San Antonio Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto coined the term rasquachismo in his 1989 essay, Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility.
The cultural aesthetic was born in Chicano neighborhoods and is familiar to many working class families on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The style — born out of a place of scarcity — relies on resourcefulness and ingenuity. It’s bold, religious, political, and personal.
San Antonio’s McNay Art Museum is celebrating over three decades of rasquache art with the exhibit, Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility.
More than 50 paintings, sculptures, and installations from artists like San Antonio's Juan de Dios Mora, Laredo native, Miki Rodriguez, and El Paso’s Luis Jimenez.
Mia Lopez, the McNay’s curator of Latinx art, said the exhibit showcases a range of rasquache interpretations.
“What we're trying to pull together are examples … how this concept, these sensibilities, continue to influence artists,” she said. “It’s about creating a conversation and bringing a dialog.”
The exhibit also features work from Ybarra-Frausto’s own personal collection.
Ybarra-Frausto said while the exhibit highlights rasquachismo, it does not categorize all Chicano artists as rasquache artists.
“The mantra is no longer, ‘We are different,’” he said. “(Rasquache) is part of the larger concepts … that make American art and make art a valid thing for all people and all cultures. This is one aspect of that.”
Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility is on display at the McNay through March 30.
Lopez and Ybarra-Frausto will give visitors a last look at the exhibit on a curator talk and tour on March 27.
Click here to listen to Ybarra-Frausto and Lopez discuss more about rasquachismo.
