Playas, Nayeli (Week 4)

Rasquachismo is defined as an attitude or a taste and it is generally an underdog perspective. Rasquachismo is associated with the working class and it means “leftover” or “of no value.” When it comes to taste being rasquache means that you prefer the elaborate over the simple. In rasquachismo high importance is placed on making what is do. According to Tomas Ybarrra, rasquachismo is, “An attitude rooted in resourcefulness and adaptability yet mindful of stance and style.” Rasquachismo has a negative connotation associated with it in the United States as well as in Mexico. It can be associated with vulgarity and having bad taste. In the city that I grew up in, it was common to see custom lowriders with the Virgin of Guadalupe painted on the sides of the car. I thought it was nice because I have always been into art and the Virgin of Guadalupe was extremely important to my family, but others would describe it as ghetto. Growing up my parents would always tell my siblings and I that “hacer rendir las cosas” was important and something we had to practice. My family, especially my dad has always been the type to recycle and create something new out of something that someone would consider trash. Growing up, I always wanted a doll house, and my dad bought one from a yard sale and he painted the entire thing and made something new out of it. One of my friends loves thrift shopping and she loves to add her own design to her clothes, so she paints on the jeans and makes them into unique pieces. My uncle, would make wallets or necklaces out of wrappers and it is something that a lot of Chicanas/os do. When rasquachismo is done by a female it is called domesticana. Before this week's reading I had no idea what rasquachismo was but it is very interesting to see how it has been a part of my life.