Royal Chicano Air Force posters and ephemera from the collection of David Rasul

The RCAF was established in Sacramento, California in the early 1970s, originally named Rebel Chicano Art Front (people confused the group’s acronym, RCAF, with that of the Royal Canadian Air Force, so the more humorous Royal Chicano Air Force was adopted). The RCAF contributed to two major genres of Chicanx visual art—muralism and silkscreen printing. The Royal Chicano Air Force established the Centro de Artistas Chicanos, a workshop for the production of posters for community events.The RCAF was Inspired by the culturally nationalist doctrine of the Chicano Movement, described in El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan (1969) and El Plan de Santa Barbara (1969), both of which celebrated the indigenous roots of Mexican-American identity.

David Rasul (1947- ) has been a member of the RCAF Cultural Affairs Council since the early 1970s, a key player in strategic planning for Chicano community events. Rasul has also been a member of the organizing committee for The Sacramento Movimiento Chicano and Mexican American Education Oral History Project at California State University, Sacramento. He is a Dean of Counseling Emeritus at Sacramento City College and lives in the Southside in the Barrio Diamond community with his wife, Melinda Rasul. (Source: dealer's description)