Review: “Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility”

In 1989, Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto published his essay, Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility. Whether he could have predicted it or not, with this essay, Ybarra-Frausto impacted the Chicano art realm in a powerful way. The scholar writes that, “Very generally, rasquachismo is an underdog perspective – a view from los de abajo [those on the bottom]. An attitude rooted in resourcefulness and adaptability yet mindful of stance and style… it has evolved as a bicultural sensibility among Mexican Americans. On both sides of the border, it retains an underclass perspective.” To be rasquache is to be an artist that utilizes any materials at hand. It is to bring Mexican American culture from the barrios (neighborhoods) and the colonias (border neighborhoods) to museums.

Decades later, the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio celebrates Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility, organized by Mia Lopez, the Curator of Latinx Art. It is clear that Ybarra-Frausto’s words struck a chord with working class contemporary Chicano artists that continues to resonate to this day.

And what a different time it is now, in 2025, compared to 1989. Chicano artists are receiving long overdue retrospectives. Exhibits centered on the borderlands are displayed at museums in San Antonio, other parts of Texas, and beyond. Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility intrigues viewers with artwork that represents the artists’ unapologetic identities.

Miki Rodriguez’s Shapeshifter stands out. The artist juxtaposes multiple fabrics, including serapes, to create a geometric form. The larger fabrics contain small, circular designs that are integrated onto their larger surface. Hanging from these circular designs are threads, which themselves contain beads. 

The colorful display recalls the form of Coatlicue, a Mesoamerican Mother Goddess, reinforcing the spiritual and ancestral connections embedded in Rodriguez’s work. The layered fabrics and intricate beadwork suggest transformation and movement, working to capture the viewer’s attention and elevating found objects into an artistic harmony of shapes and colors. Additionally, they convey the artist’s ties to her hometown, Laredo, and how the landscape influences her. By merging traditional textiles with contemporary abstraction, Rodriguez’s Shapeshifter becomes both a visual and cultural embodiment of resilience, identity, and spiritual renewal. Rodriguez uses materials at hand, in the way that a true rasquache artist does.

Miki Rodriguez, Mexican American, born 1956, “Shapeshifter,” 2024, Mixed recycled fiber. Courtesy of Miki Rodriguez.

Juan de Dios Mora also has ties to Laredo. Mora’s Paletero Desfilador combines symbols and imagery from the neighborhoods of the borderlands with humor. A winged luchador mask watches over a paletero (ice cream man) who pushes his cart on Chancla Street. The oversized paleta (ice cream), which the paletero holds, supports a hanging, illuminated coffee bean, with rays of light beaming out from the bean’s center. This motif is Mora’s spin on the racist term, “beaner,” which is often directed to Mexicans. In one of my one-on-one interviews with Mora, he revealed that being called this term in late elementary “really affected me… I did not understand how kids at 9 or 10 years old understood racism. It had to come from somewhere.” This is a bean that ascends to heaven. He reimagines this term, turning it into a personal symbol of affirmation in his early Mexican upbringing that appears in many of his prints.

Mora’s paletero functions as an avatar of the Mexican American experience. The paleta he holds and the cart that he pushes portray him as the bearer of culture and community. This is a view of los de abajo, who Ybarra-Frausto is so fond of with his words.

Juan de Dios Mora, American, born 1984, “Paletero Desfilador” (Parade of the Popsicle Man), 2010, linocut. Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo. Courtesy of Juan de Dios Mora.

Ruth Buentello brings viewers into the interior of a home the paleteros pass by with their carts. Buentello’s The Last Supper is based on her family photographs. This family is rasquache; they are working class Mexican Americans. Notice the tiger painting, a framed family portrait, decorative cross, and a framed depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper on the wall. These are elements of Buentello’s Mexican American family that loom above them as they eat pizza and drink Big Red while watching TV. This painting is effectively a Chicana version of The Last Supper.

Ruth Buentello, American, born 1984, “The Last Supper,” 2017, Acrylic on canvas with lace. Courtesy of Ruth Buentello.

Rasquachismo is the type of exhibit that fits perfectly in San Antonio’s majority-Hispanic community. I encourage all people to come witness the vibrancy, resourcefulness, and the pride of the Mexican and Chicano artists in this exhibit that shines through.

Rasquachismo: 35 Years of a Chicano Sensibility is on display at the McNay Art Museum until March 30, 2025.