Rasquachismo or "Rascuachismo" is a

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

developed by

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe "an underdog perspective, a view from "''los de abajo''" (from below) in

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

Chicano communities which uses elements of "hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration" as a means of empowerment and resistance. Rasquachismo is commonly used to describe aesthetics present in the working class

Chicano art The Chicano Art Movement represents groundbreaking movements by Mexican-American artists to establish a unique artistic identity in the United States. Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement ...

and

Mexican art Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the New Spain, colonial period, with the per ...

movements which "make the most from the least." It has been described as a

worldview A worldview (also world-view) or is said to be the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and Perspective (cognitive), point of view. However, whe ...

, the "view of the underdog, which combines inventiveness with a survivalist attitude." Artists will oftentimes depict experiences of their own life in the "''barrio''" or the experiences of being Mexican and Chicano. This art movement has also been defined by artists and scholar Amalia Mesa-Bains "as a survivalist irreverence ('based on sustaining elements of Mexican tradition and lived encounters in a hostile environment') that functioned as a vehicle of cultural continuity." Rasquachismo is rooted in the older term rasquache, which is the English form of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

term '' rascuache'', of

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

origin. While the term was widely used as a

classist Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

slur, it has been reclaimed to highlight the creativity and uniqueness in Chicano and Mexican working-class communities. Beyond being simply

frugal Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent, or economical in the consumption of resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as ...

, the rasquache philosophy also involves inventing new uses for conventional objects. This may mean giving a new function to something that would conventionally be considered broken or otherwise 'useless.'

Term

Rasquachismo is rooted in the term ''rasquache'', which is the English form of the

term '' rascuache'', of

origin. The Spanish term has negative connotations in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, since it is used to describe anything lower class or impoverished. In this context, rasquache is used to mean "ghetto." Behavior such as reusing plastic utensils and zip lock bags could be described as "rasquache" in a negative way by people of

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

es. Ybarra-Frausto coined the term rasquachismo in 1989.

Development

The

Chicano movement The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento (Spanish for "the Movement"), was a civil rights movements, social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano, Chicano identity and worldview that combated ...

began to develop in the 1960s which primarily focused on the struggles and identity of Mexican-Americans. This allowed for the Chicano art to also begin in the 1960s as artists used different mediums to highlight the social and cultural aspects of being Mexican-American. This movement became a form of resistance for Chicanos to represent themselves in a political and social climate that directly targeted Latinos. Some of the central themes artists may focus on are identity,

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

classism Class discrimination, also known as classism, is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes, behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper class at the expense of ...

. Chicano art tends to be political as it may to critique the American government and society. Chicano art can be a form of protest as the vibrant colors combined with the attitude and elements of rasquachismo. Rasquachismo allowed Latinos found a way to express themselves through the resources they had.

Artistic context

In the artistic context, the term is used to describe art which overcomes material and professional limitations faced by artists. Rasquache art uses the most basic, simplest, quickest, and crudest means necessary to create the desired expression, in essence, creating the most from the least. The term can also be used to reference the bicultural inspiration from which these artists draw inspiration. Amalia Mesa-Bains, artist and writer, writes that "In rasquachismo, the irreverent and spontaneous are employed to make the most from the least... one has a stance that is both defiant and inventive. Aesthetic expression comes from discards, fragments, even recycled everyday materials... The capacity to hold life together with bits of string, old coffee cans, and broken mirrors in a dazzling gesture of aesthetic bravado is at the heart of rasquachismo." When employed by female artists, she calls it ''Domesticana,'' but cautions that these terms should not be understood as applying to all Chicano artists. Making the most with the least is a statement of irreverence and is both "defiant and inventive."

