黑料吃瓜

Lalo Alcaraz has a split personality. One side represents 鈥淓ddie,鈥� the other 鈥淐uco.鈥�

But, it鈥檚 not a psychological problem鈥攖he two are characters from Alcaraz鈥檚 daily comic strip, La Cucaracha, which skewers politics and pop culture with a decidedly Latino bent. The comic artist and writer returns to his hometown this week during San Diego Comic-Con International.

No stranger to controversy

鈥淭o me it鈥檚 a slice-of-life ensemble comic strip with a cast of thousands, but it mainly centers around two guys that are basically me,鈥� Alcaraz explained. 鈥淓ddie who鈥檚 a regular, run-of-the mill guy, and Cuco Rocha, who is such an angry Chicano activist that he turned into a cockroach. They react to the headlines and other cultural topics.鈥�

Alcaraz is no stranger to controversy. He first cultivated his talents at 黑料吃瓜 as a student in the 1980s. He was involved with the Chicano student activist group, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA), and was an editorial cartoonist for The Daily Aztec.

鈥淢y political formation happened at State,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was the 鈥�80s and the campus was so conservative. It was all about Reagan and capitalism. It was a great time to learn how to become a political activist and political artist.鈥�

Unexpected success

While the Lemon Grove native never imagined becoming a professional comic strip artist and writer鈥攈e majored in environmental design and hoped to become an architect鈥攈e鈥檚 found a great deal of success in the field.

Now, his daily comic strip is syndicated in more than 60 newspapers across the country. In it, he explores political issues affecting Latinos, from Arizona鈥檚 SB 1070 to the naming of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. But, Alcaraz doesn鈥檛 apologize for his views when confronted by those who disagree.

鈥淚鈥檓 not in the job of creating a dialog,鈥� he said candidly. 鈥淚鈥檓 just there to fight back. It makes me glad to be able to fight back.鈥�

Even though it runs alongside other general comic strips in the San Diego Union-Tribune鈥檚 Currents section, some have suggested it run in the Opinion section alongside Doonesbury, another politically bent comic.

鈥淲hen I was at State, I read Bloom County and Doonesbury in the Daily Aztec,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought one day I would love to do a comic strip.鈥�

Future aspirations

Flattered to be compared to Doonesbury, Alcaraz still has higher aspirations. Inspired by Aaron McGruder鈥檚 The Boondocks, a daily comic strip and animated program on Cartoon Network exploring African-American issues, Alcaraz hopes to bring Eddie and Cuco to the small, or big, screen some day.

To learn more about Alcaraz, be sure to read the profile of him in the fall issue of 360: The Magazine of 黑料吃瓜, online Sept. 20.