Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

‘La Borinqueña’ Creator to Help La Casita Celebrate ‘Diversity in Reading’ Month April 28

Thursday, April 20, 2017, By Rob Enslin
Share
College of Arts and SciencesLa Casita Cultural Center

La_BorinquenaEdgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, creator of the new graphic novel sensation “La Borinqueña,” is participating in a luncheon discussion and book signing on Friday, April 28, from noon to 2 p.m. at La Casita Cultural Center, 109 Otisco St., Syracuse.

His visit is free and open to the public, and it’s part of La Casita’s annual “Diversity in Reading” campaign, raising awareness of and support for its bilingual library and dual-language literacy programs. For more information, call La Casita in the College of Arts and Sciences at 315.443.2151 or visit lacasita.syr.edu.

A 1989 graduate of Syracuse’s Fowler High School, Miranda-Rodriguez is the owner and art director of the Brooklyn-based production studio Somos Arte. The Puerto Rican artist also creates Latino superheroes for Marvel Comics and for Darryl Makes Comics, a publishing company he co-founded with Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels.

“Edgardo is a rising star in the comic book industry and the Latino community,” says Tere Paniagua ’82, executive director of A&S’ Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community. “We are delighted he is coming here to present ‘La Borinqueña’ [named after Puerto Rico’s national anthem]. She is not just a pop icon; she is a symbol of hope, solidarity and justice for a demographic rarely represented in comic books.”

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez

Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez (Photo by Danny Hastings)

Miranda-Rodriguez recently created La Borinqueña in response to Puerto Rico’s financial crisis. Her real name is Marisol Ríos De La Luz, and she is a Nuyorican undergraduate at Columbia University. It is during a class trip to Puerto Rico that De La Luz discovers she has supernatural powers of flight, strength, weather manipulation and teleportation.

“It’s not about [her powers], but it’s about what the character represents,” Miranda-Rodriguez told The Washington Post. “She’s here to remind you that the power of our people comes from our people. We don’t have to ask for something when it is already within us. It’s a narrative that’s going to remind us of ourselves. We’ve always had that power. Being Puerto Rican is our superpower.”

Since graduating from Colgate University, Miranda-Rodriguez has done artwork for a variety of clients, ranging from Columbia University and Atlantic Records to CoverGirl, Olay and Pantene. He also has curated two exhibitions for Marvel and has worked as an illustrator and scriptwriter.

“This is a rare opportunity—for students, faculty and the community at large,” Paniagua says of his visit.

La Casita's dual-language literacy programs serve children ages 7-10.

La Casita’s dual-language literacy programs serve children ages 7-10.

Upcoming “Diversity in Reading” events include an opening reception for a photography exhibition by members of La LUCHA (Latino Undergraduates Creating History in America) on Friday, April 21, at 5 p.m. and the kickoff of the Young Art exhibition on Saturday, May 6, at 1 p.m. The exhibition also celebrates the release of “Palo: A Chicken Mystery,” La Casita’s second bilingual children’s book. All events take place at La Casita.

Earlier this month, La Casita published “MUSA, Vol. 2,” a collection of multilingual poems and stories by Syracuse students, faculty, staff and alumni. The book launch included an open-mic night featuring members of A&S: Iris Megan Crawford ’17; Winnie Cherop Kirui G’15; Brendy Rodriguez ’20; and Lanjing Zhou, Chinese language coordinator.

Paniagua says Syracuse students were integral to the creation of both “MUSA” and “Palo.”

“We had an amazing team of editors, graphic designers and bilingual instructors,” says Paniagua, referring to the student volunteers. “It was particularly inspiring to see them mentor and work alongside children in our Dual-Language Reading Circle [which produced ‘Palo’].”

Paniagua says La Casita’s literacy programs serve dozens of students in grades Pre-K-6, most of whom hail from the West Side neighborhood.

Tere Paniagua '82

Tere Paniagua ’82

“Enrollment has increased by nearly 40 percent in the past year, sparking demand for more books, particularly titles by Caribbean and Latin American authors not found in other area libraries,” she adds.

The library also houses the Cultural Memory Archive, a repository of digital audiovisual materials; print documents; and oral history projects, including “Latinos and Baseball: In the Barrios and the Big Leagues,” which La Casita is organizing in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Latino Center.

“Documenting our cultural history through the literary arts, scholarship and publications underscores what La Casita does,” Paniagua says. “La Casita is a living heritage center.”

To donate a book to the bilingual library, click here, or contact La Casita’s librarian Margot Clark G’80, G’82, G’88, G’94 at 315.443.2151.

  • Author

Rob Enslin

  • Recent
  • Volunteers Needed for Spring 2021 Move-in
    Wednesday, January 27, 2021, By News Staff
  • ‘What Today’s Veterans Should Know About Entrepreneurship’
    Wednesday, January 27, 2021, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Ranked in the Top 25 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs by U.S. News & World Report
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • WAER 88.3 FM Welcomes New Sports Director
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By Mary Kate Intaglietta
  • The State of the Immigration Courts
    Tuesday, January 26, 2021, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Drama Department to Virtually Present New Theatrical Work Inspired by University’s 150th Anniversary

Inspired by Syracuse University’s 150th anniversary, the Department of Drama in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) will virtually present “Impact: Past, Present, Future,” a new theatrical piece that will be performed live in a series of four staged…

Special Collections Research Center Launches Latin American 45s Digital Collection

Syracuse University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), working in partnership with the Digital Library Program (DLP), recently launched the Belfer Latin American 45s Digital Collection. The digital collection will eventually provide access to over 12,000 recordings that date from…

VPA Faculty to Present World Premieres at Society for New Music Concert Jan. 31

Performers affiliated with the Setnor School of Music in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are teaming up with the Society for New Music (SNM) for world premieres by two up-and-coming composers. Cellist Gregory Wood and percussionist Rob…

Sound Beat: Access Audio Offering Children’s Audiobooks about Enslaved People by Cheryl Wills ’89

Sound Beat: Access Audio is providing two free family audiobooks written by Emmy Award-winning journalist Cheryl Wills ’89,  the great-great-great granddaughter of Emma and Sandy Wills, enslaved people from Haywood, Tennessee. The audiobooks are narrated by the author and are…

Syracuse Stage Announces Changes to the 2020/2021 Season

Syracuse Stage announced adjustments to the schedule for the remainder of the 2020/2021 season. These adjustments include replacing previously announced shows with new titles and come in direct response to the evolving situation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting in February,…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.