Parameters of "Rasquachismo"

There has been a questioning of whether this art form can be considered a fine art due to its use of unconventional materials and how the art movement has been recorded. The main parameter to be included as a part of this art movement through the repurposing of certain objects as the movement stemmed out of being resourceful. Artists and their work are not only defined by the medium that they decide to use. Sometimes artists use different mediums from serigraphs, paintings, ''

ofrenda An ''ofrenda'' (Spanish: "Sacrifice, offering") is the offering placed in a home altar during the annual and traditionally Mexican ''Día de los Muertos'' celebration. An ''ofrenda'', which may be quite large and elaborate, is usually created ...

s,'' or objects found within Latino household. Artists can be included for the message or experience their art portrays. This art form primarily focuses on the experiences of those who are working class, lower income and identify as Mexican or Chicano. The blending of different mediums or repurposing of objects allows the art form to be accessible, allowing the genre to cross boundaries between repurposing art and fine art, which makes "rasquachismo" unique. "Rasquachismo" was not created to push against the standard of what is considered fine art. It was created out of the result of the Mexican and Chicano community who aimed to create art based on their resourcefulness, experiences, and creativity. The art movement has been accepted into institutions through the recognition and culmination of Latinos in academic spaces like multidisciplinary artist and author Amalia Mesa-Bains. Yet, the art form was not made for the sole purpose of being in museums but rather a community who was being inventive. Certain artists may have a political message attached to a certain piece or simply repurpose objects to be the main subject of their art. Reusing objects found within a Latino household adds to the aesthetics of "rasquachismo".

Artists

Ester Hernandez

Ester Hernandez was born in the San Joaquin valley in California. Hernandez is most known for her print work and serigraphs as she was very involved in the

Chicano Art Movement The Chicano Art Movement represents groundbreaking movements by Mexican-American artists to establish a unique artistic identity in the United States. Much of the art and the artists creating Chicano Art were heavily influenced by Chicano Movement ...

. Her art focuses mainly on Indigenous and Latina women, iconographies, and is mainly political as she aims to showcase her culture and the life of farm workers. What makes her work a part of the movement is how she explores identity and her critiques on the American government. One of Hernandez most well known works is her print ''Sun Mad'' (1982) which critiques American agribusiness. The

serigraph Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen in a "flood stroke" ...

takes the iconic Sun Maid raisin Maid who is transformed into a skeleton. The text below is a play on words as "Sun Maid Raisins" is changed to "Sun Mad Raisins". In the smaller text Hernandez highlights the amount of chemicals farm workers were exposed to while working under the Sun Maid Raisin company. This piece is renowned for its eerie nature and bold colors as Hernandez emphasizes the exploitation of farm workers. ''Sun Mad'' was reworked as an installation that can be found at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The museum is located in the heart of Pilsen which is a primarily Mexican community in the Southside of Chicago. This piece honors the sacrifice of farm workers as the print is part of a multidimensional installation], which is dedicated to her father. ''Sun Mad'' includes the original and much larger serigraph was the background, panels of a farm worker and their skeleton. In front of the enlarged print and panels is an ''

'' full of the objects like fruit, hats, gloves and other belongings usually associated with farm workers. Hernandez's work exemplifies how "rasquachismo" can be multifaceted for its political message while centering the history and identity of Chicanos even if it is reformatted into another medium.

Amalia Mesa-Bains

Amalia Mesa-Bains, born in Santa Clara California, is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and author best known for coining the term "domesticana". As the Latino community holds Patriarchy, patriarchal values such as

machismo Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1940s and 1950s and its use more wi ...

and

marianismo ''Marianismo'' is a Hispanic term that describes an ideal of true femininity with characteristics derived from the devotional cult of St. Mary of Guadalupe, a central figure of Roman Catholicism in Mexico. It defines standards for the female ge ...

there are certain gender dynamics that Mesa-Bains dissects within her work. Mesa-Bains centers womanhood within Latino community through her art. Some of her work highlights the domestication of women but mainly explores spirituality, womanhood and the importance family. She has multiple installations where she repurposes items that can be found in Mexican households. She allows the audience to connect to her work as she finds significance in mirrors stating, "I use mirrors so people find themselves in the work." In her work ''Cihuateotl with Mirror in Private Landscapes and Public Territories'' (1997) the sculpture is hand painted and hand carved includes which includes different mixed media ranging LED lighting, candles, crushed glass, hand-blown and engraved glass.

Quotes on Rasquachismo

References

External links

* * * {{Chicano and Mexican American topics Chicano art Culture of Latin America Hispanic and Latino American history Spanish language Mexican Spanish