September 15 - December 17, 2021, Featuring: Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Breena Nuñez, Daisy Ruiz, & Stephanie Rodriguez
¡Oye! Cuéntame un Cuento, organized by The Latinx Project in collaboration with Stephanie Rodriguez, is an exhibition featuring four Latinx illustrators exploring biographical comics through the lens of Adversity, Community, and Oral Tradition. Artists Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Breena Nuñez, Daisy Ruiz and Stephanie Rodriguez bring a much needed spotlight to the Latinx lived experience, with their investment in visual storytelling.
Oral Tradition is an integral part of the Latinx community. It starts in childhood when children beg their elders “Cuéntame un Cuento”, or the cuentos are given anyway. We pass down these cuentos for generations, and with time, modifications are made for entertainment's sake. