major prerequi site for achieving social integration into American life on
t heir own terms. The Movement soug ht change through peaceful intervent ions; however, its
somet imes mil itant profile was put forth when necessary as the appropri ate response to an
aggressive Anglo-dominated society.
Like the Black civil rights movement which began in the 1950s, the Chicano
Movement beg inning in 1965 sought to reclaim t he civil rights of Chicanos which had been
historically and syscernacicallydeni ed t hem since t he Mexican Amer ican War. The denial ofcivil
rights for more than a cent ury to U.S. Mexicans had relegated them to second-class citizenship.
By the mid-1960s Chi canos saw themselves as a colonized g roup disenfranchised from civic,
poli t ical, and economic opportuni ty by American soci al st ruct ures . They had become a resource
pool for unski lled labor needs as well as draftees and recruits for the Vietnam War.
5
Through inter-regional net working ofurban and rural act ivists incl uding poets,
artists, st udents, academicians, and others, the Chi cano community deployed a nation-wide
conceptual st ruct ure or Chicano "world view" known as cbicanismo in order to facilitate t he
movement towards collective polit ical sel f-ful fi llment . Planes or manifestos, such as t he Plan
Espirirual de Aztl an , were collectively created to set fort h t he broad philosophical premises for
rhe understandi ng as well as the pract ice of cbicanismo.
In effect, cbicanismo was a complex of nationalist st rategies by which Chicano
origins and histories, as well as present and future identi t ies, were const ructed and legi t imized.
Furthermore, it provided a context for historical reclamation of t he self t hrough the affirmati on
of Chicanocult ural narratives while resisti ng Anglo models of assimilation. The renaming of t he
American Sout hwest as Aztl an wit hi n the national Chicano communi ty was an important initial
Step in reclaiming the land-base upon wh ich furt her development of t his Chicano world view
could take place.
The name Azdan was borrowed by Chi canos from rhe l 6t h cent ury Aztecs who
set t led in central Mexico. Their seat of power was located in what is known today as Mexico Ciry.
For t hem, Azt Ian designated the geog raphical area of t hei r origi n. In t hei r Nabuad language
Azrlan meant "land to t he nort h" among other related inrerpreracions." Chicanos considered t his
Rodolfo f .....cuna. Orrllpitd AJMrira: A HillOry 2d ed. (New York: Harper and Row. 198 \), 1'. 3,66-367. The
ofChicallQ war casualnes at 19.4 of total soldiers killo:d from the Southwesr bcrwl.'CnJanuary 1961and 1967
outnumbered their national for the same area of 10- 12%.
6. Luis and Stan Stt'"ioer. eds., Aula,,: 1\.9 AIIl htNID III ",irlitll t'l IIIn';rlitll !.iln>lllllT York; Yintage Books, 1972),
p. 40 1.
northern land co be the American Southwest, and thus the borden; of the Chicano Azetan were
perceived to be the same as those of the Aztecs' original homeland. While Azt Jan served as the
location of the origins for the Aztecs, it now also signifi ed the root s of a 20th century Chi cano
"archaeology," that is socially identified St ruc tures for historical reconstruct ion and cul tural
reclamation.
Because U.S. Mexicans had systematically been denied a fair and legitimate role
in "American history," they were forced to look outside their U.S. home for one. Due to thei r
ancestral ties t hey were able co look without any hesitation to Mexico [0 provide a hi storical and
culrural conti nuit y. In this way. Chicanos were able to establish their own history whi ch was
indeed traceable in part t hrough Mexico bu r more Irnporran rly, and ironical ly, had its beginnings
within the borders of what is now the American Southwest . Azdan mapped out the conceptual
rerritories by which Chicanos could affirm cui rural and his torical genealogies
legi rimi aed by t he ancient Mexican past. Besides laying clai m to an Aztec pat rimony, t hey were
able to claim t he cult urally advanced civili zat ions ofthe Ol mecs and the Maya. In the arts, Azthin
fostered the inclusion of infin ite philosophical, literal, and figurative references to this pre-
European beri rage,"
Tradi tionall y in chi s country, U.S. Mexicans involved in t he arts could onlyattai n
a measure ofsuccess by working wirhin rhe parameters of t he "cuirural melr i ng pot " fallacy. They,
like all art ists, were expected to follow, perpetuate and even establish new t rends wit hin t he
confi nes of what was known as the International (Euro-Americnn) art worl d, whi le suppressi ng
any potential references to or acknowledg ments of erhnicit y in their work." 1n addit ion to
suppressing ethnici ty for fine art purposes, U.S. Mexicans art is ts also had to avoid or deny ethn ic
imagery whose meaning had been debased throug h negati ve associat ion wit h derogatory
stereot ypes of Mexicans_on bot h sides of the border. These negat ive images had obtained a wide
currency, and ironically a measure of legiti macy on all levels of Amer ican cult ure.
