Chicanismo
Encyclopedia
Chicanismo is a cultural movement begun in the 1960s in the Southwestern United States
by Mexican American
s to recapture their Mexican
, Native American
culture.
n pre-history; and (4) spiritually-influenced creative artistic imagination as reflected in the visual ARTS.
professor José B. Cuéllar, the first documented use of "chicamo" (not "Chicano") was around 1900, when "American Mexicans" in Texas
used the phrase chicao as a derogatory term for more recently arrived mexicanos.http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~josecuel/chicanismo.htm.
The East Palo Alto, California
Association states "the most likely source of the word is traced to the 1930 and 1940s period, when poor, rural Mexicans, often native Americans, were imported to the US to provide cheap field labor, under an agreement of the governments of both countries." http://www.epa.net/oepa/oepappt/display/6809/
Professor Cuellar opines that during the late 1950s the meaning of "Chicano" largely transformed from a negative signifier of "Mexican immigrant" into a positive self-identifier of "U.S. natives of mexicano descent." By 1959, high school students of Mexican descent identified themselves proudly as "Chicano". He notes that in the 1990s, other Latino
groups began to use the phrase "Chicano" to describe themselves.
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
by Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
s to recapture their Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
culture.
Major themes
The four major themes of Chicanismo are generally considered to be: (1) the power of the creative earth and labor upon it; (2) political transformation through collective efforts; (3) strong familial ties extending back into MesoamericaMesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n pre-history; and (4) spiritually-influenced creative artistic imagination as reflected in the visual ARTS.
Origins of the phrase
According to San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
professor José B. Cuéllar, the first documented use of "chicamo" (not "Chicano") was around 1900, when "American Mexicans" in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
used the phrase chicao as a derogatory term for more recently arrived mexicanos.http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~josecuel/chicanismo.htm.
The East Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States.-Overview:As of the 2010 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 28,155. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose...
Association states "the most likely source of the word is traced to the 1930 and 1940s period, when poor, rural Mexicans, often native Americans, were imported to the US to provide cheap field labor, under an agreement of the governments of both countries." http://www.epa.net/oepa/oepappt/display/6809/
Professor Cuellar opines that during the late 1950s the meaning of "Chicano" largely transformed from a negative signifier of "Mexican immigrant" into a positive self-identifier of "U.S. natives of mexicano descent." By 1959, high school students of Mexican descent identified themselves proudly as "Chicano". He notes that in the 1990s, other Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
groups began to use the phrase "Chicano" to describe themselves.
Spiritual artistic themes
- The Legend of PopocatépetlPopocatépetlPopocatépetl also known as "Popochowa" by the local population is an active volcano and, at , the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba...
and IztaccíhuatlIztaccíhuatlIztaccíhuatl , is the third highest mountain in Mexico, after the Pico de Orizaba, , and Popocatépetl, . Its name is Nahuatl for "White woman"....
. Iztaccíhuatl's father sent Popocatépetl to war in OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, promising him his daughter Iztaccíhuatl as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was told her lover was dead and she died of grief. When he returned, he in turn died of grief over losing her. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain was called "Sleeping Woman" because it bears a resemblance to a woman lying on her back. He became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire in blind rage at the loss of his beloved. - AztlánAztlánAztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
, the spiritual utopiaUtopiaUtopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n home of the Chicano people. Aztlán is believed to mean "Place of Whiteness" or "Place of Herons" (NahuatlNahuatlNahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...
aztatl heronHeronThe herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s/white-plumed birds + tlan(tli) rooted in (as a tooth)/the place of)). During the Spanish conquestSpanish colonization of the AmericasColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
of Mexico, the story of Aztlán gained importance and it was reported by Fray Diego DuránDiego DuránDiego Durán was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs, The History of the Indies of New Spain, a book that was much criticized in his lifetime for helping the "heathen" maintain their culture.Also known as the...
(1581) and others to be a kind of EdenGarden of EdenThe Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
-like paradise, free of disease and death, which existed somewhere in the far north. These stories helped fuel Spanish expeditions to what is now the Southwestern United States. - Our Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
, a Roman Catholic iconIconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
, is the title given to the Virgin Mary after appearing, according to legend, to Saint Juan Diego CuauhtlatoatzinJuan Diego CuauhtlatoatzinJuan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin or Juan Diego was, according to Mexican Catholic tradition, an indigenous Mexican who reported a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531. The legend of the apparition has had a significant impact on the spread of the Catholic faith within Mexico...
, an AztecAztecThe Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
convert to Catholicism, on TepeyacTepeyacTepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names "Tepeyacac" and "Tepeaquilla", is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost delegación or borough of the Mexican Federal District. It is the site where Saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December of 1531, and...
