Chicano Renaissance
The Chicano Renaissance refers to a cultural revival among Chicanos in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, marked by a significant surge in artistic and literary expression. This movement emerged amidst broader sociopolitical changes and was characterized by the creation of a wide array of artistic works, including literature, visual arts, theater, and music, all reflecting the Chicano experience. The term was first popularized by Philip D. Ortego y Gasca, particularly in connection with Tomás Rivera's influential book, “... y no se lo tragó la tierra,” published in 1971.
Key components of the Chicano Renaissance included the establishment of dedicated presses, journals, and annual art and literary festivals that drew inspiration from Aztec traditions. The literature from this era often addressed themes of identity, racism, and cultural heritage, with many works being published in both Spanish and English. Notable figures such as Rudolfo A. Anaya, Sandra Cisneros, and Alurista emerged as leading voices during this period, while theater initiatives like Teatro Campesino introduced politically charged performances to rural audiences.
Additionally, the Chicano Renaissance had a significant impact on music, blending traditional Mexican sounds with contemporary styles and achieving national recognition. The movement also influenced cinema, leading to notable films that explored Chicano identities and experiences. Overall, the Chicano Renaissance represented a vital assertion of cultural identity and artistic expression for Chicanos, laying the groundwork for ongoing contributions to American arts and culture.
Chicano Renaissance
History
During the 1960’s and 1970’s, when the United States was experiencing profound sociopolitical changes, Chicanos experienced a rebirth in culture and the arts. Chicanos, long exploited and awaiting their turn for recognition and justice, began to create a proliferation of artistic and literary works. Chicanos began their own presses, journals, art, theater, and literature. Philip D. Ortego y Gasca first labeled this burst of creativity as the Chicano Renaissance. Ortego’s pronouncement came in conjunction with the publication of Tomás Rivera’s . . . y no se lo tragó la tierra-and the Earth Did Not Part (1971). Conferences held in Denver in 1969 and in 1970, which led to written goals for the creation of the field of Chicano studies, also may be used as markers of the beginning of the Chicano Renaissance.
Creativity
Annual national art and literary festivals were created. These festivals were modeled after Aztec festivals and reestablished tradition. They upheld a new consciousness that went beyond the aesthetic to the political. Poetry, murals, sculpture, and prose works flowered. New Chicano student organizations and journals also came into being. Organizations created newsletters, activist newspapers, and publications, including El Chicano, Con Safos, El Gallo, El Grito, and El Grito del Norte. Anthologies of Chicano literature include El Espejo (1969) and La Cosecha (1977).
Themes
Chicano literature during this rebirth was concerned with the plight of the Chicano and with the minority experience. The works of the 1970’s are often in Spanish. Later works are often in English. The Chicano Renaissance has sustained itself—many books, festivals, and artistic works continue to be produced. In either language, Chicano literature is often concerned with inhumanity, death, curanderismo, Aztec heritage, Catholicism, machismo, racism, exploitation, feminism, and the tenacity of the Chicano family. Leading poets and writers of the Chicano Renaissance include Alurista, Rudolfo A. Anaya, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Sandra Cisneros, Rolando Hinojosa, Pat Mora, Tomás Rivera, Ricardo Sánchez, and Alma Luz Villanueva. Theater of the Chicano Renaissance originated with the Teatro Campesino of Luis Miguel Valdez in 1965. This theater presented politically charged short plays to audiences of farmworkers. Valdez’s Zoot Suit (1978) was a stage and film success.
Music and Cinema
In music, the Chicano Renaissance frequently adapted traditional Mexican music to the popular sounds of 1970’s. Chicano music has always been a rich hybrid of Mexican and American styles—music of the Chicano Renaissance is often affirming of Chicano identity and openly political. Musical styles and forms created in Spanish and in English reached national and international audiences. Chicano conjunto music additionally became popular across social and cultural lines, reaching as far as Japan. The Chicano Renaissance eventually reached mainstream cinema, resulting in La Bamba (1987), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), the film version of Zoot Suit (1981), Stand and Deliver (1988), and American Me (1992). Robert Rodriguez and Carlos Gallardo made waves in the motion picture industry in 1993 when their thriller El Mariachi, made for seven thousand dollars, was picked up for distribution by Columbia Pictures.
Bibliography
Bruce-Novoa, Juan. “History as Content, History as Act: The Chicano Novel.” Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies 24, no. 1 (Spring, 1987): 29.
Esquibel, Catriona Rueda. With Her Machete in Her Hand: Reading Chicana Lesbians. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006. This exhaustive study of the development of Chicana literature traces its origins and progression from the 1980s to today. Esquibel looks at a range of genres, including long fiction, short fiction, and drama, written by Chicana and Chicano authors about lesbian culture. Some themes she examines are childhood friendships, activism, lesbian relationships, and cultural history. This is an excellent book for anyone interested in lesbian studies and Chicana writing.
Klein, Dianne. “Coming of Age in Novels of Rudolfo Anaya and Sandra Cisneros.” English Journal 81 (September, 1992): 21.
Saldívar, José, and H. Calderón, eds. Criticism in the Borderlands: Studies in Chicano Literature, Culture, and Ideology. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1991.