El Centro Chicano y Latino

Malaquías Montoya created the mural at El Centro Chicano y Latino during his time as a visiting instructor in the Stanford Workshop on Social and Political Issues (SWOPSI) program at Stanford. The mural was a collaborative project with Stanford students, blending artistic expression with social justice education and engaging students in art as a tool for activism. The effort to paint a mural for El Centro was part of Montoya’s commitment to the Chicano Movement broadly, to “present a visual side of the Chicano Movement, using art as an educational tool to instruct and reflect is the role of the artist. To Stanford Chicanos, Malaquias offered “art, like pre-med, engineering, pre-law is important because we have a tradition of great art. It is necessary that we maintain that part of our heritage.” (La Onda, Volume IV No. 4, 1979-80)

Beginning on the left side of the mural, the composition presents a subtle confrontation between an Indigenous Mesoamerican figure, likely Aztec, and Spanish conquistadors. Though only partially depicted, the visual cues are clear: an Aztec warrior in a jaguar headdress holds a green wooden macuahuitl, a weapon lined with obsidian blades capable of severing limbs. This colorful, organic figure sharply contrasts with the grey-toned Spanish soldier, shown in a side-profile wearing a steel morion helmet and holding a metal staff and sword. The juxtaposition of Indigenous regalia and European armor evokes the violent cultural collision following the 1492 encounter of the arrival of the Spanish to the Americas. 

These two figures are surrounded by what appear to be scrolls or banners inscribed with fragments of history. A prominent black-and-red United Farm Workers (UFW) banner transitions the viewer into the next scene: a vast agricultural field evocative of California’s Central Valley, where the Chicano and farmworker movements gained powerful momentum. In the foreground, a line of Latino laborers—seen only from behind—march toward the fields, their worn clothing signaling their working-class identity. Under a dramatic sunset framed by distant mountains, the mural shifts toward the center, where three farmworkers appear: a woman and a man each holding books, and another man pointing forward. These figures are mirrored symmetrically on the opposite side of the mural, forming a visual anchor for the central scene. 

At the center of the mural, a Latino man with a mustache stands alongside a second figure, likely a woman of color with long black hair, both dressed in green uniforms and engaged in industrial work. Equipped with metalworking gloves, they operate heavy machinery, highlighting the strength and dignity of working-class labor. This scene evokes the iconography of Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals (1932-33), where workers are pulling levers on machines; however, here, it centers on Latino workers as agents of production. The duality between agricultural and industrial labor underscores both the dignity and the endurance of working-class communities, grounding the mural in a narrative of collective struggle and contribution.

At the far-right end of the mural, the scene shifts to the present day, depicting university buildings and a group of student protesters. A striking red flag with the words “El Centro Chicano” appears prominently in the background, anchoring the image in its contemporary setting. Central to this panel is a striking spherical sun-like figure, in front of which stands a person who appears to be either controlling or fueling its fire, guided by a compass. The scene serves as a reminder that today’s students stand on the shoulders of past generations shaped by conquest, labor, and collective struggle.  –Mauricio E. Ramírez