By Amanda Moses
In 2017, Hurricane Maria devasted the island of Puerto Rico, leaving millions without electricity and destroying homes and infrastructure. The commonwealth is still recovering from the Category 5 Hurricane, which killed 2,982 people and is currently experiencing, even now, about 100,000 individuals without power. In the wake of this storm, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez along with his independent creative services studio, SOMOS Arte, created La Borinqueña—a heroine to inspire hope during such a dark time as well as a rallying call for the world to get involved in the recovery and reconstruction of Puerto Rico.
At New York Comic Con, Rodriguez represented Hispanic culture in the Artist Alley where the Spring Creek Sun got an up-close look at the legend behind the hero La Borinqueña.
“This is a great opportunity to be at the New York Comic Con; it’s truly an affirmation as a comic book author and publisher. We are an independently published series for the last six years dedicated to philanthropic work in Puerto Rico,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez credits New York Comic Con for creating an opportunity for him to meet with former DC Comic Co-Publisher, Dan DiDio, and this allowed him to collaborate on the development of the anthology Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico.
“It was here at the New York Comic Con in 2018 when Reconstruction became a reality,” Rodriguez added, “We came up with the idea to collaborate to create Ricanstruction, which became our best-selling book to date, helping us raise close to $200,000 and that helped us establish our La Borinqueña grants program.”
In addition to creating a comic book that speaks to the Latin population—a minority group that consumes about 30% of the comic industry but are often excluded and make up less than 1% in the content—Rodriguez also dedicated $200,000 in micro-grants that have been awarded to grassroot non-profits in the hardest hit areas in Puerto Rico by both climate change and social justice issues.
“It allows me to give fans something that validates our culture, particularly in a space that often times, quite honestly, doesn’t acknowledge that we even exist. As people of color, we are significantly underrepresented in popular culture,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez shared that even six years after Hurricane Maria, and with the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Fiona, the comic’s philanthropic work continues to support grassroot organizations on the island.
“To be here at the New York Comic Con is an affirmation to show that, yes we are here. La représente. We are here to share our story and continue our work uplifting and helping to rebuild Puerto Rico,” Rodriguez added.
Photo by Amanda Moses
