Bracero: Playwright Luis Valdez Upon The Chicano Art Movement

Due to the wartime economy, the demand for labor was so high that farm labors – called braceros were shipped from Mexico to America (bracero program). Domingo Ulloa’s painting “Bracero” depicts the hardships imposed by the program that limited economic and social opportunity for thousands. These artists produced work that promoted their rights as workers and citizens, blurring the lines between art and politics as well as the notions of high and low art. Chicano artists played a key role in the development of the Chicano movement for civil rights. One location called the Central Valley was home to cultural centers and artist collectives, such as La Brocha del Valle in Fresno and Royal Chicano Art Forces of Sacramento. Playwright Luis Valdez

To name a few, the artists that were involved included Yolanda Lopez and Diego Rivera who came from different parts of the world that brought in different kinds of story. Lopez brought works that expressed the woman’s need for another role model, which is a key factor for labor change. Another artist was Diego Rivera who incorporated many labor art movement paintings, but his action as an activist was essential in the process of influencing others for the labor movement. The beginning of work unions and equally from the new deal brought many employment opportunities. This brings back the WPA or Works Progress Administration and Wobblies that employed people, which helped the economic crisis brought by the Great Depression. The work relief programs of the New Deal of the works progress administration – employed millions, but only fragments were women. The Wagner Act did not extend its protections to domestic, hospital, and cannery workers. Violent protest such as the “Bloody Thursday” triggered the union in San Francisco and Alameda County. In David Chun’s painting, it depicts unemployment and desperation. The painting titled “Waiting for a job” shows multiethnic individuals at the offices of the US unemployment service. Other artists such as Dorothea Lange captured photographs of the conditions of the depression and the hardships of farm