Patssi Valdez was a Chicana teenager from East Los Angeles who lived in fear of a drunken father. Glugio ‘Gronk’ Nicandro was another boy of Mexican descent who wandered the streets of Star City without his parents worrying about him. … where it is located. Willie Herrón, a very young muralist, was another of these misunderstood young people who had to pick up his injured brother from the street with around twenty ice pick punctures. All were Chicanos, they were disgusted by the stigmatization of immigrants in the United States.Joined from the late 60s and 70s and wanted to give voice to a culture that had until then been relegated to the margins. Young activist and photographer Harry Gamboa Jr. brought them all together under the umbrella of the revolutionary magazine “Regeneración” and together they began performing “performances” in the streets of Los Angeles. They felt such a rejection of the claustrophobic environment of Anglo-Saxon America that they did not hesitate to call themselves ASCO. Thus was born an artistic group that would serve to demonstrate that all immigrants were not criminals, nor gang members, nor uneducated, but rather people of brilliant talent.
The Dart Festival of art films and documentaries has just inaugurated its ninth edition with the documentary ‘ASCO: Without Authorization’, directed by filmmaker Travis Gutiérrez Senger. The film describes the trajectory of one of the most influential groups in Chicano art which, without money, without recognition and without sponsors, did not ask anyone’s permission to take to the streets and make it a scene of freedom and imagination. “They decided to act, not to wait to be able to express their voice, but to impose it themselves from the first moment and, in this sense, they are a great source of inspiration for the entire generation of Chicano artists that followed,” Gutiérrez said in statements to ABC.
The group began in 1969, with the Chicano revolts of Los Angelesin one of the worst moments in the public image of immigrants, accused of promoting violence and chaos. The four decide to give voice to their community, but in a colorful, theatrical and sarcasm-filled way. In their first exhibition, which they will aptly name Asco, only their most angry, irregular, bad works will be hung on the walls. “We called our exhibitions ‘parties’ to entice people to come, and then we bombarded them with art when we had their attention,” Gamboa recalls.
Although they were great photographers and painters, their obsession quickly transformed into “performance,” occupying the streets and transforming them with revolutionary interventions. Among his first precise strokes, the painting of the walls of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as a protest against the absence of Chicano artists in its collection. In 2011, when the same museum will pay tribute to them with a complete retrospective, the cycle will be completed. “The Chicano community was and still is very large in Los Angeles and the fact that the city museum had no representation of their art was an unacceptable affront,” Gutiérrez acknowledges.
Rebellion in Los Angeles
Dramatic processions in the streets, “real” murals with Patssi Valdez attached to the wall with duct tape, parodies of the Virgin of Guadalupethe group gained notoriety at a forced pace, until the invention of the so-called “no movies” they attract the attention of the English-speaking world. Parodying Hollywood and the stereotypical image it gives of immigrants, they photograph frozen moments which in themselves explain cinema. They’re even creating non-movie awards in the image and likeness of the Oscars, with a huge plastic cobra dyed gold as the prize. “They have always been masters at marketing and selling their ideas. Humor is very important in his work. They achieve a perfect mix between entertainment and denunciation. Let’s say they take their art very seriously, but not themselves,” says Gutiérrez.
At the end of the 80s, the group broke up. There is no longer the same youthful enthusiasm and competitiveness, jealousy and envy among the members skyrocket. Patssi goes to study in New York. Herrón founded a post punk band called Los Ilegales and Gronk devoted himself to his solo paintings. Other artists join in, such as Humberto Sandoval or Rubén Zamorabut the spirit was lost until 1987, the date on which the group’s last artistic intervention was carried out. However, all that remains is a compact and revolutionary work whose echo still survives today.
The documentary saves the influence of the ASCO on current Chicano art in the face of the demonization of the immigrant.
The documentary serves not only to make a historical reconstruction of the collective, but also to ignore its influence on current artists and to offer examples of new creations in the Asco style. “Since Trump came to power, the demonization of immigrants has been so brutal that everything seems like a nightmare. That’s why the example of ASCO is so important today, because they experienced something similar and didn’t ask anyone’s permission to do what they wanted, to transmit the art they wanted to transmit, they just did it,” explains Gutiérrez.
San Cha, the future Chicano star
One of these young artists is San Cha, singer, performer and composer from San Francisco He creates personal and ambitious works, always under Chicano inspiration. “I had a sort of drag fairy godmother with whom I performed and she was the first to introduce me to this movement which was a huge source of inspiration for me and my generation,” he admits. Coming from an ultra-Catholic and humble family, his transgressive voice has not always been understood, but he knows that today we must break down barriers. “We are all weirdos in our families, but today it is more important than ever to open minds and perspectives and intensify our discourse to avoid trivialization and prejudice against Chicanos,” he comments.
The artist crossed Darts Festival act and be a luxury godmother of ASCO collective. He is now organizing a major tour for his next opera and enthusiastically sees the possibility of a future where Latin art has real visibility in the United States. “The only thing we are missing is a big star who definitely opens the doors and reinforces the value of Latin art and talent. San Cha is one of those stars,” says a convinced Gutiérrez.
The documentary, produced among others by Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Lunaand with the participation of well-known faces from Latin Hollywood like the actors Michael Peña or Zoe Saldañais a unique opportunity to see the struggle of Latin immigrants in the United States to claim their space. “Before, we were completely excluded from the canon, but the children of these early immigrants are now curators and directors of museums and the window of Latin art is really starting to open. “We are going through very difficult times, but I am optimistic,” concludes Gutiérrez.
About The Author
