Trinity Association of Chicano Students Cultural Exhibition (Nov. 1971)

Initially, Con Safo was called El Grupo or El Grupo Seis. Felipe Reyes and Jesse Almazán began discussing the idea of creating a Chicano art group at the newly founded Galería Almazán in la Villita section of downtown San Antonio. Their first group exhibition took place at Galerias Almazán on November 6, 1968 and was titled Americana Theme Phase One “Cowboys.” Some members remember there being a political overtone to the show, given that historically cowboys and western culture have represented bigotry and discrimination towards people of Mexican-American descent. While others remember it simply being a practice in the visual themes of riding horses, herding, etc. This first show represents an underlying tension between the political and art that Con Safo members would continue to grapple with throughout the group’s history.

Sometime between late 1970 and early 1971, the group reorganized and adopted the name Los Pintores de Aztlán. In late 1971 they adopted the name Los Pintores de la Nueva Raza as seen in an interview by Carmen Lomas Garza with Felipe Reyes in El Magazin in December 1971. 

The first exhibition to take place at Trinity University was in conjunction with the Trinity Association of Chicano Students (TACS) during their cultural exhibition from November 11 to November 30, 1971. At this point Felipe Reyes, Santos Martinez, Thelma Ortiz, and Raul Solis were students at Trinity University. José Garza likely participated in this show, but it is unclear whether he was a Trinity student at this time.