Brainstorm #6

The kind of technology discussed is the internet and computers primarily. In a lot of Martinez' art you can see computers and computer parts being associated with saints. New Mexico has faced being on the edge of society and its people haven't been given the technological tools to keep up with the progress of the rest of the country. That turns into stereotypes of Chicanx living there not being smart enough to learn technology or something, but in reality they were neglected and never given the means. New Mexico was a dumping ground for e-waste. This is shown in Ramirez's writing: "Briggs observes that Hispano communities in northern New Mexico are commonly stereotyped as “remote,” “backward,” and “quaint,” and he says the carvings appeal to outsiders in part because they are viewed as an encapsulation of an agrarian, preindustrial, premodern society (146–47). For some, santos in particular are emblematic of the “precivilized” because they appear pagan (147)." This description along with descriptions of New Mexico as “a lonely outpost of Spanish settlement,” “the fringes of civilization,” and “the farthest and most ragged rim of Christendom” serve to belittle the culture and people living in New Mexico. It's true that New Mexico has in fact been neglected in many ways and does have one of the highest unemployment rates and lowest GDPs, but that doesn't mean they are primitive or don't understand technology. Many view New Mexicans as incapable of adjusting to new technology, but in fact generations of Hispanos have achieved remarkable technological feats and have shown that they are by no means incapable of adjusting: "they are often deemed incapable of understanding, mastering, or even living with science and technology, signifiers of the present and future. This image persists even though generations of rural and urban Hispanos have managed to irrigate the desert with acequias and have controlled the temperature of their homes with adobe bricks—not to mention the fact that, since the last century, many have enjoyed indoor plumbing, swamp coolers, and, the digital divide notwithstanding, home Internet access, among numerous other technological amenities." (Ramirez 64). This shows that in fact, they are not isolated from technology and are by no means unable to understand or use it. The act of Chicanafuturism and imagery of Latinas with technology serves to undo these stereotypes and liberate and being people together sort of like Convivencia as seen in Martha Gonzalez's writing and the Clumsy Sky video.