Rasquachismo is rooted in classism with negative connotations held on by outsiders peering in. It represents survival and frugalness, but with flair. As a child growing up in South Central you come to see examples of such flair all around, in Watts stand the towers built by Simon Rodia who was able to build sculptures and mosaics by collecting and reusing broken bottles, aluminum cans, and scrapped steel. He is symbolic of such ideas that embody rasquachismo as he reinvented an empty lot at the end of a dead end street into a structural icon.
Rasquachismo has been prevalent within my life, without my knowledge. The term is new, but the practice isn’t. My mother has been reinventing and finding new uses for items since I was a child, she was able to keep me entertained with simple contraptions that would peak my interest. A personal favorite that I can remember was an empty soda bottle with marbles inside, and though it sounds scrappy I can remember truly enjoying myself with those creations. Even the boxes she used to store away her finds were old shoeboxes, which can still be found around my home. The shoeboxes almost act as a treasure chest of memories, once I open them I am bombarded with recollections of my childhood and the beauty attached to those memories.
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