These various forms of cult ural suppression, coupled wi th the face that Mexicans living
in the United States predominantly belonged to an economic class which could not easily afford
t he luxury ofconsidering art as a profession, served to help vali date t he popular notion rhar U.S.
7. To scene n iti'7' J uan it sewed to immerse G uano (;ommuni ty into an uncrit ical remanriclzed
ofrbe h,sl oncal JmI. Sa-J uan G6mu -QuifMmes, /'IIa k""StlltktrUfr la l&u : ThrChk"l/tJ SllItUnt InSfJIlfhrnr
Calijill7f,lit .Barbal'"ll . W\: 1978). In the serviceof prciecring a unified national Chicano image,
so":lc elements as Spanish conqui stadors and nobles together (;on5rit ulcd a
deliberate suppression of raCial. ethnic, gender, and d ass Of even conflict.
8. Beyond ceoceming "universal" and "inreroarioeal" art, are rbe add itionai ones which idemify
art As It. is ccesideeed to have Icssnarutt and YlIIuc: than so-called "ocn-polir jcal," "eon-propagandist ic"
Universal an . funher discussion of art and value follows in rhe text. 5 abo note no. 9.
91
Chicano murals, along with other art ist ic and political efforrs of the Movement,
arrempred [Q rad ically change many of rbe rnisperceprions previously mentioned regardi ng
Chicanos, thei r arc, rheir artists, borh wirhi n and wichcur the community, Chicano murals go
beyond signifyi ng artistic accomplishment , they stand as a resramenr to the capacity of u.s.
Mexicans co organize. plan and direct rhemselves toward the process of social change and the
production of arc, including the reconstruct ion of meaning of their exploited and abused et hnic
pre-Chicano period imagery. In particular, the prolific creat ion of murals represented successful
collective efforts on the parr of t he community roward nati onal self-defi nit ion through political
and cul tural activism. As they put into effect the ideals of Chicano liberation through th is
organizing process, arcisrsand members ofthe Mexican American commun it iesserved roeducare
each other, whil e also educating non-Chicanes.
92
Mexicans (li ke or her et hnic minorit ies in the United States) could nor produce fi ne art or a fine
art cul ture. That idea was further supported by the conscious exclusion ofethnic di versity as part
of the mainstream process of producing the "market value of culrure." " The fixi ng of value in
this system depends upon a hierarchical st ructuring which assigns a lower value to art whi ch is
not considered "fi ne" or "vanguard" whi le assigning a much greater value (and therefore greater
social Stat us) to aft which is claimed to be of thac loft y category. "Fine an " in America could
only maintain such a high status if it suppressed any references co erhnici cy which would
otherwise surely lower its posi t ion on the art market value scale rc that of "folk" art. Chicano
art in general, and murals in particular, generating from a hisroricallyspecific. communi ty- based
context went contrary to rhis mainsrream-supporced val ue hierarchy.
The mainsrream media portrayed rhe Chicano mural movement primaril yas one
group' s colorful attempt to reclaim the decaying American urbanscape. Murals were to be
unders tood mostl y as environmental change and not as arr .!" The Ang lo-domi nated art
community cont ributed to the suppression ofChicano murals as art because they were judged by
criteria as defined by Euro-American art tradit ions in the market place, and supported by
academic arr histori cal st udies. The art market anel academia furt her concribured to chis bias
against U.S. Mexicans by vi rt ually ignoring developments in Mexican and Lat in American fine
arts even withi n the context of "Internati onal" Modern Art.
Striving to meer the needs of the Chicano communi ty through t he visual
articulat ion of its newl y constructed political positions, the painting of virtuall y thousands of
Chicano murals throughout t he Southwest and Midwesr were inscrurnenral in rhe demysrifica-
cion of popularly held notions of Mexican Americans as poli tically passive anell acking history as
well as cul t ure. Much of the work to be done in this arena meant the supplanting of negati ve
images of U.S. Mexicans by portrayals based on a more realistic and complete interpretation of
a broader-based and ethnically diverse American history. Muralists became important educators
as they painted Chicano contribut ions to American society not incl uded in school cexebooks.
