Rasquachismo and Domesticana

In the Rasquachismo section from the Chicano and Chicana Art: A Critical Anthology, they discuss this style of living and the art produced from it. This lifestyle is a product of generations of oppression and poverty and because of this lack of resources, Latinos had to “work with what they had.” An example of rasquachismo I experienced in my life would be how growing up my family and I had very little money, so whenever my mother went out for an iced coffee at Starbucks (which was rare), after she finished her coffee she would wash the plastic cup she received the coffee in and before going out to work, make her own iced coffee in the same cup to “flex” on her coworkers. Though this is not an example of art, this is an example of how Latinos work with they have to make the most of their living situations. This is the art of Rasquachismo. 

 Rasquachismo goes hand in hand with domesticana because domesticana is Latina rasquachismo. By this I mean, it is still the same rasquachismo I mentioned previously but with domesticana it is intertwined with the machismo and hierarchal gender roles of men over females that females have to live through. Despite the oppression women must live through, with domesticana style art they channel these emotions with decorative altars, home embellishments, healing traditions, etc. From my personal experiences, I know during Christmas my mother and other tias get very creative and artsy when decorating their nativity altars with ribbons, flowers, pictures of family members, candles and colorful tinsel.