Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

“Brown Paper Report” is the manifesto of the Tejano [Texan-Chicano] San Antonio-based art collective Con Safo, written by artist Mel Casas in 1971. This short text presents the concepts of Chicano and “Brown Vision,” as well as the etymology [...]

The brochure begins with a part dictionary, part humorous definition of the words “Con Safo,” which is followed by an anonymous short essay that functions as a manifesto for the Con Safo artist collective. In it, the group outlines the [...]

This is a curatorial statement published in the catalog for the 1977 exhibition Dále Gas: Chicano Art of Texas. The exhibition’s curator, Santos Martinez, Jr., defines the term “Chicano” as referring to a highly politicized, radical [...]

This document was written under the letterhead “Tres” [Three], yet signed by artists Carmen Lomas Garza, Amado Maurilio Peña, and César Augusto Martinez. The authors outline their reasons for resigning from the collective Con Safo [sometimes [...]

Charlotte Moser begins her review of the 1977 exhibition Dale Gas: Chicano Art of Texas by stating its importance as the first major exhibition of Chicano art in Texas. Moser also describes the size of the show in terms of number of artworks and [...]

In this interview with Jacinto Quirarte, César Martinez recounts his early years and education at Texas A&I in Kingsville. While studying as an artist, he was attracted to Abstract Expressionism and color field painting, although involvement [...]

In this document Tomás Ybarra-Frausto discusses the philosophical and sociological underpinnings of Chicano art. He links its development to the political goals of the Chicano movement, describing the work of Chicano artists as a model for freedom [...]

Tomás Ybarra-Frausto situates Santa Barraza’s work as part of a cultural reclamation project that accompanied the Chicano movement. According to Ybarra-Frausto, Barraza developed a visual vocabulary that explored mestizo identity in the Texas/ [...]