Through rhicamsmo, they also highlighted the ancient cultures of Mexico in order to show
historical conti nuity and cult ural legi t imacy. Throughout, these art ists inspired everyone with
their sizable talents.
9. Raymond Williams. C.I,.", (London: Fontana Paperbacks, 1981). p. 127. "T'he rerm 'culture' in - ,N, markt ' v::d...,ofCUItIlCe
mers [0 tile inn imt ioos and pl1lCti Ct5 of music. liu: ...rure, tn...:l' er. film, and ,he visual arts.
10. So:e. 'T N, Mura l Message,- T,_ Magaz' M, 7 April 1975. n. p. An an icle c o " ~ n n g lilt QiClno murals in Ease Los Angeles
app...an.-d in tilt "environment" $('Clion whi l... the-an-slion feat ured painter Franels Bacon and his current work in Nt w Ymk
Cily.

we ARENOT A III I NOR/ TY

1978
Congrcsso de Arti sws Chicanos en Aulan
(Ma'io Torero with b pilm..., Rocky, EI Lton, Zade)
Esuada CourtS Housing Prcjece,
Eas, Los Angeles
:lppl'Ox. 20' x 30'
93
94
Throug hout the early mural-making period, individual as well as collective
efforts at self-definit ion were given tentati ve validation by t he emerging regional Chi cano
communities as act ivists and artists constantly ret urned to t hem for affirmat ion as well as for
inspiration and suppon. The community was the beginning and the end in terms of the murals '
articulation of the sources and goals of the Chicano Movement . Perhaps one reeson that murals
were so abundant so quickly was t he al l-i mportanc reciprocating relat ionship t hey en joyed with
t he stro ng early polit ical mo bil izations towards the ful fillment of the Movement 's immediate
goals. On a personal level , it cannot be denied t hat the Chicano mural movement provided an
attract ive showcase as well as a t raining ground where the art ists could gain basic and advanced
technical expertise (for other art forms as well), while enjoying collective supporr from t heir
community. Mura l maki ng represented the community'S public efforts at self-defi ni t ion in and
t hrough an artistic form wh ich did not require validation by t he academic, museum or gallery
oriented arr worl d. Furt hermore, personal commitment to contemporary community-based
polit ics could be affirmed through the organizing of barrio residents who participated in the
design and execution of t he murals. (Often murals could go up only because the art ist and hi s/
her crew were paid a nomi nal fee or donated t heir labor.) Chicano artists who "returned to the
communi ty" sought to experience t he new found energy whi ch was fueled by the political
idealism of social change. In addirion, as Chicano art ists worked wit h their communi ty, rhey
"reclai med" not only the repressed positive imagery of U.S. Mexicans but also t he walls of the
barrios which had previously served onl y to resrri cr them.'!
These early years of t he Chicano mural movement were part icularly excit ing due
to t he experimentat ion continually called for by the emerging unique Chicano mural form.
However, t he prodigious success of t he Chicano mural would not have been possible without t he
incl usion and participation of thousands of Chicano yourh. Astudyon t he making of earl ymurals
in East Los Angeles, in part icular, has served to demonstrate the dependence on the pre-existing
for ms and practices of Chicano yout h cul t ure in assisting to organi ze t he painting of murals in
the Chicano barrios,12 For many young murali sts, the long established practice of barrio
Nored in conversation. John 'r-ss is a prof.... of art t heory, criticism, and history at the State University of New York,
Binghamton, He has published on t he developmem of stare/social srrucrures of empowerment.
12.. r.b rco, sanchez-Tran<j uilino, "Ali Cmit No Es 5/1 CaM: Chicano Murals and Barrio CaJligraphy as Systems ofSigni fi carion
at ("..oucts Tlwsis, University of Californi a, Los Angd cs, 1990), n.p. J udy Baca. "O"r People arc the Inrernal
EXIles:' Int erview by Diane Newrnaier in C"It,tre.J ill COlllwtioll, ed. Douglas Kahn and Diane Neumaier (Searrle: The Real Comet
1985!, p- 05-68. See also, Joan W . Moore, Hamehayt: Gangs, Dr:lgJ. ({lid PriSOIlS Barrios of Los Angeles (Phi ladelphi a:
1 emple UnIversity 1978), f:oc furrher of youth part icipation See also: James Diego Vig il, Burrio Gangs:
S/ rmli[e and ldtntuy 1>1 Sail /hem Califorma (Austin : Universit y of Texas Press, 1988 ).
