Diaz, Hector (Week 4)

 After reading “Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology”, I learned about rasquachismo. First, rasquachismo can be a term applied in different ways, and it ultimately refers to something that is below. It can be referred to as “an underground perspective” and is often in reference to something that is the “standard” in society. For example, being a part of the working class or even Chicano has been considered rasquachismo. This is interesting because I come from a low-income family and identify as Chicano, yet I never learned or used the term. Also, I find it interesting how rasquachismo implies surviving with the limited resources. I recall how being resourceful was very important for our survival. To sharpen my pencils, we would use a knife. In Mexico, being resourceful is even greater because I’ve seen art and crafts be made from recycled materials. I also found it interesting how the reading mentioned that middle-class chicanos are the first to deny any association with rasquache. This reminds me of people that begin earning more money and immediately forget about their upbringing. Thus, rasquache receives a negative connotation and some are trying to get far away from it. However, it also becomes a term that is being reclaimed because many poor Chicanxs are still surviving despite being marginalized. Domesticana is similar to rasquache, but it refers to Chicanas. 

Rasquache art was also emerging and this was art that was being created with what the artist had available. In my community, we had a similar “shrine” to the Virgen de Guadalupe as the image I attached below. It was placed near a tree and a lot of the material was donated by the community. There were buckets with flowers and a little house made of wood housing her. It was maintained primarily by the community and always had decorations. The image attached is rasquache art because the Virgen de Guadalupe is painted on a bathtub, thus making the most with what they had.