Political Prints: Popular Press

This print marks a sharp departure from De Hoyos’ earlier works in oil. Gone are the diffused hues and familiar sitters. In their stead, we are presented with black and white graphic line work depicting several symbolic figures from the Chicanx movement.

Illustration for Caracol magazine 

Illustration for Caracol magazine 

Titled Pa’ Delante Vamos, this print could be considered the epitome of De Hoyos’ rapport with Chicanx circles. It is well known that her early poetry was frequently published through these literary platforms, but it is crucial to recognize that she also often illustrated their issues. Such was the case for Pa’ Delante Vamos, the cover of Caracol magazine, one of the many magazines De Hoyos established a connection with. The importance of these relationships cannot be overstated, as according to her they were the impetus for the formation of her Chicanx consciousness. She would draw on this same awareness of a united and wronged Chicanx people in order to write her two break-through collections of poetry: Arise, Chicano! and Chicanos Poems For the Barrio.

Critical reception of this phase of her literary work describes these early collections as declarative and didactic. They are championed as strident political hammers preoccupied with psychologically liberating Chicanos from White oppression, a reflection of De Hoyos’ activist commitments. Above all, De Hoyos’ intent in these collections is to guide a burgeoning Chicano consciousness towards empowerment and action.

Pa’ Delante Vamos betrays these same political preoccupations. The upper right of the background immediately catches readers' attention; block letters have been written on a chalkboard, and are pointed to patiently by a teacher. The text reads: EL QUE HABLA DOS IDIOMAS VALE POR DOS (he who speaks two languages is worth twice as much). From there, one’s eyes are drawn to the central figure, a woman whose gaze is directed upwards, towards the large flag she is brandishing that depicts Texas. Beside her are other figures— one grasps a smaller flag which features an imperative (not coincidentally the title of De Hoyos’ first seminal collection): ARISE, CHICANO! The phrase PA’ DELANTE VAMOS (we are moving forward) literally supports the entire composition, affirming and declaring Chicanx advancement. The repetitive depiction of flags, the text’s triumphant and defiant tone, the valorization of bilingualism, and the multiple representations of teaching and instruction— all point to Arise, Chicano! and Chicanos Poems For the Barrios’ same political investments.

With an emphasis placed on education and organization, De Hoyos’ graphic work for Chicanx magazines was highly politicized. De Hoyos would go on to adopt the popular graphic aesthetic; many of her pieces reflect interpretations of indigenous Mexican motifs, as well as render her figures with features which nod to the Chicanx mestizaje mythos. Pa’ Delante Vamos is but one example of the political and stylistic influence print culture had on De Hoyos’ work.

It is critical to note that the medium De Hoyos employs in these examples is also entrenched in the political. Chicanx print culture stemmed from a need for self-promotion of voices no other established press would disseminate. One of Pa’ Delante Vamos’ figures is reading a magazine not unlike the one in which this illustration is printed. This meta-textual reference, when paired with the fact that a child is also gazing at the pages, further emphasizes the critical role of these independent publications in shaping a collective consciousness. The medium could be repeated and spread with ease, ensuring a democratic reach throughout the barrio and surrounding rural areas. What’s more, the immediacy and universality of particularly the magazines’ visual culture reaches illiterate audiences and informs Chicanos on Chicano politics.  De Hoyos was a part of this burgeoning political magazine culture— so much so that she would eventually take on a prominent role within the field as the co-founder of her own publishing press (MandA) and magazine (the Huehuetitlan).

FEMINIST UNDERTONES

Once we situate Pa’ Delante Vamos within its larger visual culture context, other details begin to emerge. Compared to the traditional political Chicano print, Pa’ Delante Vamos is especially notable in its subjects: nearly every figure is a woman. While they are certainly depicted fulfilling the traditional roles expected of women within the Chicano movement—such as teaching and nurturing—they are also given a prominent voice. The actions of carrying la lucha’s flag and voicing the community’s concerns (a little girls speaks into a microphone) are both roles that Chicano men typically carried out. Here, De Hoyos subtly asserts that general liberation is directly tied to the contributions women are allowed to make in la lucha. Intentional, but not emphasized— De Hoyos represents women engaging in both their traditional roles and those of their male counterparts’.

If one only considers De Hoyos’ poetry, it becomes easy to assume that her feminist commitments did not develop until later in her career, when she began writing collections such as Woman, Woman. Her political prints such as Pa’ Delante Vamos challenges this, however, as it disproves the artificial separation of her Chicanx activism and her feminism. Exhuming this illustration reveals that De Hoyos’ Chicano liberation politics were not mutually exclusive with her feminism; a concern for women’s role in liberation was always present in De Hoyos’ politics.