The "Viva La Raza!" posters are about Chicano injustices that were heavily ignored in the United States. The events highlighted in my posters include the 1943 Zoot Suit Riot and the 1968 Blowouts which both occurred on the East side of Los Angeles, California.

  To research these events I used The Library of Congress, Britannica, and various Los Angeles Times articles.

I used news clippings from newspapers.com which feature articles and testimonies from the Los Angeles Times and smaller newspaper organizations in California. These clippings helped me better understand these events and were used as the background for my posters.

Poses:

I chose to feature two young Chicanos in each poster because these horrible attacks were against them, the colorful future of America. Mexican-Americans had been the targets of racial discrimination for decades, they were tired of the government labeling them as white and not giving them the same rights and treatment as actual white Americans. Chicano youths had to create their own identity in the United States as they felt alienated in both Mexican culture and American culture. 

Each poster also features two Chicanos in unity despite their gender differences. I made this decision to highlight how these racial injustices affect Chicanos no matter what gender orientation they identify by. "100% Virgin Cotton" displays two teenage Chicanos dancing in zoot suits to signify that they were proud of their culture before it was stripped away from them.  "60% Drop Outs" shows two students holding up a sign together about student power

Color:

When designing my posters, I had to keep in mind how many barriers there were when choosing a color. At the time of designing these posters, The Academies at South Mountain High-School's Riso printer only had a few colors available, more colors would mean the possibility of visible smudging, raise time delays while drying, and it would hurt the old-riso poster aesthetic I was trying to recreate. 

I chose to use Midnight Blue, Yellow, and Tomato Red ink drums to create my posters. The dark midnight blue appeared as an off-tinted black, which when paired with the tomato red, resembled the colors used in the United Farm Workers flag and other prominent Chicano movements.

Sizing:

I decided to make each poster 11" x 17" inches with a 1-inch border on the width and height due to technicalities on the Riso printer. This size was chosen because I wanted my Art Seal to be large enough to capture someone's attention but also have small text so viewers would have to come closer to understand the events being told.

The sizing was also inspired by wheat-pasting posters done in cities during the 20th century.

Highlighting:

While I included information about the 1948 Zoot Suit Riot and 1968 East L.A. Blowouts, I recognized that some viewers would not have the time to reach every news clipping. I compromised and read them all myself, highlighting what I felt were the strongest statements or words used in the newspapers. The use of highlighting the text also helps viewers become more drawn to the piece, see the main points in the text, and gives a strong aesthetic.

A Riso Printer provided by The Academies at South Mountain High School was used to create the "Viva La Raza!" Chicano posters.

What's A Risograph?

This type of printer is only able to print one color at a time using special ink drums, rice paper, masters, and separations. The grey-scaled separations (as seen on the left) are scanned into the Riso and printing levels are adjusted to create a master and the desired amount of prints. The Riso printer can efficiently mass-produce prints, but due to multiple complications in the process, almost every print is unique in its appearance. These differences between prints can be caused by: the ink drum, the flow of the ink, tire marks, smudging, misalignment, the type of paper, and how dry the last layer was. 

Why Use A Risograph?

This imperfect form of printing was chosen to describe how each retelling of an event can change in little or drastic ways. The Riso prints reflect the old form of printing that was popular during the mid 20th century. The Riso was also chosen because of its ability to use half-tones and dot processes, a popular form of shading in early pop-culture art.

I chose to display my "Viva La Raza!" posters on a fake wall to mimic a building with graffiti, propaganda, and other racist items used in the United States. I wanted the entire piece to look organic like it was torn from a building in Los Angeles. 

Materials Used:

Plywood, miss-tinted latex house paint, grey-scaled prints of racial inequalities, black flat spray paint, black sharpies, water/glue solution, and "Viva La Raza!" posters.

Process:

I selected a large piece of plywood to use as a canvas to hold up my two Chicano posters. First, I painted the plywood using tan latex paint and promptly spread sheets of grey-scaled racial inequality prints over the board. I then wheat-pasted those unaltered grey-scaled prints and left the board to dry overnight. Next, I spray painted the word 'LAZY' onto the board before placing more grey-scaled prints which were altered with a sharpie marker. After this, I applied a thin coat of tan latex paint so it would make the background not clash with the posters which were the main piece. Lastly, I applied "100% Virgin Cotton" and "60% Dropouts" by wheat-pasting them onto the finished board.

The finished art piece, "Viva La Raza!", was featured in The Academies at South Mountain High School's Art Magnet Gallery located in the M Building.

Why Was "Viva La Raza!" Not Traditionally Framed?

The finished piece was not framed because of the message I wanted to be told. The Zoot Suit Riot, East L.A. Blowouts, and other racial inequalities are not pretty things to be viewed for entertainment. These were battles for Chicano's identities, pride, and entire existence. I did not feel it is appropriate to place these challenges on a high pedestal, they should be viewed at face value.

Why Is The Background Filled With Negative Images?

The background behind the "Viva La Raza!" posters is notably filled with negative actions, laws, and stereotypes. This was purposely done to emphasize the cold world many Chicanos were living in. Chicanos faced racial discrimination, segregation, stereotypes, and an overall attack on their culture. I wanted the time period of my posters to be captured and taken into account, but not directly overpower the posters' message.

Meaning Behind The Title "Viva La Raza"?

The name of the Art Seal is "Viva La Raza!", or in English "Long Live The Race!", in honor of civil justice protests and Chicano movements. This phrase is misleading as Chicanos are not referring to their biological race, but the unique culture which they have founded. Chicanos live between the walls of a  first world country and a third world country, they have taken this border life and created their own culture.