This document is an interview between artist and guest curator, Ralph Maradiaga, and painter and poster artist, Rupert Garcia, both of who were founding members of the Galería de la Raza in San Francisco, California. The focus of the interview is on Chicano poster art and recent developments in the understanding of its history and its role in the cultural heritage of Chicanos. Garcia identifies several physical qualities that define and distinguish Chicano poster art, including the use of language, specific imagery, color, and the depiction of humor. He also explains the significance of poster art beyond its visual elements, citing its potential use as a weapon against oppressive conditions. The interview considers additional themes represented in Chicano poster art—issues of personal and collective identity, the relationship between poster art and murals, and the idea of art as a historical product included. The latter half of the interview centers on Garcia’s personal motivations for creating poster art. Moreover, he gives significant background to one of his most famous images, a 1970 poster of activist and professor Angela Davis. In particular, the interview concludes with a specific discussion of the universality of poster art, and a general discussion of the visual arts.

Ralph Maradiaga (1934–1985) was an artist, filmmaker, and co-director of the Galería de la Raza in San Francisco. This interview with Bay Area graphic artist, Rupert Garcia (b. 1941), was conducted for the catalogue accompanying the group exhibition, The Fifth Sun, guest curated by Maradiaga, and held at the University Art Museum on the University of California, Berkeley campus in 1977. Unique to this catalogue, Maradiaga conducted a series of interviews with artists participating in the exhibition. This format provides a more comprehensive understanding of Garcia’s poster art, their specific influence, and their impact on Chicano art. By and large, it also documents an important period of Chicano/Latino art in the San Francisco Bay Area during the late 1970s when it was at its height in terms of artistic activism, public support, and number of art organizations. Equally important, the exhibition was also one of the first regional shows curated by a Chicano scholar at a major mainstream museum.