Rising from the turbulent 1960s and drawing on the century-long foundation of Mexican American experience, the Chicano movement has be come a dynamic force for societal change. The movement is not a monolith, but is rather an amalgam of individuals and organizations who share a sense of pride in Mexicanidad, a dedication to enhancement of Chicano culture, mutual identification, a desire to improve the Chicano socio-economic position, and a commitment to making constructive changes in U.S. society.
A major focus of contemporary Chicanos has been politics. Political goals have included increasing the number of Chicano candidates, convincing non-Chicano candidates to commit themselves to the needs of the Mexican American community, conducting broad-scale voter registration and community organization drives, working for appointment of more Chicanos in government, and supporting passage of constructive legislation. Some Chicanos have chosen to work through the two major political parties or through theoretically nonpartisan organizations, such as the Mexican-American Political Association. Others have channeled their political efforts through El Partido de la Raza Unida (PRU, United People's Party), which was founded in south Texas by Jose Angel Gutierrez. While Chicanos have not demonstrated political influence commensurate with their growing numbers, the increase in Chicano elected and appointed officials reflects growing Chicano political presence.
Chicanos have given considerable contemporary attention to economic change. Goals and strategies have varied — upgrading occupations, creating more private businesses (Brown Capitalism), and forming cooperative community development enterprises are examples. The most visible and publicly dramatic aspect of the Chicano economic struggle has been the United Farm Workers' movement led by Cesar Chavez.
Cesar Chavez family home in Delano, Kern County
Education has long been a primary target of Mexican American reformers. Well before the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school desegregation in the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, California Chicanos had challenged educational discrimination. In 1946, Mendez v. Westminister School District resulted in banning separate Chicano schools in California. Yet the U.S. Civil Rights Commission pointed out that in the late 1960s, one-quarter of Chicanos in California attended schools with more than 50 percent Chicanos.
The Chicano movement has striven for a variety of educational goals, including reduction of school drop-out rates, improvement of educational attainment, development of bilingual-bicultural programs, expansion of higher education fellowships and support services, creation of courses and programs in Chicano studies, and an increase in the number of Chicano teachers and administrators. The traditional campaign for desegregation and the newer drive for bilingual-bicultural education, of course, involve objectives that are not always easy to reconcile. In a seeming turnabout after years of struggling for desegregation, some contemporary Mexican American educational leaders recently have taken strong stands against cross-town busing in such communities as Los Angeles, fearing that dispersion of Chicano students will prevent them from participating in hard-won bilingual educational programs.
At times, Chicanos have adopted the traditional tactic of working quietly through existing channels, or attempted to elect Chicano or pro-Chicano school board members. At other times, out of frustration, they have turned to walkouts, sit-ins, and direct confrontations with school boards and administrations. Students have provided much of the effort toward educational reform through such organizations as the United Mexican-American Students (UMAS) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA, Chicano Student Movement of the Southwest). The Chicano movement has also spurred establishment of Chicano alternative schools and institutions of higher education, such as Universidad de la Tierra in Goshen, Universidad de Campesinos Libres in Fresno, and Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl University in Davis, Yolo County, the first Chicano/American Indian university.
Among other institutions affected by the Chicano movement has been the Catholic Church. Although many individual Catholic priests have historically made non-religious contributions to Mexican Americans, the Church as an institution tended to avoid involvement in Chicano societal issues. During the Repatriation Program, for example, the Church generally remained silent, and did little on behalf of affected Mexicans. Although some Catholic priests and Protestant clergymen have taken their place alongside Cesar Chavez and his followers, priests serving in strike areas have often withheld support for the strikers so as not to alienate growers. The Chicano movement generated such organizations as Catolicos por la Raza (Catholics for the Chicano People), which challenged the Church for pouring its money into opulent structures while neglecting too invest in social services to improve conditions for the Chicano poor. Some critics addressed the Church's failure to recruit and promote Chicano priests.
The Chicano movement has also generated a Chicano cultural renaissance and has contributed to a broader Hispanic cultural renaissance in the United States. Art, music, literature, theater, and other forms of expression have flourished. Spanish-language and bilingual media, including television and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and motion pictures, have expanded in
number and impact.
Particularly in the twentieth century, Chicanos have worked in such fields of art as painting, drawing, sculpture, and lithography, and in recent years, have developed a full-scale Chicano art movement. Possibly the two most distinctive vehicles of contemporary Chicano art are muralism and graffiti.
Muralism harks back to the tradition of the great Mexican muralists of the post-Revolution era. Mural themes run from dramatizations of the Mexican Revolution to depictions of the Chicano experience too abstract expressionism. Things form of visual expression is a true people's art, oriented toward the many of the community rather than the few in the art gallery. It can be seen on outside walls of stores, schools, churches, hospitals, and government buildings, in public parks, and even on freeway support pillars, often blended imaginatively with architectural elements. Some barrio gangs have become involved in mural painting, at times using murals as boundary lines between their respective turfs.