I
call igraphy, a hi ghly devel oped system of artist ic st andards by which to properl y create and
appreciate neighborhood "g raffi ti ," played a crucial role in prepari ng t hem to reattack the same
walls wit h moui miento imagery.
In fac t , Chicano murals sprung up wherever there had been a wal l displaying this
"g raffit i." Murals were pai nt ed there not t o necessarilycensor the "graffit i," but because the wal ls
also represented t he important locat ions of effect ive public communicat ion for a particular
segment of youths in the barrios. Thi s fact alone sets Chicano murals uniquely apart from vague
references to their connections to early 20th cent ury murals done in Mexico. W hile t he Mexican
murals were funded , sanct ioned and promot ed on government buildings (usually painted in the
interiors) by a pose- Lo t 0 Mexican Revolut ion administration, Chicano murals appeared virtually
overnight on t he sides of zopatenas (shoe stores), panaderias (bakeries), camicenas (meat mar kets),
centros (communicy-based art centers), other store fronts, fences, and alleys.
W hile Chicano murals would conti nue to demonstrate the strength of a public
visual articulat ion ofChicano li beration into the mid-1980s and beyond, t heir initial creation and
purpose also provided support for a larger ar t context in the barrios. That context played a very
important role in the realizarion for many Chicanos and Chicanas which was that "t hey coul d
indeed creat e art ." 13 This is a decept ively simple lesson whose value may better be appreciated
when one compares it to t he long history of artistic and other suppression of t he Chicano
community. For an art ist such as Wi ll ie Herron mural making in East Los Angeles had presenred
him wi t h particular cultural poli t ical challenges whi ch he would continue to address through
paint ing and conceptual performance art, as well as throug h music-as t he leader of t he cri t ically
acclaimed Chicano rock and roll band Los Illegals.
W illie Herron's mural , The Wall that Cracked Open , 1972, sought to infuse a
Chicano social consciousness into the potenti ally self-destruct ing youth "gang" members of hi s
commun ity, as it also sig nall ed his probi ng of the limi ts of the mural form. In order t o reach his
desired audience, Herron painted the mural in his neighborhood, in an alley frequented by the
young people he wanred to reach.
Although Her ron had previously painted a mural at t he ent rance to this same
alley, The\Vall that Cracked Open, paint ed in the middle of t he alley, is a poig nant personal protest
agai nst a local youth gang's brutal beating of his brother , as well as a powerful polit ical protest
against the dest ructi ve effects of alienati on suffered by t he ci t y's Chi cano community. To
provide a more relevant street culture di mension to the mural's content , he integrated his desig n
13, Gronk, interview with aut hor, Los Angeles, CA, 11 November, 1984.
95
97
14. J eny Romoesk y and Sally R. Romouky, 1AJ ,""v'n m ~ Call'KMPb, (Los Angeles: o...WSO:l'SBook Sbop, 1976>. presents
an analysis of lilt social and lll'$(ht.-tic crileria which separates Ihis panirular form of publ ic communicanon from common
vaodaliaing -rype graffiti. See also. Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino, n.p.
INSTANT AIURAL
1974
ASCO Chicano Peefcrmaoce Grou p
Whittlc! & u J ~ r d , East Los Angd t'5
ASCO members Pami Valdel and Humberto S;andov:a1
were raped (0 t he wall by Gronk.
of a gang-victi mized bleed ing young man, fighting yout h, and crying grandmother with the
"graff ti" already on the walllefr by the young barrio calligraphers of t he area. By i ncorporati rig
t he Ch icano "graffi ti" inro an "art work, " Herron ini tiared a crit ical t echinki ng ofg raffi ti as solely
signifying vandalism which in turn has led roa deeper understanding ofthe relationship between
so-called Chicano graffi t i and Chicano murals."
Through an art ist ically produced illusion of the mural's victimized subject as
well as his arrackers breaking through the wall on which they are actually painted, Herron was
able CO demonstrate howspace in the mural form could be manipulated to produce a questi oning
of the form itself. Although Herron would concinue to paint important murals by himself and
with others, this parti cular mural made him keenly aware that Chicano art also had to break away
from the walls or boundaries creared by Chicanos and non-Chicanes alike.
