Read the full article by Marie-Elena Schmebri at Sacramento News & Review
From the lasting legacy of the Royal Chicano Air Force murals to more recent works honoring powerful women, Chicano murals in Sacramento serve as powerful expressions of cultural identity that celebrate the historical contributions of Chicano and Latino artists and activists.
The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) political activist group emerged during the broader Chicano Movement of the 1960s and ’70s. Co-founded by Sacramento State art professors Esteban Villa and José Montoya and their students, including Juanishi Orosco, the group (originally called Rebel Chicano Art Front) created political art, including murals and screen-printed posters speaking to the identity, culture and struggles of Mexican-Americans.
One of Villa’s most notable works is his Washington Neighborhood Center mural “Emergence of the Chicano Social Struggle in a Bi-Cultural Society,” created between 1969-1970 and considered to be both the oldest Chicano mural in Sacramento and the first mural to include the word Chicano, according to art historian, UC Davis professor and RCAF member Terezita Romo.
Romo was one of several speakers at a Sept. 28 symposium held at the center to recognize the impacts of both Villa’s mural and the legacy of RCAF.