José R. Alicea
Puerto Rican, born 1928La Patria es Valor y Sacrificio, 1962
Not on view
Plexiglas and linoleum on paper
Dimensions22 1/8 × 16 9/16 in. (56.2 × 42.1 cm)
Image: 16 1/4 × 10 3/16 in. (41.3 × 25.9 cm)
Gift of Mr. Jack B. Pierson in memory of Mr. Robert Martin Purcell, 1979.79
José Alicea’s works deal with social and historical subject matter, linking him to the struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico. He believes art can be an instrument of struggle. He is particularly drawn to printmaking because reproduction is easier making it quicker and cheaper to circulate the image (and message) to the masses.
This print is a portrait of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party leader Pedro Albizu Campos. Alicea included the party’s slogan “La Patria–es valor y sacrificio” (The homeland is valor and sacrifice). The political and economic turmoil at the turn of the 20th century in Puerto Rico led to the founding of the National Party, a party dedicated to the liberation of Puerto Rico from U.S. colonial rule. Disillusioned with his experiences of segregation and racism while living in the United States, Pedro Albizu Campos returned to his native country of Puerto Rico in 1921. Campos joined the Nationalist Party in 1924 and became party president by 1930. Under his direction the organization took on a more militant stance.
By mid-1930s Nationalist gatherings were restricted. In spite of the restriction Campos held a public meeting in Rio Piedras in 1935 that resulted in the death of four party members. Campos and eight Nationalists were indicted for sedition, or enticing a revolt, and were sentenced to ten years in prison. Continued Nationalist attacks on government buildings and an attempted assassination of President Harry S. Truman in 1950 led to reoccurring incarcerations for Campos.
