Gone but not forgotten- Jose Montoya passed on September 26, 2013. A son, husband, father, artist, professor, poet, musician, activist, is how he lived his life.
Jose Montoya, a nationally known artist, poet, and musician, has died. Montoya, an art professor at Sacramento State for 27 years, was a co-founder of the Royal Chicano Air Force, an influential Chicano political artists group. Montoya died on Wednesday, September 26th, 2013, at the age of 81.
“He was someone who could use spoken word to conjure poignant imagery and promote a healthy contemplative state,” said Serna. “His poems gave us pause to reconsider our individual and cultural condition.”
Montoya was born in Escobosa, New Mexico, and grew up in central California. He worked with labor leader Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers.
He was Sacramento’s third poet laureate, named to the post by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission in 2002. He is the author of poetry collections, including the acclaimed “In Formation: 20 Years of Joda.”
In interviews, Montoya said he learned arts from his mother, whose own artistic endeavors involved decorating church interiors. He was also the founder of Sacramento State's Barrio Arts program.
Jose Montoya, one of the original members of the Royal Chicano Air Force, retouches the mural he and several other artists painted in 1977 at Southside Park.
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
