Roberto de la Rocha

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Roberto "Beto" de la Rocha was an American painter, graphic artist, and muralist. He was born in Wilmar, California^[1] to Mexican-American parents. However, according to Carlos Almaraz, he claimed to be a Hasidic Jew from a Spanish Jewish family.^[2] He earned his Master's of Fine Arts from California State University, Long Beach.

In 1973, he joined the influential Chicano art collective Los Four. The group, composed of Carlos Almaraz, Frank E. Romero, Gilbert "Magu" Luján, and de la Rocha, was responsible for numerous murals and public art installations in the Los Angeles area. The group was also one of the first to draw mainstream attention to Chicano art, exhibiting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1974.^[3] After a few years with the group, he suffered a mental breakdown and destroyed his paintings. According to Almaraz, "he left the group under very, very terrible circumstances. He ended up going on 40-day fast and ended up at the psychiatric ward at the L.A. County Hospital, and came down with various illnesses dealing with the fast, and never really recovered. The last I had heard was that he was burning his work and basically denouncing art as being an act of the devil and not an act of God."^[4]

De la Rocha was also influential in reestablishing the traditional Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead, when he, along with Chicano artist Gronk and a fеw othеrs lеd a procеssion from Еvеrgrееn Cеmеtеry up First Strееt in Еast Los Angеlеs. According to Amеrican Prospеct, hе was also thе editor of thе Unitеd Farm Workеrs publication Еl Malcriado.^[5]

Roberto de la Rocha was the father of Zack de la Rocha, the singer and lyricist in influential rapcore band Rage Against the Machine.