Overview of Rasquache
The term rasquache originated from Mexico. Initially, it had a negative connotation among the indigenous Mexicans. Most people perceived it as an attitude of being impoverished or of a lower class. The Low-class people often get considers as low-value individuals in the social ladder. Most of them worked as slaves and servants throughout history. However, the Mexican art movement reversed this definition. Their efforts and hard work gave the term a newer and more appealing meaning. They managed to transform this low-class sensibility into an art.
"Rasquachismo" mainly focuses on the professional and material limitations that most artists face at the moment. The majority of them are from humble backgrounds. They have weak economic power and struggle to make ends meet. Most of their resources get used to meet subsistence needs. This particular form of art utilizes the most basic, quickest, simplest and crudest means necessary to create the desired expression. Ultimately the goal of rasquache is to send out a message and showcase individual talent, imagination, and creativity. The essence of this practice is that it creates beauty and magnificence out of what gets regarded as invaluable.
The spontaneous and irrelevant get employed to make the most out of the least. When people get faced with challenging situations and they have limited resources, they must think out of the box. This critical thinking process will enhance their creativity, and they will use whatever they have to accomplish great and remarkable tasks. The aesthetic expressions arise from fragments, discards, and commonly recycled material. Such material might include, but not limited to plastic bottles, garment buttons, discarded wood and many other abstract items. However, the most common expressions get found in paintings and graffiti. These works of art usually bear secret meanings and try to communicate certain messages (Barnet-Sanchez, Ybarra-Frausto & Mesa-Bains 91)
The spirit of Rasquache
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD1IlB4Cxpw
An example of outstanding art quality can get found in the rasquache patterns within the video entitled "Spirit of Rasquache." This video showcases the strong sense of rasquache in the western side of the city of San Antonio in Texas. Culture normally has some very tangible physical qualities. Such attributes include works of art the likes of carvings and artifacts. Included in the features are the types of architectural designs and other abstract expressions of art. Most of the time, these expressions often get overlooked for a variety of reasons. For one, their common characteristics allow people to take them for granted. As aforementioned, this type of art uses ordinary everyday objects; some of which are part of rejected items. Most people do not give a second thought to such items anytime they come across them. Or still, when they interact with such objects, they consider them as useless items of little value.
Another reason why these things get overlooked is that the artifacts and objects are out of the ordinary. Most of them are the creations of the deep imaginative sense of the human mind. They manifest, the artist's ideas and ideals in ways unique to the creator of the art. Sometimes it takes a little explanation and enlightenment from the artists themselves for an outsider to understand. The untrained eye might refuse or fail to recognize how they form the fabric of our daily expressions (Ybarra-Frausto 11).
In the real essence, these artifacts and pieces of art are simply a mirror of our everyday lives. Some are visual manifestations of our beliefs, customs, and other cultural practices. Various artists even use paintings as social commentaries to relay a particular message or teach morals and ideals. For this reason, art can even shape our ways of life. The messages sent through these artworks usually promote or dissuade us from adhering to a particular sub-culture. Over time, our adherence to or avoidance of such messages and ideas become part of our habits. In the long run, habits become our way of life.
In the Spirit of Rasquache” video, the drawings and patterns exhibit urban art and creativity. This practice commonly gets witnessed in the backstreet areas associated with people of little economic power. Most of the youth in these regions are idle, and some find a source of creative energy through art and paintings. The Chicano culture gives numerous styles and forms that have infused into our urban homes, sidewalks, and yards. Most of this culture has an esoteric meaning meant to get understood by the locals. The culture decorates the entire community. It gives them a sense of indigenous fashion.
A recent development, however, is that urban forms of Chicana/o are under constant attack. The most speculated reason is that they are representative of a departure and separation from whiteness including its numerous privileges. The concept of whiteness has a strong influence and continuously strives to erode the original taste of the local dwellers of San Antonio. Earlier Chicanos heavily incorporated whitening. This was a form of hidden racism. It promoted a romanticized European appeal at the expense of an indigenous reality.
Europeans tried to downplay the local culture and promote theirs. They felt their culture was more superior than the native. Therefore, they wanted to give a European outlook to any culture they encountered as a sign of dominance. Europeans had an imperialistic mentality. Though the Chicano models looked indigenous, Helguera's women had a lighter complexion as well as dark eyes. Their waists were tiny, and hair was brown. All these features were typical of European women.
The western side of San Antonio not only showcases its prowess in the visual arts. There is more to the city that paintings and graffiti. These inhabitants have apparently understood the annals of Rasquache. They have turned their clutter into art and used it to enhance their cultural identity in many ways than one.
Pride and Resilience
The art of Rasquache boosts their self-image. Western San Antonio is composed of communities that are not well off. As such they look for whichever ways at their disposal to make ends meet. One constructive way is through their local art. The fact that they can do a whole lot with very little is a milestone in itself. Such activities even go a long way in saving them costs of purchasing various items. They can improvise most of the simple tools and appliances they use in their daily lives.
Amateur home renovation helps to improve the look of the houses. Furthermore, it is a cheap cost-saving method of making repairs and replacements in the home. During this exercise, the locals also get amateur technical skills, especially the young ones. This will ensure that the Rasquache culture gets carried on to the next generation. As a result, the cultural integrity gets upheld and maintained. The attainment of skills also gives them a sense of pride and boosts their self-esteem. It provides a means of employment in an area where the rate of unemployment is high.
The experience in this place is authentic. It is also unique to the West San Antonio residents. They are a do-it-yourself society that takes pride in innovation and self-expression. They can use objects such as scrap metal to make various items such as roasting grills. They can even convert an old shark into a local bar. Such activities even become tourist attractions that bring income to the local community. The fact that their community becomes a tourist attraction makes their culture a national heritage. This condition further boosts their cultural pride.
Resilience can get defined as the capacity of a system or entity to renew and maintain itself. This process typically occurs in the presence of impediments that challenge the visibility or the existence of the system. Rasquache has enhanced the local culture’s capacity to maintain its identity amidst the world with rapid modernization and cultural erosion. It has also enabled the preservation of some cultural knowledge through art. This fact is evident in the conservation of the local cuisine in which they get to enjoy some of their favorite dishes. Their strong culture can mingle and bleed into other cultures without losing its essence.
Reclaiming and reconnecting with the land
People of Mexican descent have a long history in the state of Texas, which includes the city of San Antonio. Indigenous peoples formerly occupied the area long before e the arrival of Spanish explorers. The Spaniards arrives and claimed that particular territory for Spain. They accomplished this task via a process called mestizaje. In this process, the Native Americans and the Spaniards had children of mixed descent. They possessed both indigenous and Spanish blood. These children became known as mestizo.
For this reason, the local inhabitants of the city have a strong connection to the land. Some of the cultural practices have persisted for centuries. By continuing to practice them, they build deeper roots into their ancestry and develop strong bonds with their native land. They also appreciate their climate and the changing of seasons. They glorify their fertile and productive land by claiming that San Antonio is a place where the leaves become Earth (Pizarro 192).
Works cited
Barnet-Sanchez, Holly. "Tomás Ybarra-Frausto and Amalia Mesa-Bains: A Critical Discourse from Within." Art Journal 64.4 (2005): 91-93. Print.
Pizarro, M. A. R. C. "Racial formation and Chicana/o identity: Lessons from the Rasquache." Race, ethnicity, and nationality in the United States: Toward the twenty-first century (1999): 191-214. Print.
Ybarra-Frausto, Tomas. "Rasquache: A Chicano Sensibility." Phoenix: MARS Artspace (1987). Print.
