Las Manos de Aztlan

Emmanuel C. Montoya

Montoya frequently addressed his identity as a Texas-born Chicano American in his early art, illuminating cultural roots that span Mexico and southwest North America. Active in the early Chicano Movement whiel studying art in 1960s and 70s San Francisco Bay Area, his style was greatly influenced by social movements and the artists of the WPA and Mexican Muralists.

Here, strong hands emerge from an agave plant, seemingly haloed by bright light in an echo of colonialist Mexican holy relics. The title, "The Hands of Aztlan," touches on the mythos of the land of Aztlan, the ancestral home of the Aztecs. This cross-pollination of symbolism and styles is typical of the artist, who continues to meditate on the power of his varied cultural background in his artwork.