InFormation: RCAF | Sacpoetrycenter

InFormation: 50 Years of the Royal Chicano Air Force

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La Raza Galeria Posada has launched an impressive series of events and exhibitions celebrating the Royal Chicano Air Force and its 50 years of influence on culture, art, politics and social justice in Sacramento and beyond. The SPC is proud to be part of the Promotion Committee for the effort. In April, as part of our Poetry Month celebration, we will feature a reading of Chicano poets and an exhibition of some of the many legendary small portraits made by Esteban Villa at literary events around Sacramento. We will update the schedule of RCAF events throughout the winter, spring and summer. The schedule — still in progress — appears below the article.

SPC is proud to participate in La Raza Galeria Posada’s regional tribute to the Royal Chicano Air Force/RCAF and its legacy of art, activism, and community.

La Raza Galeria Posada (LRPG) has announced a regional celebration titled InFormation in honor of the Royal Chicano Air Force (RCAF), a seminal collective of artists and activists founded in 1970 by Sacramento State art professors José Montoya and Esteban Villa, their students, and other community artists. Beginning in January and running through June 2026, fifteen art and literary organizations, including museums, galleries, library, and cultural centers in Sacramento, Roseville, Davis, and Woodland, many long associated with the RCAF, will present RCAF related exhibitions, artist panels, symposia, workshops, poetry readings, and film screenings.

InFormation was organized by members of La Raza Galeria Posada (LRGP), a former Royal Chicano Air Force organization that was revived in 2024 by RCAF artists, their descendants, and community supporters. Its mission is to conduct and promote research on the RCAF and its legacy as well as create Chicana/o and Latina/o cultural, artistic and scholarly activities for and with the community. LRGP chose to name the celebration InFormation not only because it reflects the RCAF’s military humor and persona, but also references alignment and coordination along with communication and knowledge, which embodies the regional initiative. This unique and historic collaboration will showcase the impact of the RCAF collective’s “artist wing” on Chicana/o art and U.S. art history along with the cultural and political contributions of its activist members and community organizations. Featuring a cross-section of organizations and media, it will also bring attention to our region’s cultural vibrancy and the RCAF’s enduring spirit of art, activism, and community.

Initially formed as the Rebel Chicano Art Front, the RCAF created individual artworks and group murals as well as posters for numerous Chicano educational, cultural, and political activities. The group early on began their enduring and important support of the United Farm Workers (UFW). As was true of other Chicana/o artists at the time, their posters were not individually signed, but marked with the group’s initials: RCAF. After being confused with the Royal Canadian Air Force, they decided to call themselves the Royal Chicano Air Force, and adopted military regalia and incorporated flight imagery in their murals and posters. After it moved off-campus and established the Centro de Artistas Chicanos (Chicano Artists Center) in 1973, the collective grew as artists were joined by other creatives, professors, community members, and political activists as well as the community organizations, Breakfast for Niños and La Raza Bookstore (later becoming the La Raza Galeria Posada). Their transformative, groundbreaking work initiated an explosion of Chicano art exhibits, murals, theatre productions, concerts, and myriad cultural celebrations in the community, many of which continue today. The group also fostered and promoted civic engagement and political activism which still resonates in the community.

Note: Artwork: Juan Cervantes, Royal Chicano Air Force, 2006

PARTICIPANTS AND SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Some events are still being planned. All available information is included here.

Sacramento History Museum

101 I Street, Sacramento, 95814
https://sachistorymuseum.org/

Current Through April 5, 2026:

RCAF in Mictlán: 50th Anniversary of Dia de los Muertos

Exhibit featuring photographs, videos, ephemera, and artwork, the exhibition documents the RCAF’s Dia de los Muertos five-decade observance within Chicana/o history and its impact as the oldest in the Sacramento region. Curated by guest curator, Terezita Romo.

March 28, 2 p.m.:

Dia de los Muertos Founders Panel

Verge Center for the Arts

625 - S Street, Sacramento, 95811

https://vergecontemporary.org/

Manuel Fernando Rios, guest curator

January 10 – March 22:

R.C.A.F. Mid-Flight: The Artwork and Influence of the Royal Chicano Air Force

The exhibition celebrates the groundbreaking contributions of the Royal Chicano Air Force and their blend of media, culture, performance, humor, and activism that championed Chicano pride, social justice, and community empowerment. It also honors their artistic influence, showcasing both the original members’ creativity and the work of artists inspired by their legacy.

