Rebels with La Causa: Royal Chicano Air Force Art and Activism, 1970-1990
March 24, 2026
By Terezita Romo
Rebels with La Causa: Royal Chicano Air Force Art and Activism, 1970–1990 features artworks created by one of the Chicano Movement’s most prolific and impactful artist collectives, the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF). Focused on the group’s first two decades, the exhibition provides a survey of their aesthetic range, mastery of screenprinting techniques, and overall experimentation within graphic arts. Moreover, RCAF posters and prints challenged definitions of Chicana/o art. By blurring the lines between political statement, announcement poster, and art print, they also contributed to Chicana/o graphic art’s distinct role in American art history.
An early example of the RCAF’s wide-ranging aesthetics is Maximino “Max” Garcia’s Baton Rouge (1971) [fig. 2] concert poster. The composition is dominated by a red circle with a disembodied, Christ-like head with a blue beard, long wavy hair, and a crown of thorns. The prickly, hand-drawn lettering, rendered in different sizes and a seemingly random selection of upper and lower cases, adds to the edgy visual effect. Garcia’s three-color print incorporates Pop and psychedelic art styles, prevalent in concert posters of the 1970s, and his composition is a juxtaposition of Christian religious iconography and ancient Mesoamerican death symbology. The skulls also recall the promotional art of the Grateful Dead, as well as the calaveras (skeletons) of the Mexican master printmaker and political illustrator José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913). Garcia’s prints for American rock bands performing in a Chicana/o barrio also show his ability to combine divergent artistic sources and to appeal to audiences who did not know it was “Chicano art.”
The catalyst for the RCAF’s formation at Sacramento State was the arrival of artists and compadres José Montoya and Esteban Villa in 1969. Their status as professional artists and their commitment to activism, cultural imagery, and egalitarian teaching styles became a magnet for Chicana/o art students and independent artists. They became mentors, often meeting with students after class and encouraging them to create art from their experiences and to include their Mexican heritage as subject matter. Eventually, they formed a collective and became the Rebel Chicano Art Front, creating individual artworks as well as graphics in support of campus cultural activities and the United Farm Workers (UFW)’s burgeoning boycotts. After their initials were confused with the Royal Canadian Air Force, they began calling themselves the Royal Chicano Air Force. According to Montoya, “The name went along with the whole notion and not only of an air force, but of an ‘air farce,’ with its ironic sense of making fun of ourselves.” [1] This can be seen in Villa’s poster 5 de Mayo con el RCAF (1973) [fig. 3], in which a pilot in full military garb and an “AZTLAN” briefcase faces the viewer. A World War II biplane with Indigenous symbols and an image of a scorpion, denoting Villa’s family roots in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, fills the background. The description of the RCAF’s presentation of “arte, musica, poesia” also conveyed the collective’s growing multidisciplinary membership.
The RCAF’s establishment of the Centro de Artistas Chicanos and incorporation as a nonprofit organization in 1973 expanded its activities into the community directly and increased its membership. Along with musicians, writers, dancers, and actors, the collective also included La Raza Bookstore, which later became La Raza Galeria Posada, and the Breakfast for Niños program. The Centro’s move in 1975 to the former Holy Angels School in the Southside Park neighborhood initiated a period of increased operational funding and space for additional printing equipment, which allowed artists to produce more work [fig. 4]. More importantly, it afforded them financial stability and dedicated time to experiment with iconography, composition, and more complex printing techniques, such as photo-based screenprinting. This is evident in Rudy Cuellar’s Lowrider Carrucha Show (1978) [fig. 5], a surrealistic composition dominated by a 1964 Chevy Impala seemingly suspended in space, surrounded by stars and a crescent moon. The car is "hopping" and seems to be moving out of the picture plane. Cuellar also incorporated aspects of political activism and humor into his design, which can be seen in the inclusion of a “No on [Proposition] 13” bumper sticker below the grille along with Hecho en Aztlan, a Chicana/o variation on the “Made in Mexico” label, on the platform. With its integration of a complex composition, political references, and playful text, Cuellar’s event announcement is elevated into a compelling and futuristic print.
As their activities increased, the RCAF’s collaboration among the Centro, Breakfast for Niños, and La Raza Bookstore was formalized with the formation of the Cultural Affairs Committee. Weekly meetings were held to share information and discuss projects, such as working with other neighborhood organizations to sponsor the annual Mexican civic celebrations at Southside Park, which brought different segments of Sacramento together. They initiated ceremonias (ceremonies) that honored Chicanas/os’ Indigenous heritage and spiritual values. Held in March, the Fiesta de Colores [fig. 6] symbolized rebirth, with children and youth being key participants. The Fiesta de Maíz in June commemorated the Aztec corn goddess, Xilonen, and the vital role of corn in Chicana/o culture, while Dia de los Muertos underscored the importance of honoring ancient ancestors as well as remembering the recently deceased. By melding Indigenous iconography and spirituality with individual aesthetic elements, the artists’ announcement posters also became signifiers of these Chicana/o-infused ceremonias.
During this period, the RCAF also maintained its long-standing support of the UFW’s unionizing efforts, which morphed into a key component of the Civil Rights Movement nationally. Members collected food, walked the picket lines, and produced myriad posters, lawn signs, and UFW flags. In 1976, Luis C. González created multiple posters in support of the UFW’s efforts to pass California’s Proposition 14.[2] Though initially a poet, González became a skilled screenprint artist with an ingenious visual vocabulary, using photography, flat graphic images, and cultural symbols as well as backgrounds that mimicked abstract painting. This is evident in Viva la Huelga (1976) [fig. 7], based on his brother Héctor's photograph of José Montoya on a picket line with a UFW flag. Its bright colors and photo-derived composition are reminiscent of Pop art, while the painterly background feels abstract. With González’s inclusion of a direct appeal to the viewer, it is an example of the way RCAF posters blurred art and politics, existing “somewhere between the unique art object and the mass media.” [3]
Five decades later, the RCAF’s graphics continue to resonate in their aesthetic innovations and foundational role within Chicana/o art history and American art. Operating in the public sphere, RCAF posters communicated with specific Mexican and Chicana/o audiences and educated others about Chicana/o artistic expression. As event announcements or political statements, each poster manifested bicultural choices and multivalent influences in the artists’ compositions, iconography, and screenprinting techniques. Imagery dominated the posters’ composition, with the text often relegated to a small area. This is apparent in Juan Cervantes’s poster The Singer (1976) [fig. 8]. Shown performing, the figure’s elongated front leg breaks the picture plane. Cervantes’s strategic use of bold red and black on white paper to delineate the figure also accentuates the sense of motion and drama, and his design could become an announcement poster by replacing the black tile bottom section and inserting text, underscoring the aesthetic foundation of the RCAF artists’ community-based production.
Equally important was the RCAF’s multidimensional membership, which embraced artists, other creatives, and community activists from different professions, generations, and genders. The exhibition’s posters are testaments to the many events both sponsored by the RCAF and in solidarity with other social justice movements. Ultimately, Rebels with La Causa reflects the RCAF’s inextricable linking of artistic practice, community service, and political activism.
Notes
1. John Robin Witt, “Outsider Chicano Artists Now Insiders,” Sacramento Bee, October 24, 1989.
2. The ballot summary for this measure included new appointments to the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) and “access for union organizers to property of employers for certain periods.”
3. Chon Noriega, “Postmodernism or Why This is Just Another Poster,” Just Another Poster? Chicano Graphic Arts in California (University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2001), 23.