Rasquachismo refers to an attitude or taste that does not follow societal norms. The attitude of rasquachismo includes being resourceful and adaptable but still in a stylish way. To be rasquache indicated that this person may be from the barrio, which is why many Chicanos that are emerging to the middle class avoid any trace of being rasquache because they want to leave behind the barrio lifestyle and move up social standings. Rasquachismo has been a part of my life without me realizing it, in terms of recycling due to limited resources. Containers of sour cream and butter were reused by my grandmother to store leftover food like beans, rice, salsa. It was always known that when reaching for a certain item like butter, one ran the chance of opening up the container and finding something completely different. Most famously, is reusing the Christmas cookie tins to put in sewing supplies. Another element of rasquachismo is being flamboyant and preferring bright colors, this reminded me of the homes back in Mexico. I have always noticed that homes in Mexico are painted bright colors meanwhile here in the United States homes tend to be painted in subtle colors. As a matter of fact, my family home back in Mexico is a very bright blue color and I use to complain to my father why he refused to use a neutral color and even my mother would tell him the use of different colors on the house made it look all "chilaquil", the same term used in the Chicano community when someone wears multiple colors in their outfit. Someone, usually an adult will say "Dios Mio, pareces chilaquil". But now I am able to connect this to rasquachismo and I have a deeper appreciation for these small things that to others may seem as funky or even "chunti". I think it is important to realize that participating in rasquachismo may not be for everyone and not just anyone can ignore outside influences and critiques especially since nowadays what most people want is simply to fit in and make the effort to not stand out and call attention which makes the individual prone to criticism. It is inspiring to see how the Chicano community resilience which results in learning to be resourceful, has a proper term, rasquachismo. But it is a shame that there are times where our resourcefulness can be looked down upon and seen as Ghetto until another ethnic group makes it trendy and part of their aesthetic.
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