January 10, 5-8 p.m.:

Opening reception

February 18, 6-8 p.m.:

RCAF Artists Panel Discussion

March 18, 6-8 p.m.:

Affiliated Artists Panel Discussion

SMUD Art Gallery

6301 S Street, Sacramento, CA 95817
https://www.smud.org/

Lorrie Kempf, Curator

January 15 – April 1:

The Art of Juan Carrillo and Esteban Villa

April 1, 4:30-6 p.m.:

Closing reception

CSUS Library Gallery

www.csus.edu/university-galleries/library-galleries/

Janina Lopez, guest curator

February 12 – May 2:

Painting la Comuniversidad: Three Murals of the Royal Chicano Air Force

An exhibition featuring large-scale reproductions of RCAF murals and individual artworks, including posters and ceramics, from the university’s collections. Curated by Janina Lopez, it will also highlight the history of the Barrio Art Program and its on-going community engagement as well as audio from new oral histories with RCAF artists, public art tours, and digital guide.

February 11, 5 p.m.:

RCAF Artists Panel: 50+ Years of RCAF Mural Making at Hinde Auditorium

February 11, 6:30 p.m.:

Exhibition reception

February 13, 3 p.m.:

Exhibition Curator Walk-through with Janina Lopez Mural

April 8, 12 p.m.:

Site Tour: Metamorphosis with Janina Lopez

April 12, 1 p.m.:

Mural Site Tour: Southside Park with Janina Lopez

Crocker Art Museum

216 O Street, Sacramento 95814

https://www.crockerart.org/

February 22 – June 28:

Rebels With La Causa: Royal Chicano Air Force Art and Activism, 1970-1990

The exhibition explores the creative production and expansive output of the RCAF, one of the Chicano Movement’s most prolific and impactful artist collectives. It highlights the posters created for the myriad artistic and cultural activities and spiritual ceremonies organized by the larger RCAF membership of artists, community organizations, and activists during their first two decades. Curated by guest curator, Terezita Romo.

March 14, 2 p.m.:

Film: Pilots of Aztlan: Flights of the Royal Chicano Air Force (1994) with filmmaker, Steve LaRosa

March 15, 2 p.m.:

Artist Gallery Talk: Luis C. González

March 22, 2 p.m.:

Artist Gallery Talk: Rudy O. Cuellar

April 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.:

Symposium: RCAF’s Graphic Legacy

April 19, 2 p.m.:

Artist Gallery Talks: Amar Cid on Armando Cid and Tina Favela on Ricardo Favela

KVIE Channel 6

https://www.kvie.org/

March through June:

Broadcast of its Royal Chicano Air Force: Art and Activism (Steve LaRosa and Toby Momtaz, 2021) and other TBD film(s) related to “art and activism.”

Kaneko Gallery @ American River College

4700 College Oak Dr, Sacramento, 95841

https://arc.losrios.edu/about-us/our-facilities/kaneko-gallery

April 13 – May 15:

Armando Cid, solo exhibition

April 14, 12 p.m.:

Community reception

Sacramento Poetry Center

1719 25th Street, Sacramento, CA 95816

https://www.sacpoetrycenter.org/

Patrick Grizzell, Executive Director

April 1-30:

Esteban Villa Drawing Pad, an exhibition featuring sketches of local poets and audience members

Reception TBD

April 20, 7:30 p.m.:

Tribute to RCAF Poets

Blue Line Arts

405 Vernon St. Roseville CA

https://www.bluelinearts.org/

info@bluelinearts.org

May 9 - June 20:

Lorraine García-Nakata: Knowledge We Carry

A solo exhibition of recent works and sampling of earlier pieces, by RCAF artist Lorraine García- Nakata that opened in San Francisco in 2025 and now travels to Blue Line Arts. It includes recent paintings, signature large-scale drawings, fabric and paper pieces as well as a sampling of earlier sculpture and mixed media artworks.

May 16, 4 p.m.:

Artist Lecture

May 16, 5-7 p.m.:

Opening Reception

June 20, 5-7 p.m.:

Encore Reception

California State Library

900 N Street, Sacramento, 95814

https://www.library.ca.gov/

Through June 28:

Viva La Lucha: Art and Work of the Royal Chicano Air Force
Speaker Series interviews on their YouTube channel featuring RCAF artists, Juan Carrillo, Rudy Cuellar, Luis “Louie” González, Irma Lerma Barbosa, and Juanishi Orosco.

May 13, 4 p.m.:

Speaker Series: Stan Padilla

June 11:

Reading Room presentation with Luis C. González

EVENTS ARE STILL BEING SCHEDULED. PLEASE CHECK THS WEB PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL EVENTS AND UPDATES.