Artist, 'cultural adjuster' Mel Casas has died

"Casas was best known for pointed visual statements that question cultural stereotypes and portrayals of Mexican Americans in media. A charismatic figure with a neatly trimmed goatee and razor wit, Casas was professor emeritus at San Antonio College, where he taught for 29 years before retiring as chairman of the art department in 1990. In the early '60s, he helped found the seminal Chicano art group Con Safo, whose members included Kathy Vargas, Cesar Martinez, Carmen Lomas Garza, Santa Barraza, and Jesse Treviño. On his personal business card, Casas referred to himself as a 'cultural adjuster." - Elda Silva