THE WALL THAT CRACKED OPEN
1972
Willie HerrOn
412) CilY Tem. rear; Easl Los Angeles
25' x 16'
I
98
By lace 1972, Willie Herron, Harry Gamboajr. , Parssi Valdez, and Gronk, as the
pioneer Chicano concept ual art performance collect ive in the United Scates, were t he first to
recognize the performarive aspect of mural making as an art form in irself Some of their earliest
concept ual art performances continued Herron's earlier resting of t he boundaries of the mural
form by using it as the basis for at least two importa nt performances. Towards the end of 1972,
the \'(Itdking Mural went beyond the breaking t hrough of wall s found in W illie' s earl ier mural
by havi ng the ASCO members become living elements of murals seeking to free themselves from
t hei r formal and cultural resrricrionsas t hey walked down Whinier Boulevard, t he bustl ing main
commercial artery of East Los Angeles, t he heart of t he Chicano community. Two years later, in
the same area, Gronk fastened Herb Sandoval and Parssi Valdez ro an exterior wall wi th common
masking tape two inches wide, thereby creating t he Instant Alllral, bringi ng into quest ion what
const ituted a mural. jusr as important, ir also quesrioned our own complici ry in t he perpetuat ion
of boundaries whi ch confi ne us by exposing thei r frailty (masking tape).
l n bot h of t hese examples ASCO questioned the assumed continuing vitali t y of
some painted murals. By exchanging livi ng forms for pai nted ones in vital areas of social
interchange, the Instant Mural art iculated a concern with t he parti cular effects of cont inually
reviving pre-Columbian and other imagerywhi ch could unfortunately become cliche-ridden and
prevent the explorat ion of new conceptual and iconographic ter ritori es. Through innovati ve
presentat ions, ASCO joined other community art ists in poi nt ing out the t hreat of weakening t he
Chicano community's capacit y for cul tural self-criticism by the unquest ioned continued use of
t he romant ic elements of Chicano nationalist st rategies. ASCO's work contributed to a
reassessment of the use of pre-Columbian symbols and ot her icons from Mexican (not Chicano)
history in terms of whether they affected the immediate needs of t he Chicano community in a
. . .
posmve or negat ive manner.
At t he present time, Chicanos throughout t he United States continue ro make
murals. Although t he type of Chicano mural which was created by grass roots organizing is no
longer produced, murals by Chi canos art iculating a social awareness of that commun ity brought
on by the Movement are sti ll being made. In 1984, The Olympics Organi zing Committee
commissioned several murals for the freeways of Los Angeles of which three were done by
Chicanos (Hi/til1g the Wall by J udy Baca, Lscbas dtl Mundo by Will ie Herron, and Going to tbe
Olympia by Frank Romero). That same year t he East Los Sc reerscapers created t he New Firemural
which connected t he 1984 Olympics wi th a pre-Columbian rit ual on a t hree-story building in
the heart of the ci ty. In 1989, Yreina Cervantez created La Gfrenda, a ci ty-funded mural
administered t hrough t he Social and Publ ic Art Resource Center (SPARC) which connected the
GOI NG TO THE OLY/\ l PKS
1984
Frank Romero
10 \ Freeway, Los Angeles
22' ~ 10}'
100
plight of Central Americans with t hose of Chicanos by honoring Dolores H uerta, co-founder of
t he Uni ted Farmworkers Uni on .
Indeed, Chi cano art ists have changed the focus of their attention over t he years
accordi ng to the social debates wh ich currenrly affened t heir community. Tbe conrenr ofpresenr-
day Chicano murals is nevertheless informed by a cultural and polit ical conscious ness developed
in the earlier days of t he Movement . This is also t rue for the concenr of much of Chicano art
produced in t he st ud io. Chicano art is currenrl y entering its "appreciat ion" period as it gai ns
increased acceptance in the larger ar t market. It is highly valued for t he art market as a new source
of color, form, imagery and text. However, the understanding of it can only be ach ieved t hroug h
analysis of itS hisrorical roots and developmen r. Pa radoxically, its certifi ed roors (t hroug h social
art histories) in social resistance will increase its value in t he market place. Chi canos, both artists
and non-art is ts, in addit ion to everyone else in this country, are having to reformulate t he contexts
of t heir identities as t he demands of living in an increasingly publicly acknowledged mul ti -
cultural society begins to seriously impi nge upon hard-earned recent social positioni ngs.
