Oral history interview with José and Malaquias Montoya, 1988 Feb. 28-June 2

Collection Information

Size: Sound recording, master: 7 sound cassettes (ca. 11 hrs.) analog.

Sound recording, duplicate: 7 cassettes

Transcript: 373 p.

Summary: Interviews of brothers José and Malaquias Montoya conducted 1988 Feb. 28-June 2, by Eduardo Hernandez, for the Archives of American Art.

The Montoya's recall growing up as Mexican-Americans in a rural town in Colorado; moving to urban areas in California; their early education and development of their political awareness; and their artistic experiences, including their founding of the Royal Chicano Air Force, a group working primarily as muralists.

Biographical/Historical Note

José Montoya (1932-2013) was a Mexican-American poet and artist in Sacramento, Calif. Malaquias Montoya (1938- ) is a Mexican-American artist in Oakland, Calif. He and his brother José founded Royal Chicano Air Force, a group working primarily as muralists

Funding

The digital preservation of this interview received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Funded through a grant from Metropolitan Life to document Chicano art.

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with José and Malaquias Montoya, 1988 Feb. 28-June 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.