[Photo: Chicano Photographer poster. Click on image to enlarge. Photo and design are copyright 2007 Jesús Manuel Mena Garza. All rights reserved.]
I have never been to the East Coast. That is about to change. This fall, I will be showing select prints from my Chicano Photographer series at St. Mary's College of Maryland.
Chicano Photographer is a historic collection of documentary photographs exploring the Chicano community and activism during the 1970s. The images illuminate the panoply of activists, artists and issues of that period. For this important book and exhibition project, I have gleaned images from several thousand slides and negatives from my personal archive.
During the 70s, I had the privilege of touring with theater groups throughout Mexico and California. From this singular vantage point, I took intimate portraits of people fighting for human rights. From United Farm Workers President César E. Chavez to Teatro de La Gente, the photographs are a retrospective glimpse from the unique perspective of a photojournalist and activist.
One thing is certain, you can't go back to the 70s and take pictures of iconic figures César E. Chávez and Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales. That is what makes this photographic series so valuable.
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