MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

“Know first who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly” Epictetus

This paper looks at the way the popular classes have challenged dress codes and elite notions of class, race, gender, and identity through the different types of adornment. Some of these include the Chicano use of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, indigenous huipiles from Mexico and Guatemala, and other images of self-adornment and dress in popular culture in Latin America and the U.S. The Chicano performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña affirms, “Traditionally, the human body, our body, not the stage, is our true site for creation and materia prima. It’s our empty canvas, musical instrument, and open book; our navigation chart and biographical map; the vessel for our ever-changing identities; the centerpiece of the altar so to speak. Even when we depend too much on objects, locations, and situations, our body remains the matrix of the piece.” For example, examining the representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe such as tattoos on human bodies, the image on clothing, accessories, and cars, might clarify the connection between the art and popular culture and how in some ways a religious icon for the elite becomes popularized. DiPaolo Loren explains, “culture, the individual, and clothing are inextricably linked, as there is no more powerful, individualized statement of and about society than the way someone dresses.”