Summary: An interview of Barbara Carrasco conducted 1999 April 13 and 26, by Jeffrey Rangel, in two sessions, for the Archives of American Art.

Carrasco speaks of the roles played by her parents in her career as an artist, her experiences as a light-skinned Chicana, and the marginalization of women artists within the Chicano art movement; her relationship and marriage to fellow artist, Harry Gamboa, Jr., who has supported women artists; and her perception of Asco (“nausea” in Spanish), a group of artists and performers who joined together during the Chicano civil rights movement. She also discusses the influence of the art professors at UCLA and the quality of the training she received there; working with Carlos Almaraz and John Valadez on the “Zoot Suit” mural in Hollywood; meeting César Chávez and how he in part shaped her identity as a cultural worker; attending California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, and receiving her MFA there; other Chicana artists such as Carmen Lomas Garza; and the changes in her most recent work.

Photo: Carrasco in 2017 © Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times