Esteban Cabeza de Baca. Cesar’s Angels

About

Cesar’s Angels debuts a new group of paintings set in 1960s California during the Delano grape strike (1965–1970), a grassroots effort co-organized by American civil rights activist and labor leader Cesar Chavez (1927–1993). This nonviolent movement galvanized the Chicano farm worker community, ultimately leading to better wages and working conditions for this marginalized group. 

The paintings on view weave a complex narrative about human resilience and ingenuity in the face of adversity, through oral histories passed down by the artist’s father, Vincent Cabeza de Baca, who was Chavez’s bodyguard during this pivotal moment in California history. Translating his father’s stories onto canvas, Cabeza de Baca honors the legacies of his forebears and calls attention to the impact of and advocacy for justice in the fields through rich paintings of protest and resistance, but also of rest, relaxation, and community building.