This flyer, designed by Chicano artist and founder of Mi Raza Arts Consortium (MIRA) José Gamaliel González, advertises a 1987 Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead installation and memorial organized by MIRA in honor of Mexican-American rock star Ritchie Valens. Born Richard Valenzuela, Valens was best known for his 1958 hit “La Bamba,” an adaptation of a traditional Mexican son jarocho. He died in a plane crash in 1959 at the age of 17, the same crash that claimed the life of Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper, and inspired Don McLean's "American Pie." As González explains in his autobiography Bringing Aztlán to Mexican Chicago (2010), the installation was held in Thalia Hall, Chicago, and featured salvaged car parts arranged in the shape of an airplane, as well as a working motor to provide sound effects. This copy was mailed from MIRA in Chicago, Illinois, to Tomas Ybarra-Frausto in Seattle, Washington, on October 23, 1987.
Flyer for Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Ritchie Valens Memorial
- Place of publication, production, or execution
- No place, unknown, or undetermined
- Physical Description
- Flyer : 1 sheet : photocopy ; 28 x 22 cm.
- Summary
- Flyer for Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Ritchie Valens Memorial, Thalia Hall, Chicago, organized by MIRA, Mi Raza Arts Consortium.
Flyer was mailed from MIRA in Chicago, Illinois, to Tomas Ybarra-Frausto in Seattle, Washington, on October 23, 1987. - Citation
- MIRA (Mi Raza Arts Consortium (Chicago, Ill.)). Flyer for Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Ritchie Valens Memorial, 1987. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto research material on Chicano art, 1965-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Use Note
- Current copyright status is undetermined
- Location Note
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560
- Data Source
- Archives of American Art
- Creator
- MIRA (Mi Raza Arts Consortium (Chicago, Ill.))
- Subject
- Valens, Ritchie
- Ybarra-Frausto, Tomás
- Date
- 1987
- Type
- Printed Materials
