290 Raul Baltazar Interview: Chicano Art, Ritual Performance & Cultural Syncretism in Los Angeles

In this episode of What’s My Thesis?, host Javier Proenza speaks with Los Angeles–based Chicano artist Raul Baltazar about the cultural and historical foundations of his practice. Baltazar reflects on the origins of his performance character “Seven the Aztec Bunny,” first developed through ceremonies at Self Help Graphics’ Aztec New Year celebration, and discusses how Indigenous traditions, Catholic symbolism, and community ritual inform his approach to art. The conversation explores Mexican and Mexican American identity through migration, colonial history, and cultural syncretism, including reflections on La Malinche, the blending of Indigenous and Catholic cosmologies, and the preservation of ceremonial knowledge. Baltazar also addresses the generational lineage of Chicano artists in Los Angeles, the tension between community-based practices and art institutions, and the role of devotion, memory, and cultural continuity within contemporary artistic work.