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Royal Chicano Air Force


The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) is a Sacramento, California-based art collective, founded in 1970 by José Montoya and Esteban Villa. It was one of the "most important collective artist groups" in the Chicano art movement in California during the 1970s and the 1980s and continues to be influential into the 21st century.

In 1969 José Montoya moved to Sacramento to pursue a master's degree at CSU Sacramento. He and newly hired staff member Esteban Villa, both who had been active in the Mexican American Liberation Art Front, a Chicano movement group founded in the San Francisco Bay Area by Montoya's brother Malaquias, became active and soon created a circle of artists and activists interested in political and cultural work. The Rebel Chicano Art Front (RCAF) was founded by Montoya and Villa to foster the arts in the Chicano/Latino community, educate young people in arts, history and culture, promote political awareness, and foster support for César Chávez and the United Farm Workers in the heavily-agricultural Sacramento-Davis area. As to its name, one day when someone asked if the RCAF meant the "Royal Canadian Air Force", one of the artists humorously responded, "No, it means the Royal Chicano Air Force!" From that point on, the artists used the "Air Force" motif in their artworks, programs, and activities.

Through the organizational framework of a collective, artists and community members established a silk screen operation to create multiples of images promoting art, cultural activities, community events, and political action. The work of Jose Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican printer of the late 1800s and early 1900s, inspired the artists for this work. At the same time, with the example of the great Mexican muralists, the artists undertook mural painting to bring cultural images and history to a larger audience. The organization grew to the point where a need for a space for artists was planned. The RCAF established the Centro de Artistas Chicanos moving from temporary quarters in homes, garages and La Raza Bookstore to Holy Angels School at 7th and T Streets. Later, a space was established on Folsom Blvd. and finally a center on Franklin Blvd. These spaces allowed for continual meetings, planning of events, workshops, studio activity and freedom to work around the clock. First, Max Garcia took on the directorship, followed by Gina Montoya and Ricardo Favela. Thousands of posters were created over the years with designs from multiple artists. Murals were painted throughout Sacramento (many now painted over) as well as Chicano Park in San Diego and in Washington and Oregon. Through the university, Jose Montoya, Esteban Villa and, later, Ricardo Favela, taught a generation of young artists the techniques of silk screen, muralism, drawing, and painting. Jose Montoya went on to establish the Barrio Art Program, representing an effort to reduce barriers between the CSU campus and the Alkalai Flats community. The Barrio Art Program brought young people and senior citizens together with aspiring teachers in the University's teacher training courses to learn to integrate the arts with education. The program continues to this day at the Washington Neighborhood Center located in downtown Sacramento at 16th and D Streets. Other RCAF artists, like Juanishi Orosco, Armando Cid and Rudy Cuellar taught there as well as in other community settings. Armando Cid and Juan Cervantez became artist facilitators in the Arts in Corrections Program teaching art and bringing guest artists to adult inmates. The RCAF had also a history of bringing the arts to youth offenders within the California Youth Authority, specifically at the reform school known as the Preston School of Industry in Ione, CA.


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