Blog 9: Chicana Futurism

When first hearing the term Chicana Futurism, my initial thoughts was the effects technology had on the Chicanx art pieces and culture. Catherine S. Ramirez defines "Chicanafuturism" as the cultural transformations in response to the up and coming technological changes. These new everyday technologies create and alter stories of identity, technology and the future. Drawing on Nelson's definition of "Afrofuturism", Chicanafuturism also proposes new meanings for defining humanism and the human that aligns with modern technology and scientific promises. What makes Martinez's work so interesting is that it merges science and spirituality into her pieces. She salvages technological pieces that people have discarded and recreates these circuit board parts into images and icons from her New Mexico culture, as seen in her Corazon de Guadalupe. 

Using technology Martinez transforms the traditional art style of the Indo-Hispanic and highlights New Mexico's history as being a landfill for technological trash. By doing this she challenges the nostalgia and romanticism vision of the "Land of Enchantment" by interrogating the lines of Chicana and Hispanic identity. Martinez recognizes that change is inevitable, but that does not mean a total loss. Her work is meant to inspire and introduce tradition and culture through this new media. Using the tools of the present provides the opportunity to define the past and who she imagines her people to be in the past. Martinez's Chinanafuturism shows the need and value in change by using the inspiration from traditional practices. She manipulates these traditional practices by "locating them in the technologies of the present" (159). Having read this I see know that Chicanafuturism is not just how technology will change culture but also how culture will be translated through new devices. 

Marion C. Martinez, Corazon de Guadalupe