José Montoya
Encyclopedia
José Montoya is a poet and an artist from Sacramento
, California
. He is one of the most influential Chicano
bilingual poets. He has published many well-known poems in anthologies and magazines. He is Sacramento's poet laureate
.
Making his start soon after the Korean War when he entered San Diego City College
as an art student, Montoya later transferred to the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California
. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962. In the early 1970s, he joined students and members of the Chicano community to found the Rebel Chicano Art Front, later renamed the Royal Chicano Air Force
, which organized numerous cultural, educational, and political activities in the Sacramento area. He began his career by teaching High School until he earned his MA in 1971, at California State University
. He then taught for 25 years in the Department of Art Education at CSUS.
His son Richard Montoya is a member of the performance troupe Culture Clash
.
And San Pedro o san pinche
Are in for it. And those
Times of the forties
And the early fifties
Lost un vato de atolle.
"El Louie" is probably Montoya's most famous and most often anthologized poem. With compassion and anger, it tells the story of Louie, a pachuco
from San José and California's Central Valley who is a popular local figure. After he comes back from the war in Korea
his life disintegrates as he continues coming into conflict with the white-dominated world of California; he is a hero and a loser, hocking his combat medals for booze and drugs; he dies alone in squalid conditions. Louie is not elevated to gangster sainthood, but he is "recognized as a normative model" rather than portrayed as deviant, dangerous or insignificant (Hernandez 76).
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He is one of the most influential Chicano
Chicano
The terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
bilingual poets. He has published many well-known poems in anthologies and magazines. He is Sacramento's poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
.
Making his start soon after the Korean War when he entered San Diego City College
San Diego City College
San Diego City College is a public, two-year community college located in San Diego, California. City College is part of the San Diego Community College District along with San Diego Mesa College, San Diego Miramar College and San Diego Continuing Education...
as an art student, Montoya later transferred to the California College of Arts & Crafts in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1962. In the early 1970s, he joined students and members of the Chicano community to found the Rebel Chicano Art Front, later renamed the Royal Chicano Air Force
Royal Chicano Air Force
The Royal Chicano Air Force is a Sacramento, California-based art collective. It was one of the main centers of the Chicano art movement in California during the 1970s and 80s and continues to be influential into the 21st Century....
, which organized numerous cultural, educational, and political activities in the Sacramento area. He began his career by teaching High School until he earned his MA in 1971, at California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
. He then taught for 25 years in the Department of Art Education at CSUS.
His son Richard Montoya is a member of the performance troupe Culture Clash
Culture Clash
Culture Clash may refer to:* Culture Clash , American performance troupe* Culture Clash , British band which plays Harare Jit music...
.
"El Louie"
Hoy enterraron al Louie.And San Pedro o san pinche
Are in for it. And those
Times of the forties
And the early fifties
Lost un vato de atolle.
- — El Louie, 1969
"El Louie" is probably Montoya's most famous and most often anthologized poem. With compassion and anger, it tells the story of Louie, a pachuco
Pachuco
Pachucos are Chicano youths who developed their own subculture during the 1930s and 1940s in the Southwestern United States. They wore distinctive clothing and spoke their own dialect of Mexican Spanish, called Caló or Pachuco...
from San José and California's Central Valley who is a popular local figure. After he comes back from the war in Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
his life disintegrates as he continues coming into conflict with the white-dominated world of California; he is a hero and a loser, hocking his combat medals for booze and drugs; he dies alone in squalid conditions. Louie is not elevated to gangster sainthood, but he is "recognized as a normative model" rather than portrayed as deviant, dangerous or insignificant (Hernandez 76).
Works
- Montoya, José. El Sol y Los De Abajo and other R.C.A.F. poems por José Montoya. San Francisco: Ediciones Pocho-che, 1972.
- Montoya, José. In Formation: 20 Years of Joda. Chusma House Publications, 1992.
- Trio Casindio and the Royal Chicano Air Force. 20 Years of Songs by José Montoya.
External links
- Guide to the Montoya José Papers from the California Ethnic and Multicultural ArchivesCalifornia Ethnic and Multicultural ArchivesCalifornia Ethnic and Multicultural Archives is an archival institution that houses collections of primary source documents from the history of minority ethnic groups in California...