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Fronteras: 'Chicano art is American art’ — McNay celebrates the impact of Chicano sensibility with ‘Rasquachismo’ exhibit

Artworks embody the concept of rasquachismo in the McNay Art Museum's latest exhibit, Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility.
Marian Navarro / TPR
Artworks embody the concept of rasquachismo in the McNay Art Museum's latest exhibit, Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility.

The term rasquache, though once used as slang for bad taste, now encompasses a unique Chicano aesthetic.

From repurposing old butter containers to using a shoelace to fix something on a bicycle, rasquache uses resourcefulness to optimize what you have.

San Antonio Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto coined the term “rasquachismo” in his 1989 essay, Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility.

Rasquachismo later became reflected in poetry, music, and visual arts fueled by the Chicano movement—it’s bold, elaborate, and rich.

The artistic influence of rasquachismo — and its feminist counterpart, domesticana -- is now on display at San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum.

Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility explores how rasquachismo has influenced Latino artists.

Ybarra-Frausto says rasquache art comes from scarcity and the predominantly middle- and working-class Latinos.

“When you're not rich, you make do with what you have,” he said. “I began seeing that artists were using that. They were defining themselves; they became very assertive.”

TPR's Norma Martinez interviews San Antonio scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto (center) and Mia Lopez (right), the McNay Museum's curator of Latinx art, at the McNay.
Marian Navarro / TPR
TPR's Norma Martinez interviews San Antonio scholar Tomás Ybarrra-Frausto (center) and Mia Lopez (right), the McNay Museum's curator of Latinx art.

Mia Lopez, the McNay’s curator of Latinx art, organized the exhibit.

She said rasquachismo has carried over to a new generation of artists.

“It’s this idea of the underdog perspective, sort of the Chicano/Latino response to camp and kitsch, as something that they want to celebrate and embrace and embody,” she said. “It’s an ethos.”

The exhibit features work from over two dozen artists that engage with a range of rasquache themes and ideas.

Tune in March 7 to tour some of the highlights from the exhibit.

Norma Martinez can be reached at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter at @NormDog1