Lalo Alcaraz: Political Cartooning in the Latino Community

La Cucaracha, the first nationally syndicated, political Latino daily comic strip, author Héctor D. Fernández L’Hoeste shows the many ways Alcaraz’s art attests to the community’s struggles.

Alcaraz has proven controversial with his satirical, sharp commentary on immigration and other Latino issues. What makes Alcaraz’s work so potent? Fernández L’Hoeste marks the artist’s insistence on never letting go of what he views as injustice against Latinos, the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Indeed, his comics predict a key moment in the future of the United States—that time when a racial plurality will steer the country, rather than a white majority and its monocultural norms.

Fernández L’Hoeste’s study provides an accessible, comprehensive view into the work of a cartoonist who deserves greater recognition, not just because Alcaraz represents the injustice and inequity prevalent in our society, but because as both a US citizen and a member of the Latino community, his ability to stand in, between, and outside two cultures affords him the clarity and experience necessary to be a powerful voice.