Born in El Paso, Texas in 1940, Luis Alfonso Jiménez Jr. was the son of Mexican immigrants. Luis’ father owned a neon sign shop in El Paso, where he worked as a youth. His experiences at the sign shop and his fascination with U.S. car culture in the border areas greatly influenced his art career. …

 My father, Leo Tanguma, the child of impoverished Mexican American and Chicano migrants, worked as a child laborer in the farms of America during the 1940s. He joined the Marines, and later, after being honorably discharged for being only 15 years old, he joined the Army. He raised my two brothers, Carlos and Emiliano, and me, …