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Benitez (Tomas) Collection
CSRC.0068  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Acquisition Information
  • Biography
  • Preferred Citation
  • Processing Information
  • Scope and Content
  • Publication Rights

  • Contributing Institution: Chicano Studies Research Center Library
    Title: Tomas Benitez Collection
    Creator: Benitez, Tomas ca. 1955 -
    Identifier/Call Number: CSRC.0068
    Physical Description: 6.2 linear feet (16 boxes)
    Date (inclusive): 1970-2006
    Abstract: Tomas Benitez has decades of experience in the Los Angeles Chicano cultural community. He has served as director of development at Plaza de la Raza and executive director of Self-Help Graphics. He is also a founding member of the Latino Arts Network. This collection of magazines, posters, gallery cards and show/gallery invitations comprises his personal collection of ephemera, memorabilia and realia relating to his experience and participation in the world of Los Angeles arts.
    Physical Location: COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive for paging information.
    Language of Material: English , Spanish; Castilian .

    Access

    Open for research.

    Acquisition Information

    This collection was donated to the UCLA Chicano Studies Library and Archive by Tomas Benitez. Deed of gift on file at the UCLA CSRC Archive office.

    Biography

    Tomas Benitez was born and raised in front of a television set in East L.A. Since then, he has been a cultural worker for the past thirty years, working with numerous non-profit community arts groups including his current post, Director of Development at Plaza de la Raza. He is former Executive Director of Self Help Graphics & Art, has worked with the Bilingual Foundation for the Arts, Teatro de la Esperanza, and with the late C. Bernard "Jack" Jackson at the Inner City Cultural Center. He is a founding member of the Latino Arts Network.
    Tomas is the Architect of Folly to the Ministry of Culture, a collective of artists dedicated to using ridicule as a form of non-violent resistance to social injustice and the "stupiditiness of governmenticalism". Current projects include Pinatas for Peace, which sends virtual pinatas to world leaders who demonstrate a tendency for violent behavior, the Great Wall of Chinga, a project designed to deconstruct the proposed U.S./Mexican border fence before it gets constructed, and We Say No, a video project designed to capture Americans Just Saying "No" --- to the wall, the war, and anything else.
    Tomas is also a member of the County of Los Angeles Arts Commission (past president), has lectured on Chicano Art and Culture across the United States, Africa and Europe, and is an active member of the Baseball Reliquary, a group of artists who love baseball despite the professional game. Tomas would rather play second base for the Samurai Bears, but he never could hit a curveball to save his life. Tomas lives and writes in Monterey Park, CA. Biography courtesy of Tomas Benitez

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Tomas Benitez Collection, 68, Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.

    Processing Information

    Processed by CSRC in 2009. Finding aid edited by Esmeralda Gomez under the supervision of Doug Johnson in 2020.

    Scope and Content

    This collection of magazines, posters, gallery cards and show/gallery invitations comprises Tomas Benitez's personal collection of ephemera, memorabilia and realia relating to his experience and participation in the world of Los Angeles arts.

    Publication Rights

    These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of materials, including but not limited to infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Mexican American artists
    Self-Help Graphics and Art, Inc.
    Mexican American arts
    Mexican American drama (Spanish)
    Los Angeles (Calif.)
    Plaza de la Raza (Los Angeles, Calif.)
    Benitez, Tomas ca. 1955 -