This exhibit explores the profound influence of Ricardo
Favela and the RCAF on Chicano art and activism.

Ricardo Favela was a trailblazer in the use of calavera
imagery to depict Chicano life, addressing issues and
perspectives often marginalized in the mainstream. His
involvement with the Royal Chicano Air Force offered
him and his peers a powerful medium of expression
through silkscreen posters. For the RCAF, Chicano arte
was not created for art’s sake but as a tool of
resistance and empowerment, reflecting the cultural
pride and activism central to Chicanismo.
The RCAF, initially called the “Rebel Chicano Art Front,”
was founded in the early 1970s by professors and
activists José Montoya, Esteban Villa, Ricardo Favela,
and other chicano artists with the aim of making
cultural arts accessible to the working-class raza—La
Plebe!
As Favela often said, “Have causa, will travel.” In other
words, your struggle is our struggle, and we will be
there to support you with our arte.

Curated by: Florentina Favela and Edward Salas.
Assistant Curators: Ezequiel Vazquez, Fernando
Lucero, and Ariana Arroyo.