Rasquachismo



Rasquachismo is a theory developed by Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe "an underdog perspective, a view from "los de abajo" (from below) in working class 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 and Mexican art movements which "make the most from the least." It has been described as a worldview, 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 {'hased 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 term rascuache, of Nahuatl origin. While the term was widely used as a classist slur, it has been reclaimed to highlight the creativity and uniqueness in Chicano and Mexican working-class communities. Beyond being simply frugal, 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 Spanish term rascuache, of Nahuatl origin. The Spanish term has negative connotations in Mexico and Latin America, 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 classes. Ybarra-Frausto coined the term rasquachismo in 1989.

Development
The Chicano movement 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, immigration, racism and classism. 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, ofrendas, 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 “rasquchismo” 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 of off 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”.

Ester Hernandez
Ester Hernandez is 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. 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 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 ofrenda 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 patriarchal values such as machismo and marianismo 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
"According to Chicana/o art scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, rasquachismo should be considered first as an attitude and a sensibility, and secondarily as a set of formal art qualities..."

- Josh T. Franco, Latino collections specialist for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art