Amparo 1

Hector Amparo
Professor Ariata
Chicano Studies
La Raza Unida
The “La Raza” exhibit held at the Autry Museum was what I chose to study. The most
outstanding aspects of the exhibit were the activism of the 60s Chicano Movement, language of
the “La Raza” newspaper, and defining photography of the era.
The exhibit consists of 200 photos out of a 25,000 photo archive. This collection belongs
to the Chicano Resources and Studies of UCLA; it showcases powerful photos of key Chicano
figures as well as historic acts like walkout protests, acts of violence, etc that defined the era.
The photos that appeared in the Los Angeles / East Los Angeles newspaper called “La
Raza” or “the race” in Spanish, tell the story of the chicano people; many photos were of citizens
holding signs with revolutionary ideology. This aspect of the exhibit points to the language
theme as many of the photos in the exhibit, like the protest photos, utilized the Spanish language.
Some memorable inscriptions were “Viva La Revolucion” and “Tierra y Libertad...La Raza
Controla.” The spanish phrase “Viva La Revolucion” is one of support and means “Life to the
Revolution.” The other phrase “Tierra y Libertad...La Raza Controla” translates to “Land and
Liberty...The Race Controls” and essentially demonstrates the desire of the people to have some
power in society. The Chicano movement embraced chicano nationalism; it surged in the 1960s.
The most diehard followers of the movement adopted the phrase “Por la raza todo, fuera de la
raza nada.” The phrase demonstrates the strong passion and pride of the chicanos, meaning “For
the race everything,” however anyone “outside the race nothing.” In other words they would do
anything to support and uplift their own kind and would be cold and do nothing for anyone
outside of their tribe. Some attacked the nationalist ideology of the movement most likely out of
fear. For example U.S. Representative Henry Gonzalez of Texas was a liberal democrat and
opposed the formation of the Chicano Movement party, “La Raza Unida” as he believed it was
anti-gringo reverse racism. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the militant mindset of
the movement; many were uncomfortable with the very name of the organization
categorizing/emphasizing racial identity.
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Another iconic photo was one taken by chicano photographer Maria Varela, who covered
the poor people’s campaign in Washington D.C. Her photo of a little chicano girl holding a stack
of newspapers almost screaming became one that would become an iconic symbol of the
movement, representing the less fortunate peoples of the movement. Luis Garza, another
photographer of this movement, described how he would capture photos that would be used in
the newspaper. He notes that his method for photography was as real and simple as deciding
what chicano neighborhood to travel to and just capturing photos. This method was most likely
responsible for the “authentic” look of his photos. His photo of two young chicano teens called
“Homeboys” was also a famous picture of the movement. The “La Raza” newspaper also
contained unique chicano entertainment including morals, art, and jokes along with the photos.
The photo of a chicano man being brutalized by white police officers also brought lots of
attention to the movement. The man is pictured being pressed against a car with nothing to
defend himself against a white police office that had him in handcuffs. The blood on the victim’s
face was especially intriguing and eye-catching.
The phrases and slogans seen in the photos were especially striking at the time of their
capture; the media coverage of this movement was key in its success. The photos are pieces of
chicano history. The most renowned photo of the archive was the protest of the Vietnam War in
which people of all races gathered in the streets linking arms while marching. A big sign said
“Fuera de Vietnam!” and another noted that 20% of the casualties in Vietnam were chicano
which was interesting because I was not truly aware of their impact in the US military.
Reflection:
This assignment was one of the more interesting ones for me. I thought it was intriguing
to learn about how people of the past seemingly banded together and united as one for a single
cause; it is mind-boggling to think about how it is history however it was not that long ago when
put into perspective. I have a newfound respect for chicanos of the past because they truly paved
the way for our people. If they did not do what they did, for example all the protests and stand up
people, our position in society would most likely be totally different. I also enjoyed the museum
exhibit because I am pretty interested in photography and it was interesting to see how
photojournalism played a role in getting messages and ideas out there to increase activism and
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motivate people to act. One that comes to mind is the photo of a chicano being antagonized by a
police officer against a car. That picture really caught my attention especially because in today’s
time there is a lot of controversy surrounding police officers and police brutality. I think because
of incidents like that one, and many others, police are not getting away with as much as they
used to (not to say that all police are bad or sneaky but there are many crooked cops out there).
This assignment also made me gain a small sense of patriotism and pride in being of chicano
descent.