The Chicano Archives

The Artist as Eyewitness: Antonio Bernal Papers, 1884–2019 is the first survey of the life and work of Antonio Bernal. Bernal is often identified as a muralist—his 1968 mural in Del Rey, California, has been cited as the first Chicano mural—yet his career has been wide-ranging. He has been a union organizer and an iconoclastic educator;...

This second edition of Self Help Graphics & Art brings the original edition, published in 2005, up to date, adding breadth and depth to the history of the historic East L.A. arts center. Known for its groundbreaking printmaking and art education programs, Self Help Graphics has empowered local artists and taught the world about the vibrancy of...

VIVA, a non-profit artists’ coalition founded in 1987, promoted the creative and artistic talent of gay and lesbian Latinos and Latinas in Los Angeles. It worked closely with other gay and lesbian organizations, using arts-based projects to address cultural and sociopolitical issues that were of concern to its community. Its exhibitions, theatrical productions, writers’ workshops,...

The Strachwitz Frontera Collection is the largest repository of commercially produced Mexican and Mexican American vernacular recordings in existence. It contains more than 130,000 individual recordings. Many are rare, and some are one of a kind. Although border music is the focus of the collection, it also includes notable recordings of other Latin forms, including...

Since the late 1960s, photographer Oscar Castillo has documented the Chicano community in Los Angeles and South Texas. His subjects range from political events to cultural practices to the work of muralists and painters. His photographs explore major themes (social movement, cultural heritage, urban environment, barrio life) and approaches (photojournalism, portraiture, art photography). The Oscar Castillo...

Established in 1992 by Los Angeles’s Center Theatre Group, the Latino Theatre Initiative sought to diversify audiences by diversifying theatrical programming. Until 2005, when it was suspended, the program resulted in the production of eleven new main-stage plays at the Mark Taper Forum. It was also key in the development of new and emerging Latino...

The Mexican Museum of San Francisco Papers, 1971–2006, is the first historical account of the institution, which is the oldest museum in the United States that focuses on Mexican and Mexican American art. Karen Mary Davalos draws on the CSRC’s collection of administrative documents to trace the museum’s growth from the early 1970s, when planning...

The Robert Legorreta–Cyclona Collection The Fire of Life—the collection of performance artist Robert Legorreta—is a fascinating and eclectic archive. Correspondence, artwork, photographs, and other materials document Legorreta’s artistic career and trace the development of the East L.A. arts scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Another part of the collection contains more than a...