Rasquache Art Through Mexican, Chicane, & Latine Cuisine
Food is a form of Chicane/Latine Rasquachismo Art
Art transcends beyond borders. From musical corridos to fashion like Zoot Suits, self/community expression has been at the forefront of much Latine resistance against American intervention and idealism.
Food has been another source of resilient expression by provoking emotion, honoring those who came before us, and grounded one in their identities and to their homelands.
The art of food, such as the gathering of ingredients, preparing of dishes/meals, and the consumption of it will be analyzed under the lens of rasquachismo.
“Rasquache” typically refers to something with ‘no value’ or ‘left over.’ However, in Chicano vernacular, rasquachismo has become a way of life, an attitude or aesthetic that describes the Mexican and Chicano resilience against American “respectability”.
Rasquachismo is resilient since it requires using what one has on hand, existing in an environment on the edge of coming apart. The aesthetic of using what is “left over” reminds society that despite the political and social oppression marginalizing Latino/a/x people, they still rise above—creating art & cuisine that fundamentally sustains and is coveted by many.
Every day, younger generations of Latine people are embracing their cultures in new and different ways than many of their predecessors (Anderson 2017). Most of this is due to the variety of experiences they are exposed to, such as higher education, or being born/raised within a US context versus a Mexican one. The pains of assimilation—or attempting to adopt a culture other than one’s own can create confusion and disruption from understanding one’s own cultural roots. Rasquachismo allows the Mexican and Chicano/a/x community to liberate themselves from the constraints of social structures and its pressure.
The gathering of ingredients, preparation of them, and consumption of Mexican American/Chicano food can be a form of rasquachismo - an act of defiance or resistance against the assimilation many face while living within the US. Let us explore rasquachismo as an art form to better understand the use of it as a lens for the cooking and consumption of food.
Rasquachismo as an art form
Rasquache Art was born mostly out of resistance and survival, but has shifted beyond survival. Originally, rasquache was used to describe something that has no value, and/or used as an adjective to describe one’s social or economic class (Anderson 2017).
Many Chicanes and Mexican-American people have redefined rasquachismo to describe the cultural and multi-purposeful artwork many would use to add personality to their homes. As this notion of rasquache continued, there came joy in making a statement.
It brings joy to one’s life to make statements, such as decorating a yard with Virgin de Guadalupes and pink flamingos, making one’s truck ride lower than supposed to, or eating a warm plate of chilaquiles.
However, the Chicano and Mexican-American community transformed rasquachismo from a form of repurposing or reusing items to representative and expressive art, since the bicultural identity they hold is “scorned as Un-American by the dominant culture” (Ybarra-Frausto 1991). The artwork is neither “American” or “Mexican,” but rather both. Rasquache art has become a hybrid of both identities.
As the artwork became more intentional by Chicanos/Mexican-Americans over time, it was not initially accepted into the realm of fine art (Anderson 2017). It was later when artists and intellectuals explored, interpreted, and deciphered the Chicano cultural matrix and recognized the strength and meaning behind the creative layers of everyday life practices that Rasquache art was seen as a fine art form (Ybarra-Frausto 1991).
Rasquache art defined
Founder and academic Alicia Gaspar de Alba, splits Rasquache art into three levels of existence:
- Rasquachismo is not really art at all
- Rasquache as a commercialized form of Chicane/Mexican-American symbols made popular to sell products
- The realm of Rasquachismo accepted as fine art
This last tier describes Rasquachismo as going beyond survival, and embodies the notion of making the most with the least, hacer rendir las cosas. The everyday life experience by Chicanos and Mexican-Americans are behind the attitude and aesthetic of rasquachismo.
- Rasquachismo as a form of survival. Examples: repurposing old butter containers, selling botanas & elotes individually, shopping at Kmart, etc...
2. Rasquachismo becomes commercialized. Examples: Frida Kalo art, bright & vibrant "Latin" patterns, la Virgin de Guadalupe on candles, bags and more, Taco Bell, "Taco Tuesday," etc..