In the wake of the cur rent dismantling of narion-srares into new global configu-
rat ions insp ired by the multi-national corporate model, this country's nation-ness, like t hat of
the test of the "First World" (whet her t hey consider t hemselves core or periphery nat ions), is
being called into question. " Americanization of et hni c minoriti es in the U.S. is still with us,
The term "Hispanic" is currently the preferred catch-all assignati on by the Ad-
ministration, t he media and commercial product advertisers for Chicanos, Puerto Ricans,
Cubans, and ot her Latinos. As such, there promises to be a cont inuous flurry of new stereot ypical
imagery from these sectors which attempt to reptesent this heterogeneous communit y as a
cultural uni t y. In every case, claims ofan assimilated U.S. Hispanic unity will be incorrect. For
Chicanos and other Lat inos it supposedly signifies that t hey are no longer to be considered
"outside" of the American mainst team. However, by consolidat ing these diverse group identities
wit hou t regard to part icular contributions by or needs of each group, the term itselfbecomes one
of assignment into a sub-national category.
15., SHIMt HaJJ , "Old and .New ldcn ricics," recorded leerure delivered 13 and 14 March 1989 at t he Univers ity Center, State
Umvetsltyo .f New York, See also,J ud il h McW ill ic, -ne Migl1l cions of Meaning ,' Yiuom. 1-9$ tI.>ige/u(FalJ 1989):
p. 4-5 : ( mng J ames Cl Ifford s observation on the present sta te of increased global ization, "where syncret ism and parodic
lIl vent lon an- r..,coming t he rul e, not t he except ion, an urban mult i-national world of insrirurional uansience - where American
made in Korea worn by young people in Russi a, whl' re ,,"eryonl" s ' roots" are in some degree cut _ in such a world
,t becomes inc reasinglv difficulcto attach hu man ide ntity and meaning ro a ccherenr ' culrure' or ' language' ,. McWi1 1ie concludes
",ma.' s communicat ions t ravel. t he et hnit heterogeneit y of nat ions and t he accelemrion of our planer have made t he
tsolatlo nlst programs of previous generat ions obsclcr e."

,
Assimilation through the Hispanic model is a legacy of Americanization efforts
inherited from the N ixon adminisrrarion which sought to replace Johnson's W ar on Poverty
programs with the Office of Minorit y Enterprise in an effort to "encourage Black and brown
capital ism." \6 It represents a process of Americani zat ion by default for t he convenience of t he
admini srrati ve and business secrors which tend to tradic ional ly support conservative political and
cultural agendas. Fot Chicanos t he term is especially insensiti ve. For it robs them of t he
opportun ity to acknowledge their indigenous Mexican heri tage while it privileges t he coloni alist
European culture of Spai n,
The q uest ion must remain open whether t hese seccors, in addition to all of t his
country' s citizens who consider themselves American, can appreciat e t he legacy of t he Chicano
Movement in thi s context: t hat (he Chicano experience represents a model for all Ameri cans to
acknowledge t heir current idencicy as an ourcome of ewe (or more) living histori es coming
together; char there is a mult iplicit y of ways to be American; that t he word "Chicano" is an
American word (not only an English, or on ly a Spanish word) because it sig nifi es t he unique
amalgamat ion of t he old and new identities wirhout t he denial of one in favor of t he other . That
is Chicano; t har is American.
Los Angeles
October 1989
16. Rodolfo F. Acuna, A CO/mlllmily Under Siege." A Cbronidc of Cbicanes EnS! of I-os Angeles RiVl' r 1945 -1975 (Los
Chicano Studi es Research Cors er Publ icat ions, Universit y of Cal ifornia, Los Angeles. I984), p. \ 80.
10 1
102
CONTRIBUTORS
Holly Barnet-Sanchez is an an historian, one of rwo project coordinators for the UCLA W ight
Gallery 's interpret ive exhibition of the Chicano arr movement: "Chicano An: Resistance and
Affi rmation, 1965-85," was an archi vi st for SPARes California Chicano Mural Slide Archive,
and has lectured and wri tten on Pre-Columbian and Chicano art.
Eva Sperli ng Cockcrofc is a muralist, photographer and writer. An author of Towarda PtQpleJ
Art: The Contemporary Mllral Afovtmenl, (N. Y.: E. P. Dutton, 1977), she has also wrircen
extensively for books and national magazines on mural art, arr and society, Lati n American and
Chicano art.
