Background
Jose Antonio Burciaga was born on August 23, 1940 in El Chuco, Texas, United States.
Jose Antonio Burciaga was born on August 23, 1940 in El Chuco, Texas, United States.
After completing Jose's military service, Burciaga earned a B.A. degree in fine arts from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1968. He also received his artistic training at schools such as Corcoran School of Art and the San Francisco Art Institute.
From 1964 until 1968 Burciaga worked as a freelance technical illustrator in El Paso, Texas, then served as an illustrator and graphic artist with the U.S. Army from 1968 until 1970. After moving to California in 1974, Burciaga started writing reviews and columns for local journals and newspapers. On May 5, 1984, he helped found the Latino comedy troupe, Culture Clash at the Galería de la Raza in San Francisco's Mission District along with Marga Gómez, Monica Palacios, Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Sigüenza. Tony continued performing with the group until 1988. In 1985 he became a freelance contributor to the syndicated column "Hispanic Link" and the Pacific News Service. In 1985 he began work as a resident fellow at Stanford University, a post he still held at the time of his death. Burciaga also established the Disenos Literarios Publishing Company. He was a project director of the San Mateo County Arts Council’s Multicultural Task Force, and he wrote editorials for the Los Angeles Times.
Burciaga's appeal as a writer lay in his sense of humor, which he used to satirize the rigidity of a system still clinging to traditions of racism and discrimination.
Quotes from others about the person
Francisco Lomelí and Donaldo Urioste said: "His poetry is powered by an incisive sense of irony with the purpose of criticizing set or ignored truths.... His critical approach becomes effective because his attacks avoid demagogic or abstract declarations."
Jose married Cecilia Preciado, in 1972.