Award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz comes to El Monte to talk environment – and so much more
Monte #Monte
Award-winning political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz came to El Monte this week to talk about saving the Earth.
But he stayed to share his thoughts on shaking up the system, engaging in community, creating art and fighting for social justice.
Alcaraz, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, dropped by Mountain View High School on Tuesday, Sept. 19, to showcase his animated short, “Taking a Healthy Ride on the Green Side,” featuring his art and plenty of local talent. He appeared in the high school’s “The Art of Talking” podcast.
“Meeting the students at the start of the project was really cool,” Alcaraz said. “They gave it to us straight when talking about their environmental concerns, no holds-barred.”
Alcaraz, creator of “La Cucaracha,” the first nationally syndicated Latin comic strip, came on board as part of the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Mobility in Schools Pilot Project, aimed at cleaning up the district’s transportation infrastructure and boosting the benefits of clean transportation to the community.
Lena Luna, district facilities and energy manager, voices her cartoon counterpart in the short, which will be shown on the district website, its social media channels and offered for broadcast statewide.
The animation espouses different ways to green one’s commute to school, including walking, using public transportation, scootering, biking or carpooling.
Edward Zuñiga, superintendent of the El Monte Union High School District, also got the Lalo Alcaraz treatment in the short film. He said his turn as a cartoon was right up his alley, a fun way to make an impact on students.
“They will remember this moment, and I hope it gives them the opportunity to engage their future and show them when we work as a community, we will bring about change,” Zuñiga said.
Senior DeAdalene Olmeda, 17, of La Puente, interviewed Alcaraz about his artistic beginnings, immigrant story and hopes for the Chicano movement. She also had one line in the short: “We can walk to school with a friend.”
DeAdalene said spending the summer on the animation project and learning from Alcaraz fueled her passion for film and media. She plans to major in that field next year.
“I’ve learned more about what (Alcaraz) has done for our culture, and how he’s brought forward that conversation on the need for diversity,” she said.
The California-born son of Mexican immigrants, Alcaraz told students he grew up easily traversing a world bordered by San Diego and Tijuana.
The first of his family to attend college, he graduated from San Diego State University and later earned a master’s degree in architecture from UC Berkeley, where he also co-founded a comedy group called the Chicano Secret Service. He was hired by L.A. Weekly in 1992, weeks after the L.A. riots. The strip he created there, “L.A. Cucaracha” evolved into “La Cucaracha,” the long-running comic that is nationally syndicated in more than 60 newspapers.“My mom used to tell me, we’re all responsible to use the coco that God gave you,” he said, motioning to his head. “Think about stuff. Don’t just accept things blindly. Be a critical thinker all the time.”
Editorial cartoonist and Chicano artist Lalo Alcaraz tells students his mother said to be a thinker during Mountain View High School’s VISTA Academy’s student podcast recording at the El Monte school on Tuesday, September 19, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Alcaraz, whose many projects include consulting in the Oscar-winning Disney film “Coco” and the Nickelodeon show “Casagrandes,” touched on his early inspirations (including the “Gordo” comics by Gus Arriola, as well as 1940s Looney Tunes cartoons); his editorial cartoons riffing on pop culture such as homeboy Yoda or Princess GuadaLeia and the purpose of satirical commentary.
“My job is to take down people who deserve to be taken down, and not to stomp on the helpless or those who are having a hard time,” Alcaraz said.
He told students to take advantage of the resources at hand, be open to transforming their ideas and learn, learn, learn.
“You guys go to a really cool school with really cool stuff,” he said. “Don’t sleep on it.”
To view the full animation and learn more, visit emuhsdmobility.com.