“Marking 35 Years of Rasquachismo: A Cultural Legacy”

# Exploring Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility at the McNay Art Museum

### Introduction to Rasquachismo
In the realm of Chicanx aesthetics, *rasquachismo* represents a unique visual and cultural sensibility that transforms the mundane into something empowering and exuberant. First theorized by scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto in 1989, *rasquachismo* captures a working-class, resourceful, and often defiant artistic expression, characterized by a “rough-and-tumble, slapdash vitality.” The new exhibition, *Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility*, currently on display at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, honors this radical artistic approach by showcasing a compelling selection of works from the museum’s permanent collection.

### Defining Rasquachismo through Contemporary Art
The exhibition best illustrates *rasquachismo* when applied to contemporary artworks that embrace its playful, defiant nature. One standout piece, *Mi Chicano Corazon* (2023) by Einar and Jamex de la Torre, exemplifies the fusion of everyday objects with rich symbolism. Featuring a large glass and resin heart erupting from a car wheel, this striking work is adorned with amber plastic jewels and sprouting nopales (cacti), reinforcing themes of resilience and identity within Chicanx culture.

Additionally, *Fence Section #3* (2021) by Antonio Lechuga cleverly reuses *cobijas*—fleece blankets featuring popular motifs like snarling tigers and the Virgin of Guadalupe. These blankets intertwine with chain-link fencing structures, referencing the U.S.-Mexico border and broader conversations on migration, commerce, and security. Such works embody *rasquachismo*’s ethos of transforming familiar materials into layered political statements.

### High-Low Aesthetics in Older Works
The presence of older works in the exhibition illuminates the high-low aesthetic hybrid that defines *rasquachismo*. Ruth Buentello’s *Last Supper* (2017) humorously remixes Leonardo da Vinci’s famous religious scene by substituting a Chicanx family dining on pizza, while juxtapositions like a small replica of da Vinci’s original painting alongside family photographs further blur the boundaries between high art and domestic culture.

On the sci-fi end of the spectrum, Juan de Dios Mora’s *Salimos Rechinando (We Left Squeaking)* (2012) reimagines spacecraft as lowrider-style vehicles assembled from car engines, wheel rims, and plane propellers. This work particularly highlights the ingenuity of *rasquachismo*—transforming discarded mechanical scraps into something fantastical and full of cultural pride.

### Approaching *Domesticana* and Chicanx Feminism
One section of the exhibition introduces *domesticana*, a feminist counterpart to *rasquachismo* theorized by Amalia Mesa-Bains. This concept emphasizes how Chicana artists engage in activism and self-determination through everyday household and community-based materials. Yolanda López’s *Jaguar Woman Warrior* (1999), a screenprint dedicated to activist doctors Sandra Hernandez and Nilda Alverio, merges contemporary political concerns with pre-Columbian imagery—depicting a powerful woman adorned in an Aztec jaguar warrior suit amidst historically significant Laelia orchids. However, this piece raises a fundamental question: does honoring Mesoamerican ancestry and activism inherently align with *rasquachismo*, or does it fall into a separate tradition of reverence rather than defiant improvisation?

### The Limits of Rasquachismo
Despite its broad application, *rasquachismo* has its limits. The exhibition’s inclusion of Luis A. Jiménez’s *Fiesta (Diptych)* (1985) is particularly thought-provoking. The lithograph, featuring a Mexican couple performing the traditional *Jarabe Tapatío* dance, may evoke celebratory cultural identity, but it does not necessarily align with *rasquachismo*’s irreverent and resourcefully rebellious character. As Chicano artist César Martínez notes in the exhibition’s reader, “Those who use the term ‘rasquache’ need to be more discerning about whom or what they apply it to.”

### Conclusion: A Celebration of Chicanx Ingenuity
Ultimately, *Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility* succeeds in challenging and expanding how we define *rasquachismo* within Chicanx art history. While some works fit neatly into the movement’s irreverent and survivalist ethos, others reveal the tensions in applying a single theoretical lens across varying artistic expressions. The exhibition invites us to explore the radical creativity within expression and material transformation, reinforcing *rasquachismo* as an evolving testament to Chicanx resilience and cultural brilliance.