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Rubén Salazar was a writer for the Los Angeles Times and was active in the civil rights battles of the 1960s. When Chicanos rallied against the Vietnam War on August 29, 1970, the Los Angeles police fired tear-gas canisters into the Silver Dollar Bar, where Salazar was struck and killed. Romero painted Death of Rubén Salazar on the scale of Mexico's revolutionary murals, but used the brilliant colors of the East L.A. barrio. To the right, a movie marquee announces that La Muerte de Rubén Salazar is now playing. At the left of the Silver Dollar, the Casa de Cambio suggests not only the exchange of paychecks and cash but also the idea of change in the community.

Officers, clouds of gas, buildings, and lowriders all share the bold brushwork and fiery color of graffiti, but this exuberance masks the emotional toll that painting the scene exacted. Romero acknowledges that it takes years to think through and to paint these episodes in the life of his community. He did not grow up thinking of himself as a Chicano, but embraced that identity after years of working with three other Latino artists in an informal group known as Los Four. The year he painted Death of Rubén Salazar, Romero said that "there's all this talk about America not having a culture other than McDonald's...I do have a culture. It's Aztlan." He was referring to the mythical birthplace of the Aztec people.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Rubén Salazar was a writer for the Los Angeles Times and was active in the civil rights battles of the 1960s. When Chicanos rallied against the Vietnam War on August 29, 1970, police fired tear-gas canisters into the Silver Dollar Bar, where Salazar was struck and killed. To create Death of Rubén Salazar, Frank Romero combined the large scale of Mexican Revolution murals with the brilliant colors of the East LA barrio. To the right, a movie marquee announces that “La Muerte de Rubén Salazar” is now playing. At the left of the Silver Dollar, the Casa de Cambio suggests not only the exchange of paychecks and cash, but the idea of change in the community. Officers, clouds of gas, buildings, and lowriders all share the bold brushwork and fiery color of graffiti, but this exuberance masks the emotional toll that painting the scene exacted. The year he painted Death of Rubén Salazar, Romero said that “There’s all this talk about America not having a culture other than McDonald’s . . . I do have a culture. It’s Aztlan.” He was referring to the mythical birthplace of the Aztec people.

For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.