Hill near Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1531. The icon is currently located behind the main altar of the Basilica of Guadalupe. The icon has inspired art and murals in East Los AngelesEast Los Angeles, CaliforniaEast Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
. - Huei tlamahuiçolticaHuei tlamahuiçolticaHuei tlamahuiçoltica omonexiti in ilhuicac tlatocaçihuapilli Santa Maria totlaçonantzin Guadalupe in nican huei altepenahuac Mexico itocayocan Tepeyacac Huei tlamahuiçoltica omonexiti in ilhuicac tlatocaçihuapilli Santa Maria totlaçonantzin Guadalupe in nican huei altepenahuac Mexico itocayocan...
(Nahuatl: "The Great happening") is the title of a 36-page tractTract (literature)A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
written in 1649 by Luis Laso de la VegaLuis Laso de la VegaLuis Laso de la Vega was a 17th century Mexican priest and lawyer. He is known chiefly as the author of the Huei tlamahuiçoltica , an account published in 1649 and written in the Nahuatl language, which contains a narrative describing the reported apparition of the Virgin Mary before Saint Juan...
, the vicar of the chapel at TepeyacTepeyacTepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names "Tepeyacac" and "Tepeaquilla", is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost delegación or borough of the Mexican Federal District. It is the site where Saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December of 1531, and...
, which includes an account of the 1531 apparition of the Virgin Mary (as Our Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
) to Juan DiegoJuan Diego CuauhtlatoatzinJuan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin or Juan Diego was, according to Mexican Catholic tradition, an indigenous Mexican who reported a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531. The legend of the apparition has had a significant impact on the spread of the Catholic faith within Mexico...
, a native convertReligious conversionReligious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
. - White Buffalo Calf WomanWhite Buffalo Calf WomanWhite Buffalo Calf Woman , a sacred woman of supernatural origin, is treated as a prophet or a messiah and is central to the Lakota religion. Oral traditions relate that she brought the extended Lakota nation of the Teton Sioux their "Seven Sacred Rituals".- Story :The traditional story is that,...
, in Lakota mythologyLakota mythologyHere is a list of articles pertaining to Lakota mythology, a Native American people of North and South Dakota:#Anog Ite#Anoliy#Anpao#Canotila#Capa#Cetan#Haokah#Ictinike #Inyan#Iya#Ptehehincalasanwin #Skan#Tate...
, is a sacred woman of supernatural origin who gave the Lakota their "Seven Sacred Rituals".
Political expression
- See Chicano movementChicano MovementThe Chicano Movement of the 1960s, also called the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, also known as El Movimiento, is an extension of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement which began in the 1940s with the stated goal of achieving Mexican American empowerment.-Origins:The Chicano Movement...
- See Ignacio M. García, Chicanismo The Forging of a Militant Ethos among Mexican Americans (1997)
See also
- CalóCaló (Chicano)Caló is an argot or slang of Mexican Spanish which originated during the first half of the 20th century in the Southwestern United States. It is the product of zoot-suit pachuco culture.-Origin:...
- Rodolfo GonzalesRodolfo GonzalesRodolfo "Corky" Gonzáles was a Mexican American boxer, poet, and political activist. He convened the first-ever Chicano youth conference in March 1969, which was attended by many future Chicano activists and artists. The conference also promulgated the Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, a manifesto...
- PachucoPachucoPachucos are Chicano youths who developed their own subculture during the 1930s and 1940s in the Southwestern United States. They wore distinctive clothing and spoke their own dialect of Mexican Spanish, called Caló or Pachuco...
- AztlánAztlánAztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
- ChicanoChicanoThe terms "Chicano" and "Chicana" are used in reference to U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. However, those terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the world. The term began to be widely used during the Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican Americans, especially in the movement's...
- Chicano literatureChicano literatureChicano literature is the literature written by Mexican Americans in the United States. Although its origins can be traced back to the sixteenth century, the bulk of Chicano literature dates from after 1848, when the USA annexed large parts of what had been Mexico in the wake of the...
- Chicano movementChicano MovementThe Chicano Movement of the 1960s, also called the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, also known as El Movimiento, is an extension of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement which began in the 1940s with the stated goal of achieving Mexican American empowerment.-Origins:The Chicano Movement...
- Chicano nationalismChicano nationalismChicano nationalism is the ethnic nationalist ideology of Chicanos. While there were nationalistic aspects of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the Movement tended to emphasize civil rights and political and social inclusion rather than nationalism...
- Chicano poetryChicano poetryChicano poetry is a branch of American literature written by and primarily about Mexican Americans and the Mexican-American way of life in society. The term "Chicano" is a political and cultural term of identity specifically identifying people of Mexican descent who are born in the United States...
- Chicano studies
- History of Mexican-AmericansHistory of Mexican-AmericansThe history of Mexican-American people is wide-ranging, spanning more than four hundred years and varying from region to region within the United States...
External links
- el movimiento
- "I Am Joaquín: Rodolfo ‘Corky’ Gonzales and the Retroactive Construction of Chicanismo"
- "Chicano Art and Literature"
- Manuel Villar Raso and María Herrera-Sobek. "A Spanish Novelist's Perspective on Chicano/a Literature." Journal of Modern Literature 25.1 (2001) 17-34. online