The pop-art companion to mural art as an omnipresent symbol of barrio expression is Chicano graffiti. Unlike crude or clever sayings and rhymes written on public walls, Chicano graffiti consists of purposefully conceived sets of symbols or symbolic words, notable in their careful, angular lettering. Barrio gangs generally have developed their own special symbols — placas — too denote their territory or their presence on the turf of other groups. Some Chicano muralists have integrated graffiti into their work, at times incorporating existing graffiti by painting around the symbols.
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Pan American Unity Mural by Diego Rivera, San Francisco College,
San Francisco County
Along with the contemporary movement in the visual arts among Chicanos has come a literary movement. Novels, poetry, short stories, essays, and plays have flowed from the pens of contemporary Chicano writers. Two special characteristics are common too many of these writings. First, they often emphasize Mexican American culture and experience, especially the themes of Anglo prejudice, discrimination, and exploitation. Second, they are often bilingual — usually written primarily in English with a smattering of Spanish words and phrases, though some works, particularly poetry, are entirely in Spanish.
One distinctive aspect of current Chicano expression is the teatro (theater). Most famous is El Teatro Campesino (Farm Workers' Theater), founded in 1965 by Luis Valdez as a component of Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers' movement, but now an independent organization. The teatro also emphasizes themes of Anglo discrimination, Chicano resistance, and Mexican heritage. Productions blend English and Spanish, and often include music. Some presentations are a series of relatively brief actos, although the teatro also offers full-length plays. Using an epic theater style in which actors interact directly with the audience and demythologize theater, El Teatro Campesino has attained broad popularity, and has inspired creation of other teatros in barrios and universities throughout the country.
The Chicano teatro movement has included both ephemeral groups (some university teatros disappeared after graduation of their founders and early leaders) and some that have managed to survive despite constant financial pressures. A recent artistic trend has been away from the teatro popular toward a more professional theater, and greater use of English (partially owing to increased professional training, the growth of U.S.-born Chicano audiences, and the attempt to attract non- Chicano audiences). In 1978, Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez premiered, and enjoyed a long run in Los Angeles. The following year, it became the first Chicano play to appear on Broadway.
California has also been the scene of a boom in Chicano publications as a whole, including newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals. Chicano newspapers have existed in California since the 1850s. However, most have had limited circulation and even more limited longevity, primarily for two reasons. First, the Chicano population remained relatively small until the early twentieth century, and the reading public was rendered even smaller by limited literacy. Second, such papers were plagued by undercapitalization and limited local advertising. That they achieved even a limited success, particularly during the nineteenth century, is a tribute to the determination of Chicano journalists. This determination paid off in the twentieth century when some Chicano newspapers, such as La Opinion (1926- ) of Los Angeles, became permanent. The impetus of the Chicano movement in the 1960s and 1970s brought a rapid expansion of the Chicano press, but the problems of undercapitalization and of educating large institutional advertisers to the potential of the Mexican American market remain.
Possibly the newest surge of Chicano expression has come in the field of motion pictures. Chicano filmmakers have expanded from documentaries to feature films, and are sometimes helped by Mexico City studios. Los Angeles, quite naturally, has been the most active movie-making area, with several independent Chicano production companies located there.
Chicano Park/Logan Heights, San Diego County
NEXT> Future
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5e.htm
THE FUTURE
Unquestionably, Chicanos and other Hispanics will play increasingly important roles in California's future, if for no other reason than numbers alone. Since World War II, Mexican immigration has remained at a constantly significant level. While the Bracero Program and the entry of countless numbers of undocumented workers have received the most scholarly and journalistic attention, there has been a parallel increase in immigration of Mexicans with permanent visas. During the past decade, in particular, there has also been a sharp increase in immigrants from Central America and South America.
Along with this continuous immigration from Latin America, the number of U.S.-born Latinos in California continues too rise. Birth rates and family size among Hispanics continue to be larger than the U.S. average, although recent years have witnessed a decline in the Hispanic birth rate. Moreover, the Hispanic population is considerably younger than the over all U.S. population, another indicator of potential future population in crease. One reflection of the changing demographic face of California is the fact that Hispanics now compose about half of all kindergarten students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the state's largest district, while other school districts are reporting equally dramatic increases in His panics.
But numbers alone do not tell the story. While progress has generally been slow, Chicanos and other Hispanics are now making strides in education, political sophistication, and effectiveness for constructive societal change. Their ability too accomplish this change should be further strengthened as pan-Hispanic identity among various Latino national-origin groups becomes a greater reality. These three factors — numerical growth, developing skills and awareness, and greater pan-Hispanic identity — make it almost certain that Hispanics will have an unprecedented influence over the future of California.
Sixteenth Street Victoria Theatre, San Francisco County
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5f.htm
NEXT> Historic Sites
Underlined sites are links to more detailed reports.
