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Core Art Standards: VA1, VA8, VA10

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Looking to the Past and Future

How do these contemporary artists help the Chicano movement endure?

How do these contemporary artists express Mexican American identity?

Oct / Nov 2024

Lauren Vespoli

During the 1960s and ’70s, Mexican Americans organized to fight for civil rights. This wave of activism became known as the Chicano movement. Chicano artists have played a crucial role in defining Mexican American identity on their own terms and combating stereotypes.

Many Chicano artists were—and continue to be—inspired by ancient Mexican Indigenous art and history. They also echo more recent Mexican artists, like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The contemporary Chicano artists featured here continue to promote themes of the Chicano movement.

During the 1960s and ’70s, Mexican Americans fought for their civil rights. This is known as the Chicano movement. Artists were important to the movement. Their ideas impact Mexican American culture today. Many Chicano artists are inspired by ancient Mexican Indigenous art. They also draw from more recent Mexican artists, like Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Signs and Symbols

Melanie Cervantes (ser-VAHN-tes) is inspired by her community in the San Francisco Bay Area and its desire for change. Cervantes is co-founder of Dignidad Rebelde, a graphic arts collaborative. Ancient Mesoamerican imagery and current social movements often inform her work.

In the 2023 screenprint Rooted, above, Cervantes combines multiple visual ideas, dividing the composition into brightly colored bands. The nine-layer print has a stylized quality that echoes the graphic protest art of the Chicano movement. The image features patterns and symbols that suggest ancient Mesoamerica. The creatures near the top might remind you of snakes, perhaps referring to the Maya and Aztec feathered serpent gods. How does Cervantes visually combine these ideas to create a unified and distinct style?

Melanie Cervantes (ser-VAHN-tes) is an artist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her art is influenced by her community, social movements, and ancient Mesoamerican art.

The 2023 screenprint above is called Rooted. It has a stylized quality, like Chicano protest art. It features patterns and symbols from Mesoamerica, like the creatures at the top. Do they remind you of snakes? Or Maya and Aztec serpent gods? How does Cervantes combine them with modern ideas?

All in the Details

Los Angeles-based artist Sonia Romero has deep roots in the art community, and she brings that tradition into works like her 2024 painting Barbershop, above, and her 2015 work Wings of the Dead, on the cover.

Each detail in her work has meaning. In Barbershop, she points to current fashion trends with the figure’s popular haircut. The repeated floral motif in the background is a bougainvillea, which is often used as a symbol for Hispanic/Latine culture. It is native to South America but is common in Southern California as well.

Wings of the Dead also includes Chicano symbols. The monarch butterfly represents migration, and the skull symbolizes Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday honoring the dead every November. How does Romero use symbols to convey ideas about cultural identity?

Artist Sonia Romero is based in Los Angeles. She’s connected to many artists there. You can see that in her 2024 painting Barbershop, above. Her 2015 work Wings of the Dead is on the cover of this issue.

In Barbershop, the figure has a modern haircut. The floral pattern in the background is a bougainvillea. It’s a symbol for Hispanic/Latine culture. The flower is native to South America. It’s common in Southern California and Mexico too.

Wings of the Dead also includes Chicano symbols. The monarch butterfly represents migration, or moving from place to place. The skull is a symbol of Día de los Muertos, a Mexican holiday honoring the dead. What do these images say about Chicano identity?

Nod to the Past

John Valadez (vah-lah-DES) has been making paintings of Chicano life in Southern California for 45 years. His 2011 Welcome to Long Beach, above, is a 60-foot-tall mural depicting a nostalgic scene from the 1957 Miss Universe pageant.

A crowd watches the pageant. Overhead, pelicans fly in front of Rainbow Pier, which was demolished in the 1960s. Valadez depicts the “Spruce Goose,” a wooden World War II-era seaplane that made its first and only flight in Long Beach.

Using historical photos and his own memories, Valadez hoped to capture the feeling of a day at the beach. “I remember the sounds and smells,” he says, “. . . the popcorn and the coconut oil.”

The mural was commissioned to help bring a cultural vibrance to Long Beach’s downtown area. “As I get older, I really want to try to have people connect,” explains Valadez.

John Valadez (vah-lah-DES) lives in Southern California. He has painted scenes of Chicano life for 45 years. His 2011 Welcome to Long Beach, above, is a 60-foot-tall mural. It shows the 1957 Miss Universe pageant.

A crowd watches the pageant. Pelicans fly in front of a pier. Valadez also shows the “Spruce Goose,” a wooden plane from the 1940s.

Valadez used historic photos and his memories to capture the feeling of a day at the beach. “I remember the sounds and smells,” he says. “The popcorn and the coconut oil.”

The mural was commissioned by the city of Long Beach to highlight its history. “As I get older, I really want to try to have people connect,” says Valadez. How might this mural help?