Shifra M. Goldman is an art historian. She teaches at Rancho Sant iago College in Santa Ana,
California, is a Research Associate with t he Lat in American Center, VaA, the author of Con-
temporary Mexican Painting ina Tillie ojCha'lge, and co-compiler of Arte Chicano. A Comprehensive
Annotaled Bihliography, 1965-/ 981 , wit h Tomas Ybarra-Frausto.
Amal ia Mesa-Bai ns is a PhD in psychology, educat ional consultant to t he San Francisco
Unifi ed School Dist rict, an artist, and the aut hor of several articles deali ng with contemporary
Chicano cultural representation. She currently is servi ng as Commissioner of Art for the City of
San Francisco.
Marcos Sanchez Tranquilino is an art histori an, one of t wo project coordinators for "Chicano
Art: Resisrance and Affirmation, 1965-85,"and wasan archivist for SPARe s Cal ifornia Chicano
Mural Slide Archi ve. He has written, lectured, and published on t he subject of Chi cano an ,
including the relat ionships berween Chicano mu rals and Chicano graffi t i of the early 1970s.
Tomas Ybarra-Frausto teaches Lat in American literature, literary t heory and Chicano
literature at Stanford University. He has wr it ten extensively on Chicano cul t ural product ion, a
a recent publ icat ion being ArteChicano, A COlllprehens;,:eAnno/atedBibliography, 1965- 198 1, co-
authored with Shifra M. Goldman. Currently, he is t he Associate Di rector of Arts and
Humanities for the Rockefeller Foundation.
LIST OF PLATES
Cover. J uana Alicia, Las Lech"glleras, 1983, photo: TIm Drescher.
1. Carlos Almaraz wit h young people from the 3rd S(. gang, Nocompre oinc Gallo, 1974,
photo: Shifra M. Goldman, p. 4
2. East Los Srreerscapers, "La Familia" from Cbicano Time Trip, 1977,
photo: Wayne Healy, p. 8
3. J ose Montoya and t he Royal Chicano Air Force, Chicano Park Freeu1ay pylon, 1975.
photo: Centro Cul tural de la Raza, p. 11
4. Cornmonarrs, Song oj Unify, 1978, photo: Tim Drescher, p. 13
5. Judith F. Baca, Hitting the Wall, 1984 , photo: Gia Roland, p. 15
6. Yreina Cervantez, La Ojjrenda, phoro: J im Prigoff, p. 19
7. Mike Rfos, Inspire ( 0 Aspire, 1987, photo: Ti m Drescher, p. 20
8. Antonio Bernal, The Del Rey Mural, 1968, photo: Robert Sommer , p. 22
9. Manuel Cruz, Untitled(Homeboy), 1974, photo: Al Flores, p. 31
10. Barbara Carrasco, The History oj LA., A Mexican Perspeaioe, 1981-3,
photo cour tesy Barbara Carrasco, p. 32
11. Daniel Galvez with Osha Neu man, Brian Th iele and S. Barrett , Viva fa Reza, 1977 ,
phoro: Linda Ebcr, p. 33
12. Mike Rios, Frida. Billboard, 1978, phoro: Tim Drescher , p. 37
13. Las Mujeres Muralisras, Para el Mercado, 1974, photo: Eva Cockcrofc, p- 39
14. Tortuga Patrol , Ball/Jiayers (TIt1chit), 1978, phoro: Ti m Drescher, p. 42
1S. W illie Herr6n and Gronk, Black and \'(Ihite Moratorium Mllral, 1973,
phoco: SPARC archive, p. 45
16. J ohn Valadez, The Broadway Mural, 198 1, phoco: Eva Cockcrofr, p. 48
103
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
. no Studies
AZTLAN: Chicanojonrnal of tht Social Sciences and the Arts. Los Angeles: Chic'
Research Center, Universi ty of Cal ifomia, Los Angeles. 1970-to the present.
. ."er,i ty Presses,
Barnett, Alan W ., Community Murals. Cranbury, New J ersey: Associaced Uni
Inc., 1984.
1989.
Munoz, Carlos , J r. Youth, ldentity. Power, Tbe Chicano lHOlfemmt . London: VerSo,
. .. 1973,
Qui rarte,]acinto. Mexican American Artists. Austin: Univers ity of Texas Press -
. . . ' . UP Angeles,
Rfos-Busramanre, Antonio and Pedro Castillo. An ltlnstrated History of MexICa" h # 12
178 1- 1985. Los Angeles: Chicano Stud ies Res earch Center Publi cations Mon
Ogfol P
,
Universi ty of California, Los Angeles, 1986.
