Maestro José Montoya was part of many circles, but for over 25-years, he was a part of El Círculo de Hombres. El Círculo brought healing and support to thousands of men through the reintegration of ceremony, carnalismo, and kinship. He served on the Board of Directors of the National Compadres Network as the voice of the elders since the organization’s inception. His contributions to the healing of youth, men, families, and communities will continue through the teachings he so generously shared and entrusted to all of us.

Maestro José Montoya dedicated his life to acknowledging and lifting up the beauty and power of culture through art, poetry, music, activism, and spiritual ceremony. His life, from the mountains of New Mexico and the fields of California’s Central Valley, to the halls of higher education influenced all his work. His ability to re-craft words, create songs, and beautifully illustrate what it meant to be Chicano will remain as an example for generations.

In 2016, three years after his passing, he was honored with an exhibit of his work at the UCLA Fowler Museum. Abundant Harvest honored his prolific work with nearly 2,000 drawings along with paintings, poems, sketchbooks, video footage, music, and other ephemera.  https://www.fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/montoya/