Ashton Martin

History of Rhetoric
5/9/2017
Reading Reflection

The Chicano Codex: Writing against historical and Pedagogical Colonization by Damian

Baca is a rhetorical analysis of the traveling exhibit, Chicano Codex: Encountering Art of the

Americas. Baca reveals that the Chicano and Chicana symbols and characters are strategies for

resistance against Western colonization and assimilation. He suggests that the codexs rhetoric

promotes a new practice of inventing and writing that combines the two worlds of Mesoamerica

and Western inscription. His overall aim, however, is to study the resistant rhetoric employed in

the codex. The Chicano Codex is a contemporary work of art from the 1990s that illustrates the

rhetoric of pictography that Mesoamericans used in their ancient manuscripts. It juxtaposes

ancient Mesoamerican and Mexican writing with that of Western writing by enabling it to be

read right to left and left to right, mixing English, Spanish, Spanglish and Mexican Spanish, and

by using pictography and words. Baca analyzes the Chicano Codex to redefine what writing

means, for Western colonization has formed our biases and has marginalized the others that

compose rhetorical developments and conventions.

Baca presents many symbols and characters that are important in their resistance rhetoric,

and in particular he highlights the usage of pairs and double expressions in the manuscripts

representation of colonialization. There are many combined and complex meanings behind these

symbols. Baca points out that the arrangement of some characters powerfully illustrate resistance

of colonial society. He shows that a solemn image of the Virgin of Guadalupe peers down on

Wonder Woman to juxtapose a national symbol of Mexico to the American super hero (577).
An alternative example of the blending of cultures is evident in the crosses in the codex. At first

glance one would see crosses as European Christian conversion, but further reflection leads to

the realization that these crosses are Mexican (576). These symbols have multiple meanings, but

overall they point to the problems of colonization and issues of globalization and cultural

imperialism.

This analysis of the Chicano Codex presents an important development of rhetoric

because it encourages society to fill in the gaps that have been created in our one-tradition of

rhetoric. Baca calls the problem, an enduring Aristotelian syndrome [which marginalizes and

subjugates] Mexican others (581). All that we study tends to be compared to the Aristotelian

way which authorizes Western ideas and histories and dismisses all others. Such is the bias that is

pointed out in Bacas article and tasks us with needing to revise our standard of rhetoric.
 Works Cited

Baca, Damian. The Chicano Codex: Writing against Historical and Pedagogical

Colonization. College English, Volume 71, July 2009.