Fast Company Türkiye
By Ela Naz Birdal / GenZ Advisory Board Member and Coordinator at Climate Live Turkey
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is a prominent artist who has brought Puerto Rican culture and history to the forefront of the modern comic book world. Born in 1970, Miranda-Rodriguez has worked as a writer at Marvel Entertainment and serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Darryl Makes Comics LLC. He has also made his mark in the art world through Somos Arte and Studio Edgardo Creative Services. However, his most well-known creation is La Borinqueña, a superhero who powerfully represents Puerto Rican identity and culture. La Borinqueña is not just a hero but also a symbol of social justice, equality, and environmental awareness. Miranda-Rodriguez’s creation of La Borinqueña also sought to address the environmental challenges facing Puerto Rico, making the character a vehicle for raising awareness about global issues. In this interview, we will explore La Borinqueña’s connection to the climate crisis and delve into the creative approach Miranda-Rodriguez has taken in addressing these concerns.
The climate crisis poses a major threat to future generations. What messages does La Borinqueña convey for the future? Does your comic present a vision of how young people can confront this issue?
My hope with our stories is that young people including your generation and beyond see the intrinsic power that they already have to be the changemakers today through tomorrow. Oftentimes our youth are told they are the future, but I sincerely believe you all are the now too. Historically young people have always led bringing change to society. If you look at Puerto Rico, it has been students that have been on the frontlines fighting and that movement has been visible across the globe. Our stories weave in specific issues related to the environment from coastal erosion to wildlife preservation. Although La Borinqueña is a superhero series, we don’t see our character in our stories as the savior. In fact, she is seen working alongside others whether it be her teammates or local leaders who are committed to a better society for all of us. Via our stories young people can see themselves as heroes and see within themselves the power that they have always had to make a difference in our world.
Puerto Rico’s natural resources and environment shape your character’s identity. How does La Borinqueña engage in environmental advocacy and address the climate crisis within this context? What kind of innovative or symbolic actions does she take?
In the research I do for my stories, from reading articles and books; listening to podcasts; interviewing scholars and activists; I’ve come to see that the archipelago of Puerto Rico can truly serve as an example to discuss environmental issues globally. Germanwatch is a group of scientists who also see this in their studies. In their GLOBAL CLIMATE RISK INDEX 2019 they posed the question “Who Suffers Most From Extreme Weather Events?” Their research spanned 1999-2018 and they cited Puerto Rico as the one area on our planet that would see the most impact and this was proven to be true with Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the earthquakes of 2019-2020. Aside from weather-related events, Puerto Rico also is going through a power crisis due to the unstable power grid that hasn’t been upgraded or recreated since its initial creation in 1941. That is why in one of our more recent publication, La Borinqueña Guest Starring Rosario Dawson our story addressed the need for renewable energy. This book was produced with support from NRDC who have been committed to and continue to work in Puerto Rico. My stories often have a level of prescient storytelling. Our first book was published in December 2016 with our hero facing a hurricane that left the islands of Puerto Rico powerless, only to see 9 months later in reality of Hurricane Maria’s devastation. On April 6, 2022 we published our 4th book featuring Rosario Dawson addressing the power crisis, the same day a black hit Puerto Rico. This recurrence of connecting reality to our stories helps support our work as advocates and philanthropists because we have already awarded over $200,000 to nonprofits throughout Puerto Rico.
How does La Borinqueña encourage her community not only to face global threats like climate change, but also to live in greater harmony with nature? How does the comic address the social and cultural aspects of this way of life? Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating La Borinqueña? What was your initial motivation for bringing this character to life?
In the development of La Borinqueña, my research led me to see the value of linking her superhero origin to the cosmology of the Taínos, the indigenous people of the Greater Antilles islands including Puerto Rico. Their Cemis, the deities they believed in, were all connected to the natural elements. The spirits of the sea and earth, Yúcahu, the spirits of the storms, Juracán (the etymological origin of the word ‘hurricane’) allowed me as a storyteller the resources I could use to create the source of her powers. That is why she is connected to nature and her stories connect to current issues affecting Puerto Rico and the world. Her connection to her African heritage as an AfroLatina allows me to use Bomba, a musical genre that connects to the descendants of Africa that were first brought to Puerto Rico enslaved. The lyrics that I use in my stories come from songs that are sung today and have been for centuries that not only tether our protagonist to history, but also to nature. La Borinqueña in our stories represents the living spirit of the cemi Atabex, the mother goddess of all creation that the Taínos saw as their supreme being.
As a comic book character, La Borinqueña is not just a superhero but also a symbol of resistance against Puerto Rico’s challenges. What do you think is the role of superheroes in today’s world regarding social justice and cultural representation?
