Jose Antonio Burciaga; Author, Artist, Chicanismo Expert

Jose Antonio Burciaga, 56, author and artist who was an expert on Chicanismo. For the past decade a resident fellow at Stanford University, Burciaga was born in El Paso and studied at the University of Texas, Corcoran School of Art, Juarez-Lincoln Center of Antioch University and San Francisco Art Institute. After service in the Air Force, he settled in Northern California, where he founded a publishing company, Disenos Literarios. Burciaga also served as project director of the Multicultural Task Force of the San Mateo County Arts Council. A winner of the American Book Award, he wrote such books as “Love/Amor Undocumentado,” a collection of poems and drawings titled “Drink Cultura,” and a collection of essays called “Weedee Peepo.” He also wrote frequent essays for The Times’ Op-Ed page. Burciaga’s works often were printed in Spanish and English. His murals were displayed in solo shows nationwide. On Monday in Carmel Highlands, Calif., of cancer.