Professor Aldama and his Intro to Latinx Pop Culture Students at OSU provide a tour of Professor Aldama's co-curated exhibit about Tales from La Vida currently up at OSU's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
“Showcasing the work of a diverse group of Latinx creators, this anthology complicates in productive ways monolithic constructions of Latinx identity.…Produced solely by Latinx creators, the narratives contained here underscore the importance of self-representation, and the comics medium offers the ideal space through which to explore issues of identity and lived experience.” —Chiricú Journal
“The auspicious result features a manifold cast from the most established to as-yet-unproven discoveries, each working in varied styles, methods, lengths. . . . As testimony and magnification of the multitudinous Latinx experience, La Vida bursts forth con fuerte.” —Booklist
“An eclectic and artistically stunning collection of work overflowing with emotional resonance and cultural reverence, Tales from La Vida is a gift to cherish.” —David Walker, Luke Cage and Bitter Root
“Tales from La Vida gives me vida! The sheer volume of testimonies bearing witness to the depth and complexities of being Brown and Latinx, of being an interesting sentient being, of being a vato/a nerd, of being a wordsmith and visual creative—and the broad range of intelligence and artistry displayed in these biting comics—is mind-bogglingly astonishing, and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any seminal, canonical anthology of American poetry or prose. What we get here in Tales from La Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology —what we are gifted—are double-barreled throwdowns of resistance, rebellion, and love from some of the most genius Latinx (and American!) comics creators in the land—all mitigated by the judicious and generous inimitable scholar-artist himself, the Good Doctor, Frederick Luis Aldama! Vaya!!!” —Tony Medina, I Am Alfonso Jones
“This is comic book storytelling at its best. These deftly constructed stories shake us to our core selves, waking us and the world to the sweeping spectrum of Latinx identities and experiences. Mind blowing!” —Keith Knight, The Knight Life and K Chronicles
“The best collection of Latinxdad—humor, pathos, politics, and DESMADRE—since the empanada.” —Gustavo Arellano, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America
In the Latinx comics community, there is much to celebrate today, with more Latinx comic book artists than ever before. The resplendent visual-verbal storyworlds of these artists reach into and radically transform so many visual and storytelling genres. Tales from la Vida celebrates this space by bringing together more than eighty contributions by extraordinary Latinx creators. Their short visual-verbal narratives spring from autobiographical experience as situated within the language, culture, and history that inform Latinx identity and life. Tales from la Vida showcases the huge variety of styles and worldviews of today’s Latinx comic book and visual creators.
Whether it’s detailing the complexities of growing up—mono- or multilingual, bicultural, straight, queer, or feminist Latinx—or focusing on aspects of pop culture, these graphic vignettes demonstrate the expansive complexity of Latinx identities. Taken individually and together, these creators—including such legendary artists as Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Roberta Gregory, and Kat Fajardo, to name a few—and their works show the world that when it comes to Latinx comics, there are no limits to matters of content and form. As we travel from one story to the next and experience the unique ways that each creator chooses to craft his or her story, our hearts and minds wake to the complex ways that Latinxs live within and actively transform the world.
Frederick Luis Aldama is the author, coauthor, and editor of over thirty books, including recently Long Stories Cut Short: Fictions from the Borderlands and Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics. He is Arts & Humanities Distinguished Professor, University Distinguished Scholar, and Director of the award-winning LASER (Latinx Space for Enrichment & Research) at The Ohio State University.
Contents
Preface
New Tongues Untied
Samuel Teer (with Marina Julia), “MIXED”
Amber Padilla, “Wongo-Wongo”
Stephanie Villareal Murray, “A Veces Sueño en Español”
Lila Quintero Weaver, “La Charla”
Carlos “Loso” Pérez, “_______-American”
Adam Hernandez, “No Time for Titles”
Jandro (with DT Watson), “What Concerns Me”
Dangerous Truths . . . Clearing New Identity Spaces
Frederick Luis Aldama (with John Jennings), “It Could’ve Been . . .”
