Document:Q11987
From Rhizome Artbase
@veteranas_and_rucas is an Instagram account created by artist Guadalupe Rosales that documents the Southern California Chicano party crew scene in the 1990s, largely through photographs and videos submitted by followers.
The fact that this community was so tight-knit has made the Instagram project a growing archive of family histories and a site that for the activation of memory and culture. In fact, many users have renewed ties with family and friends in the comments surrounding each post. It is significant that an archive of this community's rich cultural life was not created by any formal memory institution. By highlighting this lack, Veteranas and Rucas raises broader questions about how memory is created and valued, and how the internet might help reshape these processes.
As an ongoing socially engaged artwork, Veteranas and Rucas pushes us to preserve cultural history and question narratives around value and historical documents, exemplifying the important role that archives can serve in forging community.