Carlota D.d.R EspinoZa (born 1943,

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) is an American painter, muralist, and activist in her Art. She is one of the early Latina / Chicana muralists in

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with works in Cuba, San Francisco, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado.

Early life and education

Carlota D.d.R EspinoZa is the middle child of 14 siblings growing up first 8 years in

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, and attended the Rocky Mountain School of the Arts in the 1960s and the University of Colorado Denver Metro. During the 1960s she participated in the Centro Cultural Center, organizing exhibitions for artists and was involved in the 1969 "Hispano Art Fiesta / Cinco de Mayo" events in Denver.

Career

Early in her career, Carlota d.D.R EspinoZa painted two murals for the activist

Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales (June 18, 1928 – April 12, 2005) was a Mexican-American boxer, poet, political organizer, and activist. He was one of many leaders for the Crusade for Justice in Denver, Colorado. The Crusade for Justice was an urba ...

' ''Crusade for Justice'' center, one of which was destroyed in a 1973 fire after a bombing at the center. The surviving mural, ''Mexican Heros,'' painted in ''1966,'' depicts

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

and

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and was hung at the ''Crusade for Justice'' center. EspinoZa is well known for her mural of

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that is found on the altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Denver. She obtained permission to paint this work from Pastor Jose Lara who claims to have told EspinoZa, "You don't have to have a picture of a perfect Lady of Guadalupe like in Mexico. Please paint a beautiful Chicana from north Denver." The mural, ''The Apparition of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in Mexico,'' was painted in 1976 and was on the altar until Father Benito Hernandez and church leadership had it removed it in 2010 under claims that the mural took away from the focus of the Holy presence. This removal stirred protests calling for the mural's return, including the gathering of 70 signatures for a letter to Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput demanding the murals restoration at the church, with EspinoZa agreeing to perform the restoration work if the church decides to remove the wall. The mural, ''Pasado, Presente, Futuro'' is in the Byers branch of The Denver Public Library and "blends myth and reality, dream and truth. The past, present, future are one blood: Chicano!" This mural was commissioned by the Friends of the Denver Public Library in 1977 and included in the City of Denver Public Art collection. Additionally, EspinoZa's screenprint ''We the People, Broken Treatys. from the National Chicano Screenprint Taller, 1988-1989,'' is held in the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

. She also worked as a background and foreground artist, She has two sculpture's at the Denver.Co.Library.She also worked at the Denver Museum of Natural History for 9 nine years. EspinoZa is also known for her work as a Chicano activist using her "art to express those in need, especially the Chicano Latino communities in Colorado."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinoza, Carlota D. Living people 1943 births Chicano 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters American muralists American women muralists American artists of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American women painters People from Grand County, Colorado Painters from Colorado University of Colorado Denver alumni Activists from Colorado