1. In "Rhetoric of the Object" Jennifer Gonzalez identifies the aesthetic of Amalia Mesa- Bains' altar artwork as the "Chicano/a aesthetic of of accumulation, excess, and heterogeneity" characterized by rasquachismo, "a stance rooted in resourcefulness and adaptability, yet ever mindful of the aesthetics," (86). How do rasquachismo values translate to the Chicana feminist praxis?
2. In the NEA tribute video, Rosanna describes the altar making process and stresses the importance of the "oral tradition" on "creating the pieces that go onto the altar" (2:17). Ofelia Esparza states that "the most final and most dreaded death of all is to be forgotten" which forms the essence of her practice of creating public altars (2:52). How is rhetoric and meaning endowed onto these objects and how does this help carry on Chicano/a cultural traditions?
3. In "Altar, Alter", Perez says that the "embodied a space of some religious and gender freedom, as well as creativity, for the socially margined and oppressed," and thus mediates "the personal empowerment, of the alter" (93). How is this asynchronous with other stricter cultural traditions? How does this confer a strength and cultural survival?
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