3. Rasquachismo becomes a fine art form that still embodies the working class aesthetic because it "[creates an] attitude of survival and inventiveness” (1991)."
Examples include: elevating simple ingredients such as corn and instead using heirloom corn, critics looking into said art (food, physical, theatrical art, etc), "acceptance"
Moreover, Chicano and Mexican-American food can hit all three realms rasquachismo engages in, and embody the attitude/aesthetic that challenges the normative structures that exist in society. Food allows one to have good company while using simple ingredients such as corn, beans, and rice. By creating a feast with easy to access and cheap ingredients, many find the cuisine delectable and irresistible.
How We've Come On Top
Rasquachismo is a practice that disrupts this structure of whiteness and creates a counternormative structure. Art can transcend borders, and US neoliberal economic and social intervention and influence has caused many Mexican, Mexican-Americans, and Chicanos to defy the pressures influenced by the US government. After the placement of the NAFTA trade agreement, many Mexican people migrated north (Portes 2006). The creation of free-trade allowed many companies and agricultural businesses to find cheaper labor elsewhere, and Mexicans were left unemployed (Portes 2006).
Rasquachismo, in the words of Ybarra-Frausto is a working class aesthetic because “it responds to a direct relationship with the material level existence or subsistence [that creates an] attitude of survival and inventiveness” (1991). For many that migrated north, or were conquered by the US western expansion, have defied the “normative” culture by resurfacing pieces of home through their everyday lived reality.
Rasquachismo art through food— in practice
Miguel Lopez Jr., Co-Owner of Homi Restaurant in St. Paul, MN
Food is grounding and rasquachismo art. Creating food to self proclaim one's identity gives strength to continue living in a world where the practice of whiteness are in place. Mexican/Mexican-American and Chicane cusine allows for liberation and a portal back home, to the memories that exist where one is experiencing joy and belonging.
Miguel Lopez Jr., co-owner of Homi Restuarant, describes the comfort of Mexican/Mexican-American and Chicane food to remind oneself of "home." Despite his entire family living within the US, home describes a feeling, or memories, rather than a place.
"Whatever is in the kitchen, those are the best ingredients—because you can make something out of nothing." - Miguel Lopez
Lopez describes where one can find the best ingredients and the importance of simplicity in cooking.
"In the beginning it was a necessity. It was a lot of things that caught my attention from it. The camaraderie of the people, how noisy the kitchen was. There was always music, there was always laughs that made me remember the kitchens in my house." - Gustavo Romero
Gustavo Romero, Co-Owner and chef at Nixta Tortilleria and Restaurant in Minneapolis, MN.
Rasquache art often begins with survival, but transforms to become personality, joy, and characteristics that look out for the community. The idea of rasquachismo is counternormative because it allows for Mexican, Mexican-American and Chicane people to live authentically and unapologetically.
Gustavo Romero, co-owner and chef of Nixta, sees that cooking and the environment of the kitchen transports him to a comfort and safe space to be completely himself— and then to be able to share that with others.
Romero describes the responsibility of sharing the experience of food. Because the food/art experience is so profound, it allows people to be fully human despite society consistently dehumanizing the Mexican/Mexican-American/Chicane lived reality.
The everyday life experience by Chicanes, Mexican and Mexican-Americans are behind the attitude and aesthetic of rasquachismo.
Different ways food is shared, consumed, or advertised. While food often is prepared or seen as a necessity for survival, it reaffirms one's cultural identity and provides joy.
Rasquachismo has united communities because the Mexican, Mexican-American, and Chicane communities had to embody this attitude of survival with joy. So when one experiences rasquachismo through food, it brings one back to the baseline that might unite communities who have faced similar struggles induced by American exceptionalism/capitalism. It takes simple ingredients such as beans and rice and turns them into marvelous and nutritious dishes that not only feed stomachs, but allows for liberation from the constraints of the world. Our survival exists beyond putting food on the table, but rather the legacy of tastes and recipes of our expressional food and defiant culture.