In 1938 when Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster introduced Superman in Action Comics #1, their comic book centered stories around domestic violence and government corruption. Also important to note that in this era there was rampant antisemitism and both Siegel and Schuster were Jewish Americans. My approach to comic book storytelling connects to this point in history and I draw inspiration to address social issues throughout the pages and panels of La Borinqueña’s adventures. Our connection to Superman came full circle in a collection of stories that teamed up our character with DC Comics superheroes in our number one best-selling graphic novel Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico.
How would you define the impact of the economic and political crises in Puerto Rico on the themes in your work?
Oftentimes comic books can seem to escape certain tropes, like evil megalomaniacal corporate villains like Lex Luthor or secret government experiments that lead to the origins of many characters in these full color sequential pages of art. In the case of Puerto Rico, these tropes are the realities that the over 3 million Puerto Ricans with U.S. citizenship live with every day. Therefore I bring these tropes into my stories and mirror reality with characters and evil master plans to connect our readers to actual current and historical moments that give our stories resonance.
Does the name “La Borinqueña” hold a special meaning? How does the historical and cultural significance of Borikén shape your character?
The Taínos of the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean islands had names for these islands. Xaymaca/Jamaica, Cubanancan/Cuba, Quisqueya/Haiti and Dominican Republic, Bahamas, and Borikén/Puerto Rico. Borikén translates to land of the noble creator. Puerto Ricans refer to themselves as Boricuas, Borincanas/os, Borinqueñas/os, all are derivative of the name Borikén and refer to themselves as of and/or descendants of Puerto Rico. La Borinqueña is the name of the first national anthem written in 1868 by the Puerto Rican poet, Lola Rodríguez de Tío and the current and official anthem written by the Spaniard, Félix Astol Artes. I named my superhero La Borinqueña because I wanted her to immediately be identified as a nationalist and patriotic character. This acknowledgement goes into all the stories that I craft because I know and understand the weight of this name and the history attached to it.
Your work often references Puerto Rico’s freedom struggle and history. How well do you think contemporary Puerto Rico connects with its historical legacy?
Puerto Rico was acquired by the U.S. in 1898 and in 1917 Puerto Ricans became U.S. citizens. In Puerto Rico children in public schools learn U.S. history. On official government buildings and offices the U.S. flag flies alongside the Puerto Rican flag. There are also three different hues of blue used for the same Puerto Rican flag. The sky blue is the original blue of the flag that Mimi Besosa, a Puerto Rican living in Brooklyn, NY, used sky blue to create the first flag that was unfurled publicly on December 22, 1895. That flag arrived in Puerto Rico in 1897 for the uprising in Yauco, Puerto Rico and in 1948 was made illegal. In 1952, the flag was changed to navy blue and became the official flag of Puerto Rico. Children in public schools throughout Puerto Rico know only the history of the flag from 1952 forward. Via La Borinqueña’s stories we inject history in the hopes that her graphic novels inspire readers to do a deeper dive into this untaught history. The character herself in our stories is learning about Puerto Rico’s current issues and history and this is part of the storytelling I’ve developed over time so that our readers can learn alongside our protagonist.
How do you see the impact of creating a character like La Borinqueña on the younger generation in Puerto Rico?
La Borinqueña allowed me to introduce stories centered around Puerto Ricans into U.S. mainstream pop-culture via a superhero series. Most superhero stories for close to a century have centered their narratives around white male protagonists. That La Borinqueña is a woman of African descent from Puerto Rico already makes her an outlier. Into our ninth year of publication, La Borinqueña graphic novels are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian, is featured in textbooks taught internationally, a line of action-figures, and Arte de La Borinqueña is a traveling comic book art exhibition that will be presented by the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities in Puerto Rico through July 2025 at their new Humanidades Puerto Rico gallery. The opportunities that present themselves to me that allow me to introduce La Borinqueña globally gives me hope that children in Puerto Rico alongside others internationally will feel empowered by her stories. I hope that her stories inspire within others a desire to learn more about Puerto Rico and to explore ways that they too can be heroes for change, for a better society for all of us.
What messages would you like to convey to inspire them?
As a child, I grew up in abject poverty. My mother struggled to raise me, my older brother, and younger sister. By the age of 18 I had lived in 21 different places throughout New York, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico. I suffered from hunger and poverty. I would walk the streets of many towns collecting bottles and cans to exchange them for 5 cents, and I’d save up enough money to buy myself comic books to read. I’d write and illustrate my own comic books and sell them to classmates so I could buy myself something to eat and more comic books. Today, I am very fortunate to have two sons and a wife who is also my business partner. In our home our sons never have to suffer as I did in my youth. They see me as a storyteller, but also as a philanthropist that sees the power of charity. A small portion from the sales of our books plus a portion from collaborations we do with brands support our continued charity work that awards grants to nonprofits in Puerto Rico. As a child, in my darkest moments, did I ever give up hope. I turned to superheroes because I believed in their optimism and today, I still do. So much so that I write my own stories and my hope is that readers all over the world find inspiration when they turn the pages of our graphic novels or place our action-figures on their shelves as a symbol of hope. Everyone one of us have stories to tell, stories that we can all relate to, stories that connect us all to our shared humanity, and our shared hope for a better world.