1. "A History of Our Struggle" Mural, Los Angeles County
2. A. Pereira General Store, Calaveras County
3. Agua Mansa Cemetery and Church, San Bernardino County
4. Aguirre Hotel Site, San Francisco
5. Anjac Fashion Building, Los Angeles County
6. Asociacion de Charros Camperos del Valle, Alameda County
7. BART Mural, San Francisco
8. Broderick/Washington City, Yolo County
9. Camarillo Home and Rancho, Ventura County
10. Casa Blanca School, Riverside County
11. Casa de Tableta, San Mateo County
12. Central Station, Los Angeles County
13. Centro Cultural de la Mision, San Francisco
14. Cerro Gordo, Inyo County
15. Cesar Chavez Family Home, Kern County
16. Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles County
17. Chicano Park-Logan Heights, San Diego, San Diego County
18. Children's Mural, Los Angeles County
19. Chili Bar, El Dorado County
20. Chualar Railroad Crossing, Monterey County
21. Cottage Hotel Site, Ventura County
22. Cuyama District Ranger Station, Ventura County
23. Death Valley Junction, Inyo County
24. Death Valley Railroad Construction Camp, Inyo County
25. Depot, Butte County
26. Diaz Lake, Inyo County
27. Dodson's Rooming House Site, Sacramento County
28. Dona Santos, San Joaquin County
29. Drytown, Amador County
30. Duran's Showboat Bar, Los Angeles County
31. Durgan Bridge, Sierra County
32. El Carrito Mexican Restaurant, San Diego County
33. El Centro Campesino, San Benito County
34. El Clamor Publico, Los Angeles County
35. Embassy Auditorium, Los Angeles County
36. Estrada's Spanish Kitchen, Tulare County
37. Euclid Heights Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles County
38. First Mexican Baptist Church, Fresno County
39. Forty Acres, Kern County
40. Galeria de la Raza/Studio 24, San Francisco
41. Holy Cross Cemetery/Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, San Mateo County
42. Hornitos, Mariposa County
43. Huelga School, Kern County
44. Jose Antonio de Ia Guerra y Murega's Winery Site, Santa Barbara County
45. Juzgado and First Public School Site, Santa Clara County
46. KGST, Fresno County
47. La Hispano-Americana, Contra Costa County
48. Lalos, Los Angeles County
49. La Opinion, Los Angeles County
50. La Union Espanola de Vacaville, Solano County
51. Liberty Theater, Yuba County
52. Little Chile/Chilecito Site, San Francisco
53. Little Tijuana Site, San Mateo County
54. Los Coches Adobe, Monterey County
55. Luisa Moreno and United Cannery - Agricultural Packing Allied Workers of America, Los Angeles County
56. Mariposa, Mariposa County
57. Martinez, Tuolumne County
58. Martinez House, Alameda County
59. Mexican Museum, San Francisco
60. Mexican School, Los Angeles County
61. Mexican Voice, Los Angeles County
62. Miller and Lux Ranch Headquarters, Merced County
63. Million Dollar Theater, Los Angeles County
64. Mural, Los Angeles County
65. Nevarrez Cabin - Cow Creek Ranch, Inyo County
66. Palomar Ballroom, Santa Clara County
67. Pan American Unity Mural, San Francisco
68. "Para El Mercado" Mural, San Francisco
69. Pilarcitos Cemetery, San Mateo County
70. Pixley Hotel, Tulare County
71. Plaza de la Raza/Lincoln Park, Los Angeles County
72. Quinto Sol Publications, Alameda County
73. RCAF/Centro de Artistas Chicanos, Sacramento County
74. Ramirez Castle/Ellis House, Yuba County
75. Regeneracion, Los Angeles County
76. Richland Labor Camp, Sutter County
77. Saticoy Lemon Association, Ventura County
78. Sierra Talc, Inyo County
79. Silver Dollar Cafe, Los Angeles County
80. Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Orphan Asylum Site, Los Angeles County
81. Sociedad Catolica Regional Guadalupana, Contra Costa County
82. Sonora, Tuolumne County
83. Soto Street Market, Los Angeles County
84. South Colton, San Bernardino County
85. Spanish Dry Diggings, El Dorado County
86. Spanish Ranch, Plumas County
87. Spanishtown Site, Santa Clara County
88. Spreckels' "Little Tijuana," Monterey County
89. St. Francis Dam Flood, Ventura County
90. St. Gertrude's Catholic Church, San Joaquin County
91. St. Mary's Catholic Church, San Joaquin County
92. St. Mary's Convent Site, Santa Clara County
93. Tafoya's Drive-In Market, Yolo County
94. "The Making of a Fresco" Mural, San Francisco
95. Union Espanola de California Site, San Francisco
96. Vasquez Adobe Site, San Mateo County
97. Victoria Theatre, San Francisco
98. Visalia Saddle Company, Tulare County
99. Westminster School, Orange County
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5h.htm
Note: Pictures @ websource! 11:10 AM/ 04/17/2006
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