Week 9

 In this week’s reading Deus Ex Machina: Tradition, Technology, and the Chicanafuturist by Catherine S. Ramirez, the author discusses how technology has not only changed the way Chicana art is being produced, but how it has advanced it. Chicanofutrism bares a resemblance, to me at least, to retrofuturism in which part of the past is juxtaposed with renditions of what the future may be like. In regards to chicanofuturism the author describes it as more the act of modernizing tradition. For instance the post shows a picture of The Virgen de Guadalupe, which is inherent in almost all of chicano tradition. One does not have to look far specifically in Mexican culture in order to find that image. However the image of Mary is painted in computer parts and chips rather than in it’s traditional mural style. I think this is a beautiful example of Chicanofuturism as it literally shows one of mexican cultures most iconic images and revitalizing it so that it remains its relevance as times change. Rather than allow aspects of culture to slowly die out because they lose relevance, I think it’s important that they too evolve along with the people themselves. I think another important aspect that is brought up is the idea that modernizing traditional images such as The Virgin, allow them to be more easily shared. While I think it is important to maintain respect and understanding for culture, I do also think it’s important to share the many wonderful aspects of one's culture. Chicanafuturism helps to both revitalize traditional culture and turn it into something that can be more easily understood by others not part of those cultural backgrounds. Oftentimes it can be difficult to understand aspects of another person’s culture because of the fact that they are predicated on being passed down generationally, and if one is not part of that lineage it can be difficult to contextualize. However, re imagining old aspects of culture in a more timely way can close that generational gap and allow others to connect with each other in an easier fashion.