His “Hidden” Art

Often, the only thing mentioned about Beto’s life is his hiatus from art and creative practice. While that period is an important part of his story, Beto’s life is far more complex and deserves equal attention. Like the other artists in Los Four, Beto had already established himself within the East L.A. art community. He served as art editor for the iconic newspaper El Malcriado (Link), contributed artwork to Con Safos magazine (Link), and became a well-known screen printer and painter, working at prestigious spaces such as Gemini G.E.L. and Self Help Graphics (Link).

Although some might argue that Beto was not at the forefront of the collective or that he let his hiatus define his life, he was actually a cultural communicator from the very start. Too often, we overlook lo cotidiano, those labors of love embedded in our daily lives, and in Beto’s case, this everyday work was especially demanding for underrepresented artists. He contributed to these magazines largely without receiving credit. His contributions are remembered only through the oral histories of other artists who reference his work. Judithe Hernández, the fifth member of Los Four, shares:

“Beto was… in his own world. Brilliant printmaker. Ah. He used to print for Gemini… his work was remarkable”

– Interview with Judithe Hernández, 1998 Mar. 28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Gemini G.E.L Studios

Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited) is a world-renowned printmaking studio founded in 1966 in Los Angeles. It was designed as a space where leading artists could experiment with high-quality, collaborative printmaking. Many famous artists  from Roy Lichtenstein to Jasper Johns, have created editions there, making Gemini an important center for contemporary printmaking that is still active today.

Beto worked there as a skilled lithographer and graphic artist. His time at Gemini connected him to other major artists, including Charles White, whose mural practice was deeply influenced by Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Although it’s not proven that Beto directly introduced White to Gemini, their shared interests in community and murals show how Gemini served as a crossroads for artists in Los Angeles.

His Hiatus of the art

In the mid-1970s, during what should have been a high point in his career, Beto experienced a profound spiritual and personal crisis that led him to destroy nearly all of his early artworks. This moment came shortly after the landmark 1974 Los Four exhibition at LACMA, where Chicano art was brought into a major American museum for the first time. Although Beto had contributed to the collective’s foundation and early vision, the sudden visibility and institutional attention conflicted deeply with his evolving beliefs.

Struggling with the tension of public recognition, Beto turned inward. He began to feel that the art world, especially its commercial aspects, was misaligned with the moral and spiritual values he was coming to embrace. He practiced Christianity, and Beto came to see his previous artwork as “graven images,” a reference to biblical prohibitions against idol-making (Beto De La Rocha interview with Nathan Solis, LA Times, 2024). As an act of cleansing and renunciation, he gathered nearly all of his early paintings and drawings and burned them in a backyard bonfire, an intentional erasure of his past work and public identity as an artist.

This act marked the beginning of a roughly 20-year hiatus period. He left the art scene and stopped exhibiting or collaborating. Instead, focused on his healing living a quiet life in his father’s Lincoln Heights home. Beto didn’t stop making art forever, but for decades, he created only privately. For those who admired him, it was painful to witness. But the act makes clear how seriously he took his beliefs and how personal his relationship to his art truly was.