Caped Crusaders with Latino Flair Puerto Rican superhero shakes up the comic world STORY BY MONICA RHOR LA BORINQUEÑA CREATED AND DESIGNED BY EDGARDO MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ
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HISPANIC LIVING | FALL 2016
FIERCER THAN HURRICANEFORCE winds. Stronger than tsunami waves. Swifter than a swirling maelstrom. Mira! Up in the sky, above the azure waters of La Isla del Encanto. It’s La Borinqueña, a millennial of Afro-Boricua descent who, while on a trip to her parents’ homeland, discovers she has extraordinary abilities. As the alter-ego of New York college student Marisol Ríos de la Luz, she fights for justice, equality and empowerment for her people. But this latest addition to the pantheon of superheroes does more than merely fight crime. She is a symbol of hope and a rallying cry for self-affirmation at a time when Puerto Rico and its diaspora are grappling with a deepening economic crisis. Puerto Rican artist and writer Edgardo MirandaRodriguez, who created the character, says La Borinqueña’s real power lies in her latinidad, in the traits that make her fully Boricua: love for family, patience and selflessness. Her superhero name pays homage to La Borinqueña, the official anthem of the commonwealth, which refers to Borinquen, an adaptation of the indigenous Taíno people’s name for the island. Her costume mirrors the stripes and star of Puerto Rico’s red, white and blue flag. “She represents so much of the Puerto Rican people,” says Miranda-Rodriguez, who licensed the character to the National Puerto Rican Day
PANEL 1: ILLUSTRATED BY GUSTAVO VAZQUEZ, DIGITALLY PAINTED BY CHRIS SOTOMAYOR
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