José Antonio Burciaga
José Antonio Burciaga was a multifaceted artist, journalist, and activist born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican immigrant parents. His upbringing in a culturally rich yet challenging environment shaped his perspective on identity and social issues. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he pursued a degree in fine arts and later found employment as an illustrator, during which he faced racial discrimination. Burciaga became an influential voice in the Chicano community, using his art and writing to advocate for cultural preservation and critique societal norms. His notable works include murals like "The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes," which celebrated significant figures in the Chicano movement, and a range of literary contributions that blended Spanish and English. He was also a founding member of the Chicano comedy troupe Culture Clash, showcasing his talent for performance. Throughout his career, Burciaga received numerous accolades for his work, including the American Book Award and the National Hispanic Heritage Award for literature. His legacy endures as a testament to his commitment to activism and his ability to engage with complex cultural themes through accessible art and writing.
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Subject Terms
José Antonio Burciaga
American artist, writer, and activist
- Born: August 23, 1940
- Birthplace: El Paso, Texas
- Died: October 7, 1996
- Place of death: Carmel Highlands, California
A Chicano activist, Burciaga is known for his art, poetry, and prose. He made important contributions to affirming Chicano cultural identity by producing murals, poetry, and essays that document the Chicano experience, and he did so with humor and irony.
Early Life
José Antonio Burciaga (BOOR-see-AH-gah) was born in El Paso, Texas, to José Cruz Burciaga and Maria Guadalupe Burciaga. Both his parents hailed from Mexico. His mother was a deeply religious woman who taught elementary school in Mexico before she was married. Shortly after Burciaga’s birth, his father worked as the janitor and Shabbos goy (a worker who performs tasks that Jews may not on the Sabbath) in a Jewish synagogue. His family lived in the basement of the synagogue for most of his childhood, creating a unique cultural experience for the Roman Catholic Mexican family.
Burciaga attended Catholic schools in El Paso and frequently visited family and friends in Juarez, Mexico. After graduating from Cathedral High School, Burciaga joined the U.S. Air Force in 1960. The first time he lived outside El Paso was when he was stationed in Iceland and Spain. After completing active duty, Burciaga returned to his hometown. With the financial assistance of the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Burciaga also studied at the San Francisco Art Institute in California.
In 1968, Burciaga returned to Texas to work as a civil service illustrator in Mineral Wells, eight hours from El Paso. He encountered severe racial discrimination there, making it difficult to secure housing. After searching for several days, an elderly woman rented Burciaga a small apartment. Unable to find other work, Burciaga left shortly thereafter, moving to Washington, D.C., for employment as an illustrator with the National Photographic Interpretation Center, a unit under the Central Intelligence Agency.
Burciaga’s time in Washington, D.C., was a turning point in his life. In the early 1970’s, he began creating artwork that was critical of U.S. domestic and foreign policy. This marked the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of activism. He also met Cecilia Preciado during this period and, in 1972, they married. In 1974, Cecilia was hired as an administrator at Stanford University, and the couple moved to California. While there, they had two children, Rebeca and José Antonio, Jr.
Life’s Work
Burciaga’s working-class, multicultural upbringing and experiences with racism informed his artistic production. While in California, he wrote for local newspapers and the national Hispanic Link news service. Burciaga’s journalism addressed assimilation and the attacks on bilingualism occurring in California during the 1980’s. He defended the importance of preserving Chicano culture against the pro-assimilation ideology of that time.
From 1985 to 1994, Burciaga and Cecilia were resident fellows at Stanford’s Casa Zapata, a Chicano-themed dormitory. It was there that he produced one of his best-known murals, The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes (1989). He incorporated community views by surveying students and activists to determine which Chicano heroes to include. The result was a mural depicting César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Che Guevara, among many others. The spirit of the mural was communal and inclusive. This was only one of several murals Burciaga painted at Casa Zapata and around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Aside from journalism and murals, Burciaga also was known for his creative writing. His first book, Restless Serpents (1976), was self published and followed by several other collections of essays and poetry. These collections included Weedee Peepo: A Collection of Essays (1988), Undocumented Love: A Personal Anthology of Poetry (1992), Drink Cultura: Chicanismo (1993), Spilling the Beans: Loteria Chicano (1995), and In Few Words/En pocas palabras (1996). Burciaga created the cover art for some of these anthologies, most notably for Drink Cultura, the cover of which parodied the Coca-Cola logo. Burciaga’s writings intermixed Spanish and English and drew from his experiences, focusing on topics such as food, language, and religion.
Burciaga also was a performing artist. He was a founding member of Culture Clash, a Chicano comedy troupe that performed political skits and monologues. Burciaga’s performances highlighted his comedic talent, which was evident in writing but had a different flavor in live contexts. The traveling and lifestyle negatively impacted his family life, however, and he left the group after several years.
Burciaga received many awards. In 1986, he received the Journalism Award from the World Affairs Council. He also received the American Book Award in 1992 for Undocumented Love. He was also given the National Hispanic Heritage Award for literature in 1995 and posthumously declared a Texas Treasure in 1997. Burciaga died on October 7, 1996, after a two-year battle with stomach cancer.
Significance
An artist, poet, journalist, writer, and comedian, Burciaga was a versatile and highly skilled activist. He referred to himself as a “multi-undisciplinary” artist. His talents, tireless work, and public recognition in multiple arenas illustrate that he was a true “Renaissance man.” Further, his life and work were dedicated to bettering his community. Burciaga was able to communicate complex messages about culture and identity in highly accessible ways. These messages conveyed “inside jokes” and cultural affirmation for Latinos and taught lessons using language, religion, and food, aspects of daily living common to people of all cultural backgrounds. Teaching through art, Burciaga was able to speak to the culturally specific and universal dimensions of human existence simultaneously.
Bibliography
Burciaga, José. Drink Cultura: Chicanismo. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Joshua Odell Editions, 1993. Collection of essays describing Burciaga’s views on culture. Probably his most widely read work.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes: Selected Works of José Antonio Burciaga. Edited by Mimi R. Gladstein and Daniel Chacón. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2008. Collection of Burciaga’s essays and poetry published posthumously. This anthology includes previously unpublished materials.
Wood, Jamie Martinez. “José Antonio Burciaga.” In Latino Writers and Journalists. New York: Facts On File, 2007. Biography and career overview focusing on Burciaga’s literary output and journalism.