Jaime Crespo, “White Shoulders”
Breena Nuñez Peralta, “They Call Me Morena for a Reason”
Roberta Gregory, “California Girl”
Vicko, “El Entender”
José Cabrera, “el cabrón”
Serenity Serseción, “Latinx”
Ivan Velez, “Que Significa?”
John Jota Leaños (with Dustin García), “Kaleidoscopic Latinx Indigeneities”
Zeke Peña, “A Nomad’s Heart”
New Mythos
Liz Mayorga, “Brainstorming Session”
Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz, “The Witch’s Curse”
Dustin Nathanial García, “Saved”
Ilan Stavans (with Roberto Weil), “Rite of Passage”
Daniel Parada, “A Cacaopera Tale”
Myra Lara, “Forked-Tongued & Tongued-Tied”
Raúl González, “New Citizen Conqueror”
Kelly Fernandez, “The Ciguapa”
Jaime Hernandez, “La Blanca”
Eric Esquivel (with Macropoulos), “El ChupaSoyMilk”
Jason “J-Gonzo” González, “My Life as a Pocho”
Rico Cuatlacuatl, “Jaguar Warrior Astral Traveller”
Betwixt & Between
J. M. Hunter, “Lost in Triangulation”
Gilbert Hernandez, “I’m Proud to Be an American Where at Least I Know I’m Free”
Crystal González, “Latino in Disguise”
Alberto Ledesma, “My Most Significant Moment as a Latino”
Héctor Rodríguez, “Güerito”
Rafael Rosado, “El Año Que Me Divi-di En Dos / The Year I Split in Two”
Stephanie Rodriguez, “No Te Hagas La Pendeja”
Bending Time, Space, and Forms
Candy Briones, “The Mayan Prophesy”
Eric J. García, “Chicano Codices Presents”
Alejandro Juvera (with Jeremiah Lambert), “Where the Heart Is”
Andrés Vera Martínez, “Down on the Riverbed”
Mapache Studios Fernando and Rodrigo, “A Little Canción about My People”
Fernando Balderas Rodriguez, “Aztec of the City: Behind the Beginning”
Israel Francisco Haros Lopez, “Re-Membering”
Bodies That Matter
LeighAnna Hidalgo, “Reproductive Rebel”
José Alaniz, “Mordido”
Jules Rivera, “The Continuum”
Theresa Rojas, “Melva”
Celina Hernandez, “Prolactinoma”
Jaime Cortez, “El Border Xing”
Grasiela Rodriguez, “Tap Into Your True Self”
Mike Centeno, “Being Here”
Juan Argil, “Güero”
Pop Cultura Is Nosotros
David Olivarez, “Inspiration”
Miguel “Miky” Ruiz, “The Day I Discovered My Alter Ego”
John Gonzalez (with Julian Aguilera and Michele Gonzalez), “Borax Boys”
Albert Morales, “Super Impacto vs. the World”
Javier Hernandez, “Mexican-American Splendor”
Ray Zepeda (with J. M. Hunter), “Nuevo Latino”
Richard Dominguez, “Wanna Know How I Got Started?”
Carlos Saldaña, “Birth of Burrito”
Ricardo Padilla (with Javier Hernandez), “Mi Barrio, 1976”
Dave Ortega, “Your Name Is the Rio Grande”
Rafael Navarro, “Mi Voz”
William Nericcio (with Guillermo Nericcio García), “A Mexican-American
Semiotic Odyssey or Streets of Laredo Ex-Pat”
Mark Campos, “Mi Destino Es Comprenderla y No Olivdarla”
Kat Fajardo, “Gringa”
Victor Avila, “One Time, One Night”
David Herrera, “Commencement”
Chris Escobar, “A Monstrous Life”
John Picacio, “A New Loteria”
List of Contributors
