By Justina Bonilla
In entertainment today, we are seeing more Latinos in front and behind the camera, most notably in animation, especially in Latino orientated programs. This class of Animation Latinos includes a diversity of talent, such as director/animator Jorge Gutierrez (The Book of life and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera), creator/animator/writer Diego Molano (Victor and Valentino), producer Pilar Flynn (Elena of Avalor) and writer/producer Valentina Garza (The Simpsons and Bordertown). Among these talents, is a rising force in animation, better known as the trailblazing and groundbreaking Chicano cartoonist, Lalo Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, one of the leading voices in contemporary Chicano art, has one of the most diverse portfolios in animation, including, activist, writer, producer, cultural consultant, book illustrator, Jefe-in-chief of Pocho.com, and most notably, editorial cartoonist. He has used his art to advocate for Latino culture, while also taking an unapologetic stand on injustices in American politics and society.
Over his nearly thirty-year career, Alcaraz’s distinct art has gained an array of recognitions, including five Southern California Journalism Award for Best Cartoon in Weekly Papers awards and honors from The California Chicano News Media Association, the Los Angeles City Council, and the United Farmworkers of America.
Last year, the Smithsonian American Art Museum asked Lalo to donate pieces of his cartoon art, to add to their collection, including his gun-control, I Stand With Emma piece, due to its cultural and historical significance. For the first time in his career, Alcaraz was named a finalist in the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning. Many of his media contemporaries believed that the Pulitzer recognition was well overdue, including author, writer, and journalist for the Los Angeles Times, Gustavo Arellano. Arellano noted, “[Alcaraz] is a genius who doesn’t get the praise he truly deserves. A Pulitzer nomination is just the start!”
Born in 1964, in San Diego, California, Alcaraz grew up in between America and Mexico, gaining a unique dual-cultural perspective, which would heavily influence his art. At a young age, the observant Alcaraz noticed the lack of representation of Latinos in the television shows and cartoons he would watch. He also noticed biased against Latinos, in his case Mexicans, being treated with disdain. The lack of representation and understanding of our culture in America inspired a young Alcaraz to want to draw his culture, family, and friends and put these images out into the world to be seen.
Jokingly, Alcaraz acknowledged that he has been drawing for so long, “I have been drawing since I was in the fetus”. His drawing talent was an inherited gift, with many of his family members, including his grandfather showing such talent, who, “…reportedly drew up building plans for his rancho, and also drew caricatures of people”. Schoolmates of Alcaraz, showed an early interest in his art, wanting him to draw cartoons of themselves.
Another major influence in Alcaraz’s life was satire. He loved to make fun of everything. Two early influences on him were the edgy Mad Magazine, which he would read non-stop and the early groundbreaking years of Saturday Night Live. From these comedic pillars of American satire, he learned early on the power of satire language, heavily displayed in his editorial animation.
Eventually, Alcaraz became a part of the artistic community of San Diego’s El Centro Cultural de La Raza, the non-profit organization, known for its mission“…to create, preserve, promote, and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Latino, and Indigenous art and culture”. Through this non-profit, he would meet his mentors, muralist Victor Ochoa and artist David Avalos.
As a student at San Diego State University (SDSU)’s student newspaper, The Daily Aztec is where Alcaraz started what would become his signature editorial cartoon style. In 1987, graduating from SDSU with a bachelor’s degree in Art and Environmental Design, “With Distinction”. After SDSU Alcaraz continued his education at the University of California, Berkley. At Berkley, he became was one of the founders of the poltical satire group the Chicano Secret Service, sharpening his satire wit. Later, he earned his master’s degree in Architecture from Berkley, in 1991.
During his initial years in Los Angeles, Alcaraz spread his artistic diversity to include writing for the innovative variety Chicano comedy sketch show, Culture Clash (1993-1996). He also continued his editorial cartoon art with outlets including, LA Weekly (1992-2012) with his La Cucaracha comic strip and The Hispanic Weekly Report.
In 1994, Alcaraz, gained massive recognition for his art, after exposing the Disney corporation in an editorial cartoon for their financial support of the divisive anti-immigrant Governor Pete Wilson of California (1991-1999) for his reelection campaign. During this campaign, he supported the controversial anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Prop 187 prevented undocumented immigrants from accessing basic non-emergency social services from health care to public education.
Frustrated with Disney trying to profit from the Latino markets in America and Latin America, while also giving money to a state administration that would discriminate and disproportionality impact Latinos in California, Alcaraz drew his first iconic piece, Migra Mouse. Migra Mouse, portrayed Mickey Mouse as a US border patrol agent, gaining a massive response, which propelled his cartoons and Chicano art to a new audience.
Continuing to work as a editorial cartoonist, Alcaraz was referred by his friend and colleague Arellano, for his extensive knowledge and creativity, to work with him as a consulting producer and writer on the Mark Hentemann Latino animated show, executive produced by Seth MacFarlane, Bordertown (2016). Hentemann praises Alcaraz’s work as “…a great combination of artist and writer, cutting to the core of issues and exposing hypocrisy all with a single image. He’s an important voice in our cultural debate.”
In 2013 Alcaraz took Disney on again, after they tried to trademark the phrase “Dias de los Muertos”, for the Pixar film that would eventually become Coco (2017). Frustrated that Disney would try and trademark a cultural Mexican holiday, he drew Muerto Mouse. Muerto Mouse is a skeleton monster with the trademark Mickey Mouse ears, with the phrase “…coming to trademark your cultura!”. Disney pulled their trademark application. A few years later, Disney brought Alcaraz on board to be a cultural consultant for Coco. Coco won an Oscar award-winning animated film and the highest-grossing film in Mexico of all time and has made $800 million worldwide to date.
Building an impressive resume in amination, Alcaraz became a cultural consultant and writer for Nickelodeon’s successful animated series The Loud House (2016-present). Alcaraz was kept on by Nickelodeon in his cultural consultant and writer roles for The Loud House spinoff show, The Casagrandes (2019-present). The Casagrandes is the first animated show of its kind to take a positive multigenerational and multicultural view of a Latino American family.
At this point in his career, Alcaraz has come full circle, from a child who watched cartoons on television wanting to see Latinos on television, to helping create television shows with positive Latino characters and storylines. He currently also co-hosts the Pocho Hour of Power Radio Show on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles, which he has been doing for over 10 years. He is currently working on four animated series and is in development for two others, on of which is about a young Latina. He starting his own production company, and continues his legendary editorial cartoons. He continues to push for more visibility of Latinos in media and wants to bring others along with him, seeing himself as, “The Chicano employment program”.
Though many might see a nearly 30-year entertainment career as impressive, Alcaraz is just getting started. This new and exciting chapter of his career is kicking open the door for Chicano and Latino artists in animation, which will no doubt cause a ripple effect for representation in other aspects of entertainment.