''La Cucaracha'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for ''The Cockroach'') is a nationally syndicated daily

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

Lalo Alcaraz Lalo Alcaraz (born April 19, 1964) is an American cartoonist most known for being the author of the comic ''La Cucaracha'', the first nationally syndicated, politically themed Latino daily comic strip. Launched in 2002, ''La Cucaracha'' has becom ...

. First published in the ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' in 1992, ''La Cucaracha'''s satirical themes reflect U.S./Mexican, and

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

culture and politics. Lalo's characters are symbolic of Latino culture in the United States, particularly from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, where Alcaraz is from. Recurring characters include Eddie, Cuco, and Vero. It is syndicated by

Andrews McMeel Syndication Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various other c ...

, and is printed in over 60 newspapers. It began daily publication in November 2002. It is the only 'political' Latino-themed syndicated daily comic strip in the U.S. It is one of several politically themed comic strips in mainstream papers. It is similar, in that manner, to ''

Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States The president ...

'', ''

Candorville ''Candorville'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip written and illustrated by Darrin Bell. Launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers Group, ''Candorville'' features young black and Latino characters living in the inner city. ...

'', ''

The Boondocks Boondocks are remote, usually brushy areas. Boondocks may also refer to: * The Boondocks (band), an Estonian rock band * ''The Boondocks'' (comic strip), a comic strip by Aaron McGruder ** ''The Boondocks'' (2005 TV series), the television ser ...

'' and ''

Prickly City ''Prickly City'' is a daily comic strip originally drawn by Scott Stantis, the editorial cartoonist for the ''Chicago Tribune'', and distributed through United Features Syndicate. The cartoon follows the adventures of Carmen, a young girl of col ...

'' (although the latter is of an opposite political persuasion). Some see a distinct influence of Mexican artist

Rius Eduardo Humberto del Río García (June 20, 1934 – August 8, 2017), better known by his pen name Rius, was a Mexican intellectual, political cartoonist and writer born in Zamora, Michoacán. One of the most popular Mexican cartoonists, Rius h ...

. The strip is considered one of the most controversial in the history of American comic strips, labeled "anti-white" and "divisive" by its detractors and defended as "truthful" and "progressive" by its supporters. It was dropped by four papers after a deluge of reader complaints. Alcaraz satirized his hate-mailers by drawing a letter-writer pleading, "Please drop 'La Cucaracha' and bring back my favorite comic strip, 'Whitesville USA' by Aryan McCracker." In regard to this response, Alcaraz said, "I'm sorry, but I'm just not polite about this stuff."

Universal Press Syndicate Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Eb ...

considered ''La Cucaracha'' an unqualified success, and signed Alcaraz to a ten-year contract.

References

External links

* 1992 comics debuts American comic strips Gag-a-day comics Satirical comics Comics about politics Race-related controversies in comics Comics set in the United States Comics set in Mexico {{Chicano-stub

See also

References

External links