105
"ca n Press,
Be'
ltI,pfme.
Aztldn: An Antboiogy of ,Hexican AlJi/11"ican LI Valdez, Lui s and Stan Steiner, eds.
New York: Vintage Books, 1972.
Rogovi n, Mark, Marie Burton and Holly H ighfi ll. Mural A1anual. Boston:
1975.
, , h COl1 fempOI"dIJ'
Cockcrofr, Eva, J ohn Weber, and James Cockcroft. Toward a Peoples Ar/: T e
Mural M(Well/ent. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1977 .
. . . , pie from
Commsmty Mlirais i\lagazine, 1978-1 988. ComPlmllty Murals Magazme IS availo
CMM, 1019 Shat t uck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94707.
. . Al/1Iototed
Goldman Shifra M and Tomas Ybarra-Frausto. Am Chicano: A ComprehenslI/l . .
, ., . .' Ibl lCatiOnS
Bibliography ofChicano Art, 1965 ~ 1981. Ber keley: Chicano St ud ies Library Pv
Unit, University of California, Berkeley, 1985 .
. . ' . {states. New
McW ill iams, Carey. North From A1exICO: [ he Spanish-Speaking Peopleoffht Unlltl
York: Greenwood Press, 1968 .
17. Emigdio Vasquez, Nuestra Experiencia in el Siglo XX, 1980, photo: Shifra Goldman, p. 50
18. Viccor Ochoa, Geronimo, 198 1, photo: Centro Cultural de la Raza, p. 5 1
19. Andy Zermeno, Hll e/ga, 1965-70, photo: Marcos Sanchez-Tranquili no, p. 54
20. Cordova, PuertoAlegre Bm", 19805, photo: Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino, p. 57
21. Anonymous, Sacred Hearl o/Jes"s, 20th Century; Mexican, photo: Blair Part ridge, p. 58
22. J uan Ordufiez, Where Heroes art Born, 1983, photo: Marcos Sdncbez-Tranquili no, p. 60
23 . Ralph Maradiaga, Dolor, 1979, photo: Marcos Sanchez-Tranquilino, p. 63
24. Malaqufas Montoya, Abaj ocon la A{igYa, 1979. photo: Blair Partridge, p. 66
25 . ] udith F. Baca, "ZOOt Suit Riots" from the Great \Vall 0/ UJ; Angeles, 198 1,
phoco: Linda Eber, p- 68
26. Pat ricia Rodriguez, Graciela Carillo, and Irene Perez , Famasy \floridf or Children, 1975,
phoro: Tim Drescher , p. 7 1
27 . Las Mujeres Muralisras, Latinoamenca, 1974, photo: Eva Cockcrofr, p. 73
28. Judirh F. Baca, Uprising ofthe Mlij ereJ, 1979, photo: Li nda Eber, p. 77
29. J ud ith F. Baca, "Division of the Bar rios and Chavez Ravine" from the Grea/ \rIall of Los
Angeles, 1983, photo: G ia Roland, p. 80
30. j udith F. Baca, "Pickers" from GlIadalllpe Mural, 1990, phot o: Gia Roland, p. 83
3 1. Frank Fierro, Orate Rozo, 1974, photo: SPA RC archive, p. 84
32. David Rivas Botello, Read Ben oeen the Linn , 1975, photo: David Botello, p. 89
33. Ccngresso de Ar cisras Chicanos en Aztlan, We are not a Minority, 1978 ,
photo: T im Drescher , p . 93
34. Willie Herron, The \'(Iall that Cracked Open , 1972, photo: Will ie Herron, p. 96
35. ASCO,/ns/am A1ural , 1974, photo: Harry Gamboa, p. 97
36. Prank Romero, GOiflg to the Olympics, 1984, photo: Doug las M. Parker , p. 99
104
Over theput twenty,..., ChicanoArlists have made a unique
contribution to public an in california "ansfcHmill9lhousands
ofwallsintocolorful artworks that uprcssthedreams, achieve-
ments, aspirationsandculturalldcnlityoftheMulcan-Amcrican
community. Sign. From th. Hean tells the inside story of the
development of this n_ a nd important American art form in
four Interpretive essays by noted Chicano scholars about Its
historical, artistic, and educational significance.
Social and Public Art Resource Center
.UIl ...I....'.C:i .:"... '.,....... leln ...... . .... ' k it "'''a .,
P. ".ted In Sin&..-e
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