Scope and Contents
An interview of Santa Barraza conducted 2003 November 21-22, by Cary Cordova, for the Archives of American Art, in Kingsville, Texas.
Scope and Contents
Barraza speaks of her childhood, family and early education; picking cotton in the summer; the University of Texas, Kingsville; meeting Carmen Lomas Garza and learning graphic design; her daughter Andrea; involvement with Mayo, a Mexican-American Youth Organization; Austin, Tex. and the differences between UT Kingsville and UT Austin; and Acuña Rodolfo's book, "Occupied America: the Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation," 1972. Barraza also discusses Jacinto Quirarte and the first formal art history class on Mexican-American art; the formation of MAS, Mujeres Artistas del Suroeste; the Conferencia del Plástica Chicana, held September 13-16, 1979 in Austin, Texas; Con Safo; use of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in her artwork; stories of witchcraft; La Llorona; MACLA, the Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, founded in 1989 in San Jose, California; teaching at Pennsylvania State University; her studio space in Kingsville, Texas; the distinction between Chicana and Latina; the visual artists Faith Ringgold and Leslie King Hammond whom Barraza admires; her travels to Oaxaca and other places; her book, "Santa Barraza, Artist of the Borderlands," 2001. Barraza also recalls Ben Bailey, Maurice Schmidt, José Rivera, Amado Peña, Israel Reyna, Sylvia Orozco, Barbina Modesta Treviño, Nora González Dodson, Rita Starpattern, Raquel Tibol, Jorge Bustamante, Liliana Wilson, Isabel Juárez, Viola Delgado, Kathy Vargas, and others.