Art Made to Free Her. Now It Helps Tell Her Story.
- Adminstration Admin
- May 6
- 2 min read
The 1975 poster by Malaquías Montoya and its connection to Opera Cultura's ¡Chicanísima!
In the spring of 1975, Olga Talamante was sitting in an Argentine prison. Her community was fighting for her release. One of the people who answered that call was Malaquías Montoya — a major figure in the Chicano Art Movement, raised by a single mother in a family of migrant farmworkers in California's Central Valley. His story and Olga's were cut from the same cloth. HISTORY
Montoya created a silkscreen poster for a benefit concert — "Unidad 7" — held May 9, 1975 in San Francisco's Mission District. Three fists rising from darkness, gripping barbed wire. A blindfolded figure pointing forward. A single demand embedded in the event details: come, give, help free Olga Talamante. Montoya's prints were not gallery pieces — they were tools, going up on utility poles and building facades wherever people needed to be moved to act. The donation that night was $2.50. The message was priceless. U.S. National Park Service
Fifty years later, that image is the visual foundation of Opera Cultura's ¡Chicanísima! — reimagined in full color, honoring Montoya's original composition while bringing it into the present. The credit reads: "Image is based on original artwork by Artist Malaquías Montoya." When Carla Lucero first connected with Talamante, Olga was already reflecting on those years — including the friends who fought for her release from Argentina. Montoya was one of them. New-York Historical Society The fists are still raised. The barbed wire is still there. And the story, it turns out, is far from over.
Join Us — June 27 at MACLA
¡Chicanísima! performs Saturday, June 27 at MACLA, 510 S 1st St, San José — two performances at 12:00 PM and 5:30 PM. Tickets from $10. ⭐ Olga Talamante appears in person for a post-show Q&A after the 5:30 PM performance.
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