Salvador Torres
Encyclopedia
Salvador Roberto Torres is an artist
and muralist from San Diego, California
, an early exponent of the Chicano
art movement. He was one of the creators of Chicano Park
, and led the movement to create its freeway-pillar murals. He was also a founder of the Centro Cultural de la Raza
in San Diego, California
.
He was born in El Paso, Texas
on July 3, 1936, but moved to San Diego with his family as a young child. He attended San Diego City College
and the California College of Arts and Crafts
in Oakland, California
, where he earned a B.A.Ed. degree in art in 1964. In 1973 he earned an M.A. degree in painting and drawing from San Diego State University
.
Torres was raised in Barrio Logan
, a neighborhood of San Diego largely inhabited by Mexican-Americans and Mexican
immigrants. During his lifetime the neighborhood had been bisected by Interstate 5 and further impacted by the elevated onramps to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge
. The two structures had resulted in the demolition of hundreds of homes, including his father's house where Torres had grown up. At first he deeply resented the bridge, but then he began to envision the huge concrete pillars as canvases where art could be created. He made sketches and watercolors of what such a project might look like, and in 1969 he created the Chicano Park Monumental Public Mural Program to promote his vision. However, Chicano Park was still mostly a dream, and urban wall murals were rare in the United States. In 1970 it appeared the residents' hopes for a park were going to be dashed once again, when bulldozers appeared at the site of the proposed park, intending to build a state Highway Patrol facility there instead. There was a spontaneous neighborhood uprising. Residents occupied the site of the proposed park for twelve days to block the construction. At a community meeting to deal with the impasse, Torres publicly proposed his idea of murals on the freeway pillars as part of the park. "Chicano artists and sculptors will turn the great columns of the bridge approach into a thing of beauty, reflecting the Mexican-American culture," he predicted.
For three years, while plans for the park were proceeding slowly through the city and state governments, Torres and other artists lobbied for permission to begin creating their murals. Finally in 1973 they received permission and painting began on March 23, 1973. Torres and many other artists expanded the project until it became the largest collection of Chicano murals in the world. In 1980 the city designated the park and its murals as a San Diego Historical Site. Torres is described as "the architect of the dream" for his role in inspiring and launching the project.
, also in San Diego. He helped form Los Toltecas en Aztlán, a Chicano artists group that was instrumental in converting a former water tank in Balboa Park into a museum and cultural center with the specific mission of promoting, preserving and creating Chicano, native Mexicano, Latin American and Indian art and culture. He became the center's first director.
.
As a painter Torres is best known for his 1969 painting Viva La Raza, an oil on canvas that depicts the transformation of the eagle of the United Farm Workers of America into a rising phoenix. His work has been shown in a number of exhibitions, including Salvador Roberto Torres (1988), the nationally touring Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation (1990–93), and Made in California: 1900-2000 (2000).
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and muralist from San Diego, 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...
, an early exponent of the 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...
art movement. He was one of the creators of Chicano Park
Chicano Park
Chicano Park is a 32,000 square meter park located beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, a predominantly Mexican American and Mexican-immigrant community in central San Diego, California...
, and led the movement to create its freeway-pillar murals. He was also a founder of the Centro Cultural de la Raza
Centro Cultural de la Raza
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Indigenous and Latino art and culture...
in San Diego, 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 was born in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
on July 3, 1936, but moved to San Diego with his family as a young child. He attended 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...
and the California College of Arts and Crafts
California College of the Arts
California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...
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...
, where he earned a B.A.Ed. degree in art in 1964. In 1973 he earned an M.A. degree in painting and drawing from San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
.
Chicano Park
Barrio Logan, San Diego, California
Barrio Logan is a neighborhood in San Diego, California bordered by East Village and Logan Heights to the North, Shelltown and Southcrest to the East, San Diego Bay to the West, and National City to the South. I-5 forms the Northeastern boundary.-History:...
, a neighborhood of San Diego largely inhabited by Mexican-Americans and Mexican
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
immigrants. During his lifetime the neighborhood had been bisected by Interstate 5 and further impacted by the elevated onramps to the San Diego-Coronado Bridge
San Diego-Coronado Bridge
The San Diego-Coronado Bridge, locally referred to as the Coronado Bridge, is a "prestressed concrete/steel" girder bridge, crossing over San Diego Bay in the United States, linking San Diego with Coronado, California...
. The two structures had resulted in the demolition of hundreds of homes, including his father's house where Torres had grown up. At first he deeply resented the bridge, but then he began to envision the huge concrete pillars as canvases where art could be created. He made sketches and watercolors of what such a project might look like, and in 1969 he created the Chicano Park Monumental Public Mural Program to promote his vision. However, Chicano Park was still mostly a dream, and urban wall murals were rare in the United States. In 1970 it appeared the residents' hopes for a park were going to be dashed once again, when bulldozers appeared at the site of the proposed park, intending to build a state Highway Patrol facility there instead. There was a spontaneous neighborhood uprising. Residents occupied the site of the proposed park for twelve days to block the construction. At a community meeting to deal with the impasse, Torres publicly proposed his idea of murals on the freeway pillars as part of the park. "Chicano artists and sculptors will turn the great columns of the bridge approach into a thing of beauty, reflecting the Mexican-American culture," he predicted.
For three years, while plans for the park were proceeding slowly through the city and state governments, Torres and other artists lobbied for permission to begin creating their murals. Finally in 1973 they received permission and painting began on March 23, 1973. Torres and many other artists expanded the project until it became the largest collection of Chicano murals in the world. In 1980 the city designated the park and its murals as a San Diego Historical Site. Torres is described as "the architect of the dream" for his role in inspiring and launching the project.
Centro Cultural de la Raza
Torres was one of the founders of the Centro Cultural de la RazaCentro Cultural de la Raza
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Indigenous and Latino art and culture...
, also in San Diego. He helped form Los Toltecas en Aztlán, a Chicano artists group that was instrumental in converting a former water tank in Balboa Park into a museum and cultural center with the specific mission of promoting, preserving and creating Chicano, native Mexicano, Latin American and Indian art and culture. He became the center's first director.
Later activiites
He produced murals for an NBC television pilot, The Fortunate Son. In 1993 he and his former wife, artist Gloria Robolledo Torres, completed the Kelco Historical Community Mural in Barrio Logan. In 2009 he was a visiting artist in residence at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
.
As a painter Torres is best known for his 1969 painting Viva La Raza, an oil on canvas that depicts the transformation of the eagle of the United Farm Workers of America into a rising phoenix. His work has been shown in a number of exhibitions, including Salvador Roberto Torres (1988), the nationally touring Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation (1990–93), and Made in California: 1900-2000 (2000).