What is rasquachismo?

"Rasquachismo" describes an underdog perspective — a view from los de abajo. It is a stance rooted in making do, an attitude of survival, of adaptation, of transforming the mundane into the extraordinary.

Theorist Tomás Ybarra-Frausto reclaimed the term in the 1980s, reframing rasquachismo as an aesthetic and an attitude: the will to make do with what's available, to find dignity at the margins, to build culture from discarded materials.

Rasquache (también: rasquachi, rasquacho) es una palabra de origen popular mexicano reivindicada como estética y actitud: la voluntad de hacer con lo que hay, de encontrar dignidad en los márgenes, de construir cultura con materiales descartados.

What is this publication? / ¿Qué es esta publicación?

The Rasquache is an independent art criticism journal dedicated to aesthetics that operate outside or at the margins of dominant art world institutions: museums, commercial galleries, academies, markets.

We care about Chicano and Latin American art, popular aesthetics, street muralism, protest art, vernacular design, ritual objects, and any visual production that has been ignored, undervalued, or misread by hegemonic criticism.

Una revista de crítica de arte independiente dedicada a las estéticas que operan fuera — o en los márgenes — de las instituciones dominantes: museos, galerías, academias, mercados. Nos interesa todo lo que la crítica hegemónica ha ignorado.

Our principles / Nuestros principios

• No sponsors. We don't accept advertising or institutional funding that compromises our editorial independence. Sin patrocinadores.
• Committed criticism. All art criticism is also political criticism. We don't pretend otherwise. Crítica comprometida.
• Spanglish is welcome. Code-switching isn't an error — it's a legitimate cultural practice and it's ours. Spanglish es bienvenido.
• Margin voices first. We prioritize writers and artists whose perspectives are absent from the critical mainstream. Voces de los márgenes primero.
• Free access, always. All content is free. Forever. Acceso libre. Siempre.

Want to contribute? / ¿Quieres contribuir?

We accept proposals for critical essays, exhibition reviews, artist profiles, and other forms of writing about visual art. The only requirement is that your perspective is rooted in what the art establishment ignores.

Aceptamos propuestas de ensayos críticos, reseñas de exposiciones, perfiles de artistas, y otras formas de escritura sobre arte visual. El único requisito es que tu perspectiva esté anclada en lo que el establishment del arte ignora.