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Lalo Alcaraz

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Lalo Alcaraz
Alcaraz at Comic-Con 2015
BornLalo Alcaraz
San Diego, California, U.S.
NationalityMexican-American
Area(s)cartoonist
Notable works
La Cucaracha
laloalcaraz.com

Lalo Alcaraz is an American cartoonist. He is most known for being the author of the comic La Cucaracha, the first nationally syndicated, politically themed Latino daily comic strip.[1] Launched in 2002, La Cucaracha has become one of the most controversial in the history of American comic strips.[2] He is also the creator of "Daniel D. Portado", a satirical Hispanic character who in 1994 called on Mexican immigrants to return south—"reverse immigration"—as a response to the controversial Proposition 187.[3] In 2012, Daniel D. Portado returned to the headlines as a result of Mitt Romneys call, during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, on illegal immigrants to exercise "self-deportation."[4]

A leading figure in the Chicano movement,[5][6][7] Alcaraz formerly contributed political cartoons for LA Weekly from 1992 to 2010. He co-hosts a radio show on KPFK called the "Pocho Hour of Power".[8][9] He also contributed a work of art to the 2008 Obama campaign called "Viva Obama".[10] Alcaraz recently taught as a faculty member at Otis College of Art & Design.[11] Alcaraz was also Consulting Producer and Writer on the Seth MacFarlane–executive produced animated show (created by Family Guy show runner Mark Hentemann) Bordertown, which ran one 13-episode season on Fox. It featured the first animated Mexican-American or even Latino family on primetime American television. Lalo Alcaraz also served as producer along with Gustavo Arellano on comedian Al Madrigal's TV special for Fusion, Half Like Me. Alcaraz also consults on films, including Pixar's Coco (2017). (See Dia De Los Muertos controversy below.) He is also a TV animation producer and consultant on The Casagrandes (2019) animated sitcom on Nickelodeon. Alcaraz is also a performer, voicing an angry mariachi in Pixar's "Coco" (2017) and has portrayed a Mexican bounty hunter named "Royce Vargas" in the Bill Plympton/Jim Lujan animated feature film, Revengeance (2017).

Early life

Alcaraz was born in 1964 in San Diego, California, and grew up on the U.S.–Mexico border, giving him a dual outlook on life (not "Mexican" enough for his relatives, not "American" enough for some in the U.S.).[12] He attended San Diego State University, where he received his bachelor's degree "With Distinction" in Art and Environmental Design in 1987. In 1991, Alcaraz earned his master's degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.[13]

Career

In addition to the daily strip, Alcaraz has published 4 books, La Cucaracha (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2004), Migra Mouse: Political Cartoons on Immigration (RDF Books, 2004), "Latino USA: A Cartoon History", (Basic Books 2000), also the 15th Anniversary Edition of Latino USA and "A Most Imperfect Union", (Basic Books 2014), another history book in collaboration with Ilan Stavans. Alcaraz is also an active speaker on the college circuit.[14][15][16] He is represented by The Agency Group in Los Angeles.[17]

Alcaraz is the "Jefe-in-Chief"[18] of POCHO.COM, a website specializing in "Ñews y Satire".

Activism

In response to the Walt Disney corporation's attempt to trademark Dia de Los Muertos for the Pixar film set in Mexico, Coco, Alcaraz helped lead a social activist campaign which eventually led to Disney's abandoning the idea.[19] In particular, Alcaraz's "Muerto Mouse" (itself an offshoot of his early "Migra Mouse") criticized the Disney campaign with the byline "It's coming to trademark your cultura."[20][21] In 2015, Pixar hired Alcaraz to consult on the newly titled film, Coco.[22]

Awards

Alcaraz has received five Southern California Journalism Awards for Best Cartoon in Weekly Papers, and numerous other awards and honors, including "The Latino Spirit Award" from the California Legislature and the Office of the Lt. Governor, honors from the Los Angeles City Council, The California Chicano News Media Association, the UC Berkeley Chicano Latino Alumni Association, the United Farm Workers of America, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and The Rockefeller Foundation.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Bio". Lalo Alcaraz. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  2. ^ Seth Wolf (12 October 2004). "San Francisco Bay Guardian Arts and Entertainment". Sfbg.com.
  3. ^ Kumar, Ankali (28 March 1996). "Chicano cartoonist entertains students". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Daniel D. Portado: The Original Self-Deportationist". News Taco. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  5. ^ Anonymous. "Splinters: Lalo Alcaraz: Chicano Political Cartoonist". Coolsplinters.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 November 2005.
  6. ^ Wegner, Kyle David. "ProQuest Document View - Children of Aztlan| Mexican American popular culture and the post-Chicano aesthetic". Gradworks.umi.com.
  7. ^ "National Association of Latino Arts and Culture – Bios Los Angeles". Nalac.org.
  8. ^ "Lalo Alcaraz On Arizona's New Anti-immigration Legislation". Wn.com.
  9. ^ "Pocho Hour Of Power". Kpfk.org.
  10. ^ Severns, Jeff. "Viva Obama Artist Gets the Academic Treatment". Utne.com. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  11. ^ "Home > Otis Community > Faculty > Faculty Bios > Lalo Alcaraz". Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  12. ^ "La Cucaracha Comic Strip on". Gocomics.com. 25 November 2002.
  13. ^ "Universal Uclick". Amuniversal.com. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Lalo Alcaraz Named Keynote Speaker at Luminaria Award Dinner". News.unm.edu. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  15. ^ "Leadership conference shows many paths to successful careers". El Hispanic News. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  16. ^ "César E. Chávez Center for Higher Education". Dsa.csupomona.edu.
  17. ^ "The Agency Group | Lalo Alcaraz". Theagencygroup.com. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Our management and editorial honchos". Pocho. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  19. ^ Lalo Alcaraz (7 May 2013). "Walt Disney, Inc. wants to trademark 'Dia de los Muertos' (toon)". Pocho. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  20. ^ Arellano, Gustavo (8 May 2013). "Lalo Alcaraz Creates Amazing "Muerto Mouse" Cartoon in Response to Disney "Dia de los Muertos" Fiasco". Blogs.ocweekly.com. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  21. ^ Renteria, Ramon (12 May 2013). "Ramon Renteria: 'Muerto Mouse' seeks cash, not cheese". El Paso Times. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  22. ^ Nevarez, Griselda (21 August 2015). "Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz to Work On Pixar's Day of the Dead Film 'Coco'". NBC News. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Local Hero: Lalo Alcaraz | Hispanic Heritage Month | Local Heroes". KCET. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
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