Monday, June 6, 2011

Jaiton and Rasquache

In a continuation of the Naco-Fresa divide discussion I previously touched on, I found interesting qualifying terms for what might describe the difference in the Naco as opposed to the Fresa aesthetic.
In his article "Brown: the Politics of Working-Class Chicano Style," Curtis Marez discusses the differences between "high class" and "low class" aesthetic and how music and style symbolize belonging.

Marez writes:
"The opposite of jaiton is rasquache, or "low class." Though close, this translation of rasquache does not adequately capture the word's confrontational meanings. According to Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, rasquachismo describes an in-your-face aesthetic, "the attitude, tastes or life-style of the underdog, where status is elevated with garish decoration." Rasquache "articulate(s) a stance that repudiates the Anglo experience"-and, I might add, the experiences of upwardly mobile Chicanos.19 In southern Texas, for example, musical tastes have historically divided working-class and middle-class Chicanos. While the former listen to conjunto, the latter generally prefer orquesta, a Chicano big band
music with links to American and Latin American styles. Orquesta aficionados often scorn the "crudeness" of conjunto, while conjunto fans think that orquestai s too "jaiton."20F or his part, Freddy Fender explains that he was never drawn to orquesta-its performers "thought they were too hot
shit for me."21 Just as "making do" becomes a means of affirming brown ingenuity, the rasquache character of conjunto allows working-class Chicanos to construct an alternative cultural identity as a counter to highbrow style"(123).

Marez, Curtis. "Brown: the Politics of Working-Class Chicano Style." Social Text. 14.3 (1996): 109. Print.

One the figures Marez's refers to in his discussion of working-class Chicano style is El Vez; here are a couple videos:

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QEO_AEhUg3I?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The song "Suspicious Minds/Immigration Times":

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9A27qCNEEk0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

El Vez Suspicious Minds/Immigration Times