The Robert Legorreta - Cyclona Collection 1933-2005 CSRC.0500
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt400032m7 No online items Finding Aid for the The Fire of Life: The Robert Legorreta - Cyclona Collection 1933-2005 CSRC.0500 Processed by Michael Stone. Chicano Studies Research Center Library 2017 144 Haines Hall Box 951544 Los Angeles, California 90095-1544 [email protected] URL: http://chicano.ucla.edu CSRC.0500 1 Contributing Institution: Chicano Studies Research Center Library Title: The Fire of Life: The Robert Legorreta - Cyclona Collection Creator: Legorreta, Robert, 1952- Identifier/Call Number: CSRC.0500 Physical Description: 50 linear feet Date (inclusive): 1933-2005 Abstract: This collection of papers, photos, LP records and three-dimensional objects represents the personal collection of the performance artist Robert Legorreta, also known as Cyclona. Items of special interest include Cyclona's scrapbook and LP record and artifact collection depicting representations of Latinos. COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive for paging information. Language of Material: English , Spanish; Castilian . Access Open for research. Acquisition Information Gift of Robert Legorreta. Deed of gift on file at the CSRC archive office. Biography As a child Robert Legorreta, also known as Cyclona, recalls seeing Elvis Presley's television debut. This whetted his youthful appetite for provocative entertainment. He also remembers the hit novelty song, "The Monster Mash" and how that song transformed Halloween from an innocent candy and costume holiday for children into a subversive teenage rite of passage. Since that time, he has been a performance artist and provocateur. In the guise of a Pagliacci-like clown, inspired by the subversion of The Monster Mash and the sexuality of rock music, he laces his performances with subliminal and overt messages about race, gender and identity. Born September 15, 1952 in El Paso, Texas, his family soon moved to East Los Angles in hopes of finding a better life. He attended Belvedere Elementary, Griffith Junior High and Garfield High School, the last of which was also attended by the founding member of the rock group Los Lobos as well as by artists Gronk and Mundo. By the late 1960s Legorreta had become interested in what he felt was an aesthetic of hippie androgyny. He and his friend, the artist Mundo, began to provoke some of the residents of East Los Angeles by parading down Whittier Boulevard in daring drag costumes. These provocations came to the attention of the playwright Gronk (later artist) who had written a play, "Cockroaches Have No Friends," which featured a part calling for a transvestite named "Cyclona." Robert Legorreta became Cyclona, improvising the part, imbuing it with life, and, conversely, imbuing Legorreta with the persona he would identify with since that time. Cyclona describes himself as a live art artist, bringing art to life. Although his performances can be interpreted as a cross dresser's show, Cyclona does not identify as a transvestite and does not dress as a woman. He notes that he drapes himself in fabrics and paints himself with exaggerated makeup. He challenges the audience to question their perceptions of gender representation and stereotypes, as Cyclona says: "I am perception, perceive me as you will." Preferred Citation [Identification of item], The Fire of Life: The Robert Legorreta - Cyclona Collection, 500, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles. Processing Information Processed by Michael Stone in 2017. Finding aid edited by Doug Johnson in 2021. The editing was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic so there was no access to the physical collection. Scope and Content This collection consists of books, periodicals, photographs, artwork, writings, videos, and correspondence. There is also a large amount of ephemera and artifacts that mostly depict kitschy or stereotypical images of Latinos. There is also a collection of audio recordings, mostly vinyl records. They largely consist of Latin jazz and dance music, as well as easy listening, surf music, and novelty records. The collection is organized into the following series: 1. Series 1. Printed and Bound Materials 2. Series 2. Scrapbook Materials 3. Series 3. Photos and Art CSRC.0500 2 4. Series 4. Correspondence 5. Series 5. Audio Materials 6. Series 6. Artifacts 7. Series 7. Video materials 8. Series 8. Newspapers and Periodicals 9. Series 9. Manuscripts 10. Series 10. Ephemera Publication Rights These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of materials, including but not limited to infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials. Subjects and Indexing Terms Gender identity Kitsch Performance art Drag shows Gronk, 1954- East Los Angeles (Calif.) Series 1. Printed and Bound Materials Box 1, Folder 1 Chicano art exhibition booklet presented by the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown 1975-12-17 Scope and Contents Includes correspondence from Gronk. Box 1, Folder 2 Chicos Modernos vol. II by Joey Terrill 1989 Scope and Contents AIDS awareness mini comic book. Box 1, Folder 3 The Activist: Culture, Politics, Action Fall 2000 Box 1, Folder 4 Alternative Press Review Fall 2000 Box 1, Folder 5 Lowrider Arte: American Artists Creating from the Heart 2000-10-2000-11 Box 1, Folder 6 National Latino Communications Center Video Collection catalogue 1996 Box 1, Folder 9 Programs and showcards 1986-1991 Scope and Contents Includes: Ballet Folklorico de Stanford; La Venta Gallery; Nuevo LA Chicano Visual Arts Exhibit II; Romance Reconsidered - Santa Monica College; Artes de Mexico - Echo Park Gallery; Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries; Teatro Leido; Posada '91; Art Bridgman - Myrna Packer Dance; La Virgen del Tepeyac; La Pastorela; Japanese American Cultural and Community Center; Ojo Vivo Contemporary Chicano Photography; LA Arts Recovery Fund; Retrato de Una Decada: Siqueros; El Cholo Arts Festival; City Arts News. Box 1, Folder 10 Latino-themed political mailings circa 1989 Box 2, Folder 3 El Playano: Loyola Marymount University's Latino Literary Magazine Spring 1973 Box 2, Folder 4 Illegal Landscape from Herron and Gronk invitation 1980 Box 2, Folder 8 Gallery invitiation cards 1984-1990 Box 2, Folder 10 The Works Gallery Newsletter: Chicano / Chicana Visceral Images by Dr. W.R. Salmond 1992-1993 Box 2, Folder 11 Art Institute of Southern California Ettinger Gallery: A Room With a View 1992 Box 2, Folder 14 Sunset Poultry Cookbook 1992 CSRC.0500 3 Series 1. Printed and Bound Materials Box 2, Folder 15 Buffy Sainte-Marie songbook cover fragment circa 1969 Related Materials The rest of the songbook is in Box 8, Folder 12. Box 2, Folder 16 Cyclona autobiography undated Box 2, Folder 17 "Letting My Mother Feed Me" by Aleida Rodriguez 1989-03 Box 2, Folder 18 Stop AIDS Los Angeles holiday celebration program undated Box 3, Folder 2 "How To End The War In Vietnam" by Eugene McCarthy circa 1968 Box 3, Folder 3 Gallery and art exhibit flyers and invitations circa 1984 Scope and Contents Includes: Gronk; Harry Gamboa; Patssi Valdez; ASCO; Hazard Gallery; Murals of Aztlan; Curtis Gutierrez; Diane Gamboa; Barbara Carrasco; Sylvia Delgado and Marisela Norte; Otis - Parsons BFA show; Daniel J. Martinez; Diane Gamboa and Ray Navarro. Box 3, Folder 10 Televison schedules 1990-1991 Box 3, Folder 13 Miscellaneous 1989-1990 Scope and Contents Includes: Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos Eighth Anniversary Awards; Christopher Street West material; Lesbian Pride Celebration Official Souvenir Program. Box 3, Folder 17 Flyers circa 1989 Scope and Contents Includes Meet the Ramones. Box 3, Folder 18 The Dale Carnegie Course pamphlet 1986 Box 3, Folder 19 Calenders 1998-2001 Scope and Contents Includes 1998 Lakota Children's Calendar. Box 3, Folder 20 Freddie Prinze Jr. With 8 Color Photos! 1999 Box 3, Folder 22 A Complete Bullfight with Pictures in Full Color circa 1950 Box 4, Folder 2 Calumet Baking Powder Cookbook circa 1931 Box 4, Folder 3 Political and charity mailings circa 1990 Scope and Contents Includes: American Indian Relief Council; Rudy Bermudez for Assembly. Box 4, Folder 4 Theater playbills and arts brochures 1984-1997 Scope and Contents Includes: Ricardo Rodriguez Duffy; LATC - August 29; Artes de Mexico - Echo Park Gallery; Day of the Dead; Artists for the Earth; Auto Portraits: Patssi Valdez / Liz Rodriguez; Chiapas: Luis Becerra; 27th Annual Norwalk Mayor's Prayer breakfast, 1997; City of Los Angeles Arts Congress; The Lady Between the Lines, Jeannette Nunos; Collection for Kahala; Arts Quarterly, Sept. 1992. Box 4, Folder 5 Miscellaneous circa 1991 Scope and Contents Includes: LA Filmforum catalogue; Different Light Bookstore-Defend Gay Words; VIVA Connexion Latina-Gran Tardeada. Box 4, Folder 9 Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin sheet music 1946 CSRC.0500 4 Series 1. Printed and Bound Materials Box 7, Folder 6 Flyers circa 1990 Scope and Contents Includes: Dona Rosita la Soltera, El Lenguaje de las Flores; Teatro! Theater and the Spirit of Change in Honduras; Latino Theatre Lab; Teatro Leido: BFA 20th Anniversary; The Fifth Annual Chicano Music Awards; Out Front at the Mark Tapper Forum; The Art of Mexico: Lal Aguilar Sims; Chicanos