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Guide to the Royal Chicano Air Force poster collection, 1973-1988
MSS 2001/05
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Title: Royal Chicano Air Force poster collection
Identifier/Call Number: MSS 2001/05
Contributing Institution:
California State University, Sacramento Special Collections & University Archives
Language of Material:
Spanish; Castilian
Physical Description:
10.0 Linear feet
(171 posters)
Date (inclusive): 1973-1988
Abstract: The collection consists of silkscreen posters by various artists within the artistic collective, Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF).
Processed by Special Collections staff, 2006-2013. Supervised by Sheila O’Neill, Head of the Department of Special Collections
and University Archives. Descriptive content for most posters based upon California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA),
UC Santa Barbara’s on-line description for RCAF posters. Final finding aid completed in 2013.
No additions are expected.
The Royal Chicano Air Force Poster collection was given to the CSUS Special Collections and University Archives by Ricardo
Favela in 2001.
The Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF) is an artistic collective based in Sacramento, California. Initially formed at the California
State University, Sacramento in 1970 as the Rebel Chicano Art Front, the RCAF was founded to express the goals of the Chicano
civil rights and labor organizing movement of the United Farm Workers. The founding members of the RCAF included José Montoya,
Esteban Villa, Juan Orosco, Ricardo Favela, and Rudy Cuellar. Montoya and Villa met each other while students at the California
College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. During the Chicano Movement students pressured colleges and universities to diversify
their faculties. As a result, Villa was hired as a professor of art in 1969 and Montoya as professor of art eduction in 1970
at CSUS. Their academic positions gave them the creative freedom to initiate programmatic exchanges between the university
and the community. Through this effort they initiated many programs including the Barrio Art Program, which required university
students to go out into the community, including senior centers, to teach art courses. The RCAF moved off-campus in 1972 and
established the not-for-profit organization, Centro de Artistas Chicanos. Its mission was to make available to the Chicano
community a bilingual/bicultural arts center where artists could come together to exchange ideas, provide mutual support,
and make available posters, educational programs and cultural events to the public. The RCAF artists are best known for their
mural paintings, poster art production, and individual artistic contributions. The artists of the Centro produced murals and
exhibited throughout the U.S. Southwest. Over the ensuing years, the RCAF became the umbrella for various Sacramento community
programs, such as the Aeronaves de Aztlán (Automotive Repair Garage), RCAF Danzantes (Aztec Dance group), Barrio Art Program,
and the RCAF Graphics and Design Center. In 1977, the Centro de Artistas Chicanos and Breakfast for Niños Program (a community
non-profit organization that fed children before school) joined other community organizations, such as La Raza Bookstore (with
its Galería Posada) and the Alkali Redevelopment Office, to create the Cultural Affairs Committee. The CAC organized annual
community cultural events, including the Fiesta de Colores (March), Dia de la Madres (May), Fiesta de Maiz (June), Dia de
los Muertos (November) and Operation Christmas Unity (December). While the "RCAF" originally stood for the “Rebel Chicano
Art Front,” people confused the letters with the acronym for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The artists recognized the humor
within the misunderstanding and adopted the name Royal Chicano Air Force. This new identity found its way into their wardrobe,
as well as their highly successful silkscreen poster program, which began to disseminate the World War I aviator and barnstorming
bi-winged planes as icons. Throughout its history, the RCAF gained a well-deserved reputation for outrageous humor, screenprint
posters, murals, and community activism.
Tere Romo Program Officer, Arts and Culture, The San Francisco Foundation. Author of the monograph,
Malaquias Montoya
A digital version of the collection is available.
[Identification of item], Royal Chicano Air Force Poster Collection, Department of Special Collections and University Archives,
University Library, California State University, Sacramento.
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. Requests for permission to publish, quote, or reproduce
from collections must be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives.
Permission for publication is given on the behalf of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, The Library,
California State University, Sacramento as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research.
The Royal Chicano Air Force Poster Collection consists of 171 screenprints produced from 1970s through 2001. The collection
consists of prints created by artists associated with the collective and spans three “generations:” professors, José Montoya
and Estevan Villa; their CSUS students, Rodolfo “Rudy” Cuellar, Ricardo Favela, Louie “The Foot” Gonzalez, Juan Orosco; and
the apprentices in the community, including Raul Suarez, Francisco González, and members of the Impudent Young Pilots (Jesus
Barela, David Buenrostro, Ruben Lerma, José Lott, José Felipe Magdaleno, and Pascual Marquez.)
The collection was appraised in 2001. The identification of creators in this collection is based upon the original appraisal
report. Posters are arranged by artist’s last name, then by year. In the case of multiple artists, items are arranged by the
year of creation, then alphabetized by the title. Poster entries indicated with an asterisk (*) refers to the possibility
of multiple artists.
The print collection is representative of the prolific production of the RCAF, especially during the late 1970s. The majority
of prints are by practicing artists, but a few are by university students. Reflective of their community focus, the posters
serve as announcements for a broad range of community activities, including fundraising dances, cultural events, United Farm
Worker initiatives, and university and college programs. Artistically, the technical aspects of the posters range from simple
one-color posters to elaborate multi-colored and photosilkscreen prints.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Caro, Manuel
Carrillo, Juan
Carrillo, Patricia Dunsmore
Cervantes, Juan
Cid, Armando
Cuellar, Rodolfo "Rudy", Jr.
Diaz, Manuel
Favela, Ricardo
Felix, José
Garcia, Eva
Royal Chicano Air Force.
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California
Mexican American artists -- California
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans -- Civil rights
Mexican Americans -- California -- Poltics and government -- 20th century
Posters
Screen printing.