How do you incorporate elements of Puerto Rican culture into your drawings and storytelling?
The locations in our stories are all inspired by real towns, real buildings, real parks, and real natural habitats and areas. My hope is that via my stories readers not only can learn about the biodiversity of Puerto Rico, but can also see similarities to other areas around the world. I also love to have our team of artists interpret Taino artifacts and history into the panels and pages of our stories. Our other superheroes are also inspired by Puerto Rico’s culture, wildlife, and towns. This connections give our characters and stories a deeper level of connection and substance.
As La Borinqueña’s popularity grows, how has it felt for you to see your character become known worldwide, with a growing fanbase beyond Puerto Rico?
In 2018 I debuted my second book Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico to the Puerto Rico Comic Con in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As many lined up for three days straight to pick up their copy of our DC Comics and La Borinqueña team-up book, they told me over and over again in Spanish “¡Gracias por poner a Puerto Rico en alto!” which means “Thank for raising awareness around Puerto Rico.” Our superhero brings Puerto Rico into the mainstream space of comic book storytelling. There are many artists that successfully do this in music, film, and theater. However, in comic books we are still the only ones to do so. We’re also the only artists to create pop-culture around Puerto Rico 100% independently with no major publisher or studio supporting us. This is not lost on our supporters, which is why I believe we have such a strong and loyal base. My hope is to expand this base so that our books reach new readers, that our action-figures reach new collectors, and that we all can celebrate in the power of superheroes that fight for a better tomorrow beyond the full-color adventures printed in the pages of comic books.
Finally, how do you plan to evolve La Borinqueña and Puerto Rico’s story in the future? Are there any new projects or developments you are working on?
All of our stories are canon. We are expanding La Borinqueña’s universe via our collaborative projects and our spin-off books with new characters. We have published two new superhero comic books. Oro el Coqui Dorado was co-created by myself and my youngest son. Lúz La Luminosa is the first superhero to have endometriosis which affects 1 in 10 people with a uterus, including my wife Kyung Jeon-Miranda who inspired me to write this comic book. We’re developing a new comic book for our next superhero, V•G1GANTE, a giant robot who will face off a threat from the depths of the Puerto Rico Trench! This new comic book will be supported via our crowd-funding campaign.
Can you tell us about the creation process of Oro El Coqui Dorado? How did this project begin?
I already had a script for La Borinqueña, which would be our book including our DC Comics team-up graphic novel. During the pandemic I revisted this script and felt that the original ending was too dark given the world we all were living in during 2020. I spoke with my two sons and asked them to help me create new superheroes that I wanted to introduce at the end of this new book. My youngest son looked at a vejigante mask we had in our home. This mask was a gift from one of our grantees and was a yellow folkloric mask made from the husk of a coconut with three spikes. My son drew a character with this mask that had the Taino symbol of the coqui, the indigenous tree frog, on it’s chest. I embellished this illustration, gave him the name Oro El Coquí Dorado and together we came up with his powers. He could shrink down to the size of a tree frog, he had incredibly enhanced acrobatic abilities, and he was a master of the Puerto Rican martial arts style of stick fighting called cocobalé.
Do you have any plans for the future of Oro El Coqui Dorado? Are you working on new stories or projects?
Oro El Coqui Dorado is one of four of our new action-figures. Similar to his comic book stories, the spikes on his helmet come off and can be used as weapons or can combine together to form a staff. Oro, La Borinqueña and our other superheroes all appear in our stories. We are developing an overarching larger story that connects all of our books and all of our characters have a role to play.
Do you expect Oro El Coqui Dorado to become a symbol in society? How do you think the character will resonate, especially among younger readers?
Young boys are drawn to Oro El Coqui Dorado because of his costume, it’s colors, and his super powers.
How does the character of Oro El Coqui Dorado differ from traditional superhero prototypes? What are the unique features that set him apart from other heroes?
Oro El Coqui Dorado is the only superhero who’s origins directly tie in to Puerto Rican heritage and culture, from his cocobalé stick fighting style, to his name which is inspired by the indigenous tree frog from the archipelago. The colors of his costume are drawn from the colors of the flag of Loíza. There are 78 unique municipalities throughout Puerto Rico and Loíza is the only that was founded by Libertos, Puerto Ricans of African descent who liberated themselves from slavery. His mask is also directly inspired by the vejigante masks of Loiza.
While working on this project, in what aspects did you aim to innovate compared to traditional superhero stories?
Oro El Coqui Dorado’s story focuses on the displacement of many Puerto Ricans. Throughout the coastal areas of the islands many investors from the U.S. are taking advantage of Act 60 to buy tax-free properties and many are buying out homeowners in and this is part of a larger history of the struggle of property rights. I drew inspiration from the story of Adolfina Villanueva Osorio’s death, who was originally in Loiza in writing this comic book.
