In this text, Coral Gilbert and Ricardo Frazer interview Carlos Cortez, a Chicago artist, poet, and social activist. Cortez speaks about his parents’ radicalism and artistic involvements and the part they played in his personal development. He discusses his political and spiritual beliefs, his existence “ . . . as a radical, as an Anarchist [sic.], and as a creative person.” Cortez also comments on his many artistic commitments, his interest in materials and artistic processes, his sources of inspiration such as artists José Guadalupe Posada and Käthe Kollwitz. The artist stresses his belief in the importance of his work in awakening others to the path of creativity and to fostering a more creative, egalitarian society.

In this unpublished interview, Coral Gilbert and Ricardo Frazer speak to the Chicago-based poet, artist, and activist Carlos Cortez about his life, political beliefs, and his art. Interviewed on December 16, 1994, 71-year-old Cortez reflects on his life, recounting numerous stories and anecdotes about growing up in a radical milieu among political activists in the Midwest. A central figure in the Chicago art community during the second half of the twentieth century, Carlos Cortez (1923–2005) was an artist, cartoonist, printmaker, photographer, poet, and political activist. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cortez’s father was an organizer for the industrial Workers of the World and his mother, who was German, was a socialist and a pacifist. Cortez spent his life in the Midwest, finally moving to Chicago in 1965. His graphic art addresses Chicano, Latino, and Native American issues; Mexican-American and Latino identity and culture; and workers' rights. This document corresponds to the research topics “Issues of Race, Class, and Gender in the Visual Arts of Latino-America” and “Art, Activism, and Social Change” because it concerns a Chicago Latino artist whose life and work were devoted to activist projects to promote a more egalitarian society.