Lalo Alcaraz
Subtitle: political cartooning in the Latino community
By: Héctor D. Fernández L'Hoeste
Series: Great comics artists series; Great comics artists
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 192
ISBN-13: 9781496811370
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Political cartoons; History; Mexican American authors; American literature; History and criticism; Criticism and interpretation; Comic books, strips
Description: "Amid the controversy surrounding immigration and border control, the work of California cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz (b. 1964) has stood as an example of strident art from a Latino viewpoint. Of Mexican descent, Alcaraz fights for Latino rights through his creativity, drawing political commentary as well as underlining the ways Latinos confront discrimination in their daily lives. Through an analysis of Alcaraz's early editorial cartooning and his strips for La Cucaracha, the first nationally syndicated, political Latino daily comic strip, author Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste suggests that Alcaraz's art attests to the community's struggles. Alcaraz has become controversial with his satirical, sharp commentary on immigration and other Latino issues. What makes Alcaraz's work so potent? Fernández marks his insistence on never letting go of what he views as injustice against Latinos, when they represent the largest growing ethnic group. Indeed, the art serves as testament to a key moment in the history of the United States: the time when the country will cease being steered by a white majority, but rather by racial plurality--the very reason that Alcaraz seems bent on exposing the monocultural norm. Fernández's study provides an accessible, comprehensive view into the work of a cartoonist that deserves greater recognition, not just because Alcaraz represents the injustice and inequity prevalent in our society, but because as both a US citizen and a member of the Latino community, his ability to stand in, between, and outside two cultures affords him the clarity and experience necessary to be a powerful voice"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 178-189) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: On Lalo Alcaraz and the Latino community; title: Lalo Alcaraz in the context of Latino comics; title: Migra mouse : political cartoons and the immigration debate; title: La cucaracha : an alienated bug's struggle against a hidden norm; title: A Q & A with Lalo Alcaraz; title: Conclusion.