Sunday, October 13, 2024

2024-2025 Mextasy: A Primer

~ Last updated October 13, 2024 ~

#Mextasy is back! 2024-25


Mextasy: Seductive Hallucinations of Latina/o Mannequins Prowling the American Unconscious
is a traveling pop-up or gallery-based art show/exhibit based on the work of William "Memo" Nericcio and Guillermo Nericcio García

The traveling exhibition or "Circus of Desmadres" was originally curated by Leticia Gómez Franco for Casa Familiar, San Ysidro, California, and Rachel Freyman Brown, South Texas College, McAllen, Texas. Recents shows include exhibitions/performances at Boise State University,  UC Riverside (virtual via Zoom, thx Covid!)  Iowa State University and the Nepantla Cultural Arts Center, Seattle, Washington--other noteworthy gigs include performances at Northwestern University, Wabash College, California State University, San Bernardino, and Franklin & Marshall College.

Mextasy is re-imagined, interactive art and artifact exhibition that grew out of Nericcio's 2007 American Library Association award-winning book with UT Press, Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the Mexican in America




In addition to racist artifacts from American mass culture (the bread 
and butter of Uncle Sam's unconscious and the backstory for the resurgence in anti-Mexican, anti-Latina/o peoples presently), the show also features works that is "xicanosmotic," that is, works by Mexican-American artists where the delicious fusion of the Mexican/US borderlands/frontera is writ large as in the deliriously delicious artistic tracings of Raul Gonzalez IIIPerry Vasquez, Rafaella Suarez, and Izel VargasVisitors to this page interested in having MEXTASY invade their local gallery/university of choice should contact us here.

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Best Deal on the Internets! | Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the "Mexican" in America by William A. Nericcio

updated 7/22//24; posted 4/17/19

Click to enlarge | More images below


TEX{T}-MEX

SEDUCTIVE HALLUCINATIONS 

OF THE "MEXICAN" IN AMERICA

Special Dealio #Mextasy Cost to You!?
$22.00 USD + $1 shipping!
 

Also available via Bezos's monopoly engine!


Original Proposed Cover Art
by Guillermo Nericcio García
click to enlarge

A rogues' gallery of Mexican bandits, bombshells, lotharios, and thieves saturates American popular culture. Remember Speedy Gonzalez? "Mexican Spitfire" Lupe Vélez? The Frito Bandito? Familiar and reassuring—at least to Anglos—these Mexican stereotypes are not a people but a text, a carefully woven, articulated, and consumer-ready commodity. In this original, provocative, and highly entertaining book, William Anthony Nericcio deconstructs Tex[t]-Mexicans in films, television, advertising, comic books, toys, literature, and even critical theory, revealing them to be less flesh-and-blood than "seductive hallucinations," less reality than consumer products, a kind of "digital crack."
Nericcio engages in close readings of rogue/icons Rita Hayworth, Speedy Gonzalez, Lupe Vélez, and Frida Kahlo, as well as Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil and the comic artistry of Gilbert Hernandez. He playfully yet devastatingly discloses how American cultural creators have invented and used these and other Tex[t]-Mexicans since the Mexican Revolution of 1910, thereby exposing the stereotypes, agendas, phobias, and intellectual deceits that drive American popular culture. This sophisticated, innovative history of celebrity Latina/o mannequins in the American marketplace takes a quantum leap toward a constructive and deconstructive next-generation figuration/adoration of Latinos in America.
What do you get for your hard-earned twenty+ bucks??? A new, hermetically-sealed (for your protection!) copy of William Nericcio's 2007 ALA award-winning book, Tex{t}-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the "Mexican" in America.  And at a ¡venta venta, venga venga! sale price as Jeff Bezos at Amazon is trying to charge $27.95 for this book! If you want me to "break the seal" and sign the book, just order here and then email me to memo@sdsu.edu and tell me how you want it inscribed!

Evil Jeff Bezos Price?    27.95 USD 
Special Dealio #Mextasy Cost to You!?
$22.00 USD + $1 shipping!

More images from the book!



 

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Mextasy, Naranja County Edition! Opening February 3, 2024! Gala Event with Gustavo Arellano (and Mezcal!), February 10 @ 2pm!

 

 



OPENS THIS SATURDAY
During 1st Saturday Artwalk 6-10pm
February 3, 2024
The Mextasy Circus of Desmadres:
Naranja County Edition
February 3-March 2, 2024
“Mextasy: Seductive Hallucinations of Latina/o Mannequins Prowling the American Unconscious” stands as a vibrant testament to the creative vision of Chicano artist William “Memo” Nericcio. Curated by Nericcio and Guillermo Nericcio García, the traveling exhibition emerged from the pages of Nericcio’s acclaimed 2007 book, “Tex[t]-Mex: Seductive Hallucinations of the Mexican in America.”
Rooted in the Chicano experience, Mextasy boldly confronts and redefines stereotypes of Mexicans pervasive in American mass culture. Nericcio, primarily known as a writer, unveils his artistic persona as Guillermo Nericcio García, reflecting the duality of his identity, hailing from the border town of Laredo, Texas.
Beyond showcasing racist artifacts, Mextasy introduces the concept of “xicanosmotic” art, featuring creations by Mexican-American artists like Raul Gonzalez III, Perry Vasquez, Rafaella Suarez, and Izel Vargas. Their works vividly embody the fusion of Mexican and U.S. borderlands, challenging and reshaping perceptions.
Mextasy serves not only as an exploration of Mexican culture but as a dynamic representation of Chicano identity and resilience. Nericcio’s transition from a writer to a Chicano artist further enriches the narrative, as he draws on his childhood passion for drawing and challenges the dehumanizing portrayals of Mexicans in American visual culture.
As Mextasy travels to galleries, universities, and cultural centers, it continues to amplify the voices of Chicano artists, offering a thought-provoking and visually compelling perspective on cultural identity and representation within the American landscape.
🗓️ Artist’s Talk & Mezcal Reception
2pm Saturday, February 10th
Moderated by Gustavo Arellano
This exhibition is supported in part by LibroMobile Arts Cooperative and free to the public. For more details, email libromobile@gmail.com.

Friday, January 19, 2024

16MM WARNER BROTHERS ANIMATED CLASSIC: "DAFFY DUCK AND THE DINOSAUR" {1939}



16MM WARNER BROTHERS ANIMATED CLASSIC: "DAFFY DUCK AND THE DINOSAUR" {1939}


This is a treasure--a used, but carefully kept 16mm film copy of a classic Warner Brothers animated short: "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur" {1939},

The film was property of the "San Diego County Library," and  then SDSU, then, doomed to be jettisoned by the university, I saved it from the scrapheap.  I screened it once at a kids party in 2005 and it has sit in my climate-controlled office since that time.



Carefully packaged and shipped.  No returns, please. Note the additional shipping expenses for this item are included in the price.

You can pre-screen the animated short on youtube here:  http://youtu.be/3Kue7P_nyvw
$99.99 USD + FREE SHIPPING

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Hispanic Heritage Month Video, William Nericcio, #mextasy

During Covid I was asked to make a video of myself to share -- this is the result of that experiment …