Rasquachismo Explained

Rasquachismo is a theory developed by Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe "an underdog perspective, a view from "los de abajo" (from below) in working class Chicano communities which uses elements of "hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration" as a means of empowerment and resistance.[1] [2] Rasquachismo is commonly used to describe aesthetics present in the working class Chicano art and Mexican art movements which "make the most from the least." It has been described as a worldview, the "view of the underdog, which combines inventiveness with a survivalist attitude."[3] Artists will oftentimes depict experiences of their own life in the “barrio” or the experiences of being Mexican and Chicano. This art movement has also been defined by artists and scholar Amalia Mesa-Bains "as a survivalist irreverence

Notes and References

  1. Book: Taylor, Diana. The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas. Duke University Press. 2003. 9780822385318. 126–27.
  2. Book: Ybarra-Frausto, Tomás. Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility. School by the River Press. 1989.
  3. Book: Mesa-Bains, Amalia. Ceremony of Spirit: Nature and Memory in Contemporary Latino Art. The Mexican Museum. 1993. San Francisco, California. 12–13. 9781880508022.