Rasquachismo

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Rasquachismo is a theory developed by Chicano scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe "an underdog perspective, a view from "los de abajo" (from below) in working class Chicano communities which uses elements of "hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration" as a means of empowerment and resistance.^[1][2][3] Rasquachismo is commonly used to describe aesthetics present in the working class Chicano art and Mexican art movements which "make the most from the least."^[4] It has been described as a worldview, the "view of the underdog, which combines inventiveness with a survivalist attitude."^[5][6]

Rasquachismo is rooted in the older term rasquache, which is the English form of the Spanish term rascuache,^[7] of Nahuatl origin.^[8] While the term was widely used as a classist slur, it has been reclaimed to highlight the creativity and uniqueness in Chicano and Mexican working-class communities.^[2][9] Beyond being simply frugal, the rasquache philosophy also involves inventing new uses for conventional objects. This may mean giving a new function to something that would conventionally be considered broken or otherwise 'useless.'^[5]