- Royal Chicano Air Force
The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) is a Sacramento,
California -basedart collective . It was one of the main centers of theChicano art movement in California during the 1970s and 80s.In 1969, poet and art instructor
José Montoya joined with some of his talentedMexican American students to further the aims of theChicano Movement . The RebelChicano Art Front was founded to foster support forCesar Chavez and theUnited Farm Workers in the heavily-agricultural Sacramento-Davis area. When Montoya discovered that because of the group's the initials, they might be confused with theRoyal Canadian Air Force , the artists decided that rather than change the name of the group to create a different initialism, they would keep the initials RCAF and change the name of the collective to "Royal Chicano Air Force" as a humorous gesture. From that point on, the artists used the "Air Force" motif in their artworks, programs, and activities.The RCAF began operating out of the Washington Neighborhood Center and frequently held events at Sacramento's Southside Park. To fund their activities and to support the farmworkers, they held dances, performances, and other fundraisers, for which they created promotional posters that visually incorporated the themes of the
Chicano Movement . They also received funding fromCalifornia State University, Sacramento .The RCAF painted murals to throughout Sacramento, as well as several in San Diego's
Chicano Park and one inBurley, Idaho .Community art workshops included the Barrio Art Program and the Anciano Art Project, for children and the elderly, respectively. For high school and college students, there were workshops in silkscreening and muralism.The members of the RCAF did not restrict their activities to the arts. Inspired by the
free breakfast programs of theBlack Panther Party , was instrumental in implementing the Breakfast for Niños program for impoverished schoolchildren in the Sacramento area. They also ran an automotive repair cooperative called "Aeronaves deAztlán ".The RCAF organized cultural activities such as a yearly
poetry reading s called "One More Canto", and revivedindigenous Mexican practices such as celebrations of harvest ("Fiesta de Maíz") and the rainy season ("Fiesta deTlaloc "). The also encouraged modern aspects of the Chicano identity such as the modification oflowrider s by hosting and promoting car shows andjumping contest s.Founding members
*
José Montoya
*Esteban Villa
* Ricardo Favela
* Armando R. Cid
* Juanishi V. Orosco
* Rodolfo "Rudy" Cuellar
* Luis "Louie the Foot" Gonzalez
* Juan M. Carrillo
* Irma Lerma-Barbosa
* Eva GarciaReferences
*
External links
* RCAF Homepage: http://www.chilipie.com/rcaf/
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