10th SAAS CONFERENCE

“The Backyard of the U.S. Mansion: Critical readings of poverty and wealth in the United States”

Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).  April 14-16, 2011

 

8) We Are Poor, We Are Rich: Representations of Barrio Life in Chicano Popular Art and Culture

Panel Chair: Amaia Ibarraran Bigalondo
Institution: Universidad del País Vasco/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
E-mail: amaia.ibarraran@ehu.es

The proliferation of a Chicano body of literature that accompanied and supported the Movimiento Chicano, gave public visibility to the reality of US city barrios, where living conditions were precarious, educational resources scarce, gender division an everyday life issue, and violence, a growing phenomenon. The achievements of the Movimiento were many, but a quick glance at the sociological data proves that there are still issues unresolved in these still “marginalized” areas. However, and despite the harsh situation, the barrio also represents a shelter from the aggressions of the brutal economic (and ethnic) hierarchical arrangement of the social fabric in the country, becoming a “state of mind, (which) represents more than a space” (Díaz 2005: 56). In our day, this state of mind and its significance is being expressed not only through the most “canonical” means of cultural representation, but also through various and diverse forms of contemporary popular culture produced from and by the community. Hence, murals, graffiti, corridos, rap, gang culture and its defining, intrinsic body language and communication rites, among others, are becoming the most direct, sharp and effective means of (inter)personal and collective communication, as well as taking the pulse of the cultural production of contemporary Chicano youth.
In this context, the aim of this workshop is to explore diverse current Chicano popular artistic and cultural forms,  in an attempt to observe the way they portray poverty and dignity, violence and community, life and death, and in sum, barrio life and the new “barrio sociocultural ideology”. We welcome papers that address:

- popular culture as a means of formation of barrio ideology, gang life and culture,

- the relevance of street culture, murals, digital forms of artistic creation and new modes of
  performative and visual arts in the divulgation of barrio reality.

 

10th INTERNATIONAL SAAS CONFERENCE
Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, 14-16 April 2011

THE BACKYARD OF THE U.S.A. MANSION: Critical Readings of Poverty and Wealth in the United States

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Please, complete this form and send it, in electronic format (via e-mail), to the Chair of your selected panel. Deadline for sending proposals is October 29, 2010.