The superhero of the moment isn’t Superman or Batman. Nor was she created by legacy studios like Marvel or DC Comics.
“La Borinqueña,” created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, an independent writer, graphic novelist and philanthropist based in Brooklyn, has crossed over with some of DC Comics’ iconic characters. But to satisfy comic book lovers of all kinds, the writer brought the superheroine’s books and action figures to the Obama Presidential Center just after its grand opening for a “create your own superhero” workshop.
This kind of programming offers insight into what’s in store culturally on the sprawling campus. So far, people from all over the world have traveled to attend events and activities at the South Side attraction, such as Zenaida Pérez. She flew into Chicago from her hometown of Oaxaca, Mexico, for the workshop, part of W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s inaugural, three-day-long Every Child Thrives Festival and timed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Afro-Latina superhero.
“Superheroes [are] pervasive in pop culture, but they also speak to our American identity. It’s our mythology,” Miranda-Rodríguez said. “We grew up reading comics or seeing TV shows or playing video games.”
The workshop becomes a place for adults — and sometimes children — to share a bit about how they see themselves and think about what they’re passionate about, he continued.
During the workshop, Miranda-Rodríguez set up nearly two dozen art stations with paper, colored pencils and later, superhero templates. (The workshop was held on a Wednesday, notably the standard day for new releases and variants as it’s New Comic Book Day.)
As Miranda-Rodríguez told the participants about his “La Borinqueña” universe, they colored in their templates and pondered on some questions: “What powers do you have?” and “What do you protect?”
Rai-Elle Ingram, a college student and Bronx native in town to work with gun-violence prevention organization Chicago CRED, attended the event. She based the character “Ultra Rain” on herself.
“Her superpower is to sense the emotions and boost low moods through contagious laughter, banter and hugs that heal,” Ingram said. “She protects people from bad days.”
The 10th anniversary celebrations also include 10 commemorative variants of the original comic, made by different artists. Among them is Marvel Studios artist Nik Virella, whose design is inspired by Puerto Rican skipper butterflies.
But a little over a decade ago, when Miranda-Rodríguez sat down to create the character, he was sure of just one thing: She had to be a woman.
“My whole life, women were there for me,” Miranda-Rodríguez told workshop participants. “I wanted to create a character that reflected that love that was poured into me.”
While Miranda-Rodríguez’s books are self-published, the artist collaborated with DC to work on the second comic in the series, published in 2018: “Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico.”
That graphic novel features La Borinqueña teaming up with Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman and more to save Puerto Rico. In that comic, Miranda-Rodríguez introduced climate change as the main antagonist. The book was published nine months before Hurricane Maria hit the island.
Now, the series has become so popular that Miranda-Rodríguez has brought a traveling exhibition to several U.S. museums, including Chicago’s National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture.
Pérez, the woman from Oaxaca, attended the festival as a representative of the COPERA collective, which works to end racial discrimination in Mexico.
“One area where we align with the [Kellogg] Foundation is racial healing,” Pérez said in Spanish. “It’s important to heal and to understand why things are happening this way, why they happened the way they did and what we can do to move forward.”
During the workshop, Pérez sat next to Liz Torok, who shares her Mexican heritage. Torok pulled up an extra chair so that they could both participate in the activity.
Torok is director of marketing and development at the Hispanic Development Fund in Kansas City. She helps provide financial assistance and information to high schoolers, especially first-generation Latino students. She came to the festival to gain some perspective on what challenges today’s youth face.
“It’s really easy, especially with technology, to dismiss what students are going through,” Torok said.
Both Pérez and Torok were in Chicago for the first time, but appreciated getting an early taste of the Obama Presidential Center offerings.
Outside of Home Court, the NBA-regulation-sized basketball court, where festival attendees were checking in, some tourists were disappointed to know that they couldn’t access the center due to the private event.
But back in the Forum building, Miranda-Rodríguez encouraged everyone to “embrace your inner child.”
