This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
Used to be, in pre-Wikipedia days, that comic books were an easy way to avoid having to read The Hunchback of Notre Dame or The Three Musketeers or other too-long novels for high school essay assignments. Plot lines, character development, there they were, in abbreviated, legible, and graphic form. Now comics are a lot more political, social, and cultural. Case in point, Artists Assemble!: Empowerment and Inspiration In Contemporary Comics, curated by Esperanza Sánchez and Naiela Santana, along with Gabriela Martínez and Nalini Elias, for the Museum of Latin American Art.
Featuring the work of over 40 artists, the exhibition includes comic books, videos, minicomics, panels, sketches, and digital images. The work resides in The Port to Learning Gallery, an intimate space behind the bookshop. The space feels like a bedroom or den, which, when you think about it, is the perfect place to read these things.
At first glance, the work looks like those comics you could buy at one time for 15 cents in a liquor store or else read in a Sunday newspaper supplement. Comics that featured superhero adventures, teen angst, or sci-fi or supernatural tales. Their task? Entertain and get you eager for the next installment.
Advertisement
When you look closer, though, these comics are a lot more active. They feature characters that must overcome obstacles associated with their ethnicity. These obstacles include sexual identity, traditional and invented mythologies, dominant cultures, even environmental and indigenous matters. The work is significant because it’s made by artists who, for all intents and purposes, are on the outside looking in. Thus marginalized, they dare to tackle subjects that otherwise get short shrift because they aren’t mainstream, don’t feature white folks, and are not, allegedly, demographically relevant. In these comics, the protagonists don’t embody some eternal, black and white battle between Good and Evil. Instead, they contend with things that may not seem monumental (World domination; destruction of the human species, &c.) but are nonetheless on the minds of millions of people, day after day.
Laura Molina, for instance, creates an alter ego in Cihualyaomiquiz, The Jaguar. This alter-ego battles Proposition 187, later ruled unconstitutional by a federal district court, which would have prevented illegal aliens from receiving non-emergency state benefits. In Simplified Histories: U.S Invasion of Mexico, Eric Garcia humorously shows, in a few frames, America’s appalling attitude about their neighbor to the south. In ScholaR Comics: ScholaR’s Weekend, Vicko (Victoria Alvarez) tells the story of a young girl who can’t go to the beach one summer because, among other things, she has to translate for her mother at a baby formula shop. As a result, she fabricates a beach visit for her What I Did This Summer assignment. And in No Te Hagas La Pendeja/Don’t be adumbass, Stephanie Rodriguez tells the story of a girl who can’t do homework with her friends because her parents won’t let her hang out with gringos.
Advertisement
The show is entertaining, because of the medium and because the stories are often funny, if not outrageous. But it’s also instructional. To understand what’s happening right under your noses, forego talk radio, opinion pages, and social media. Instead, grab one of these comics. If nothing else, they’ll make you laugh.
Museum hours are 11am – 5pm, Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday; 11am – 9pm, Friday. The exhibition runs until September 18. Admission is $7 - $10; admission is free on Sundays. The Museum is located at 628 Alamitos Avenue, Long Beach, 90802. For more information, call (562) 437-1689 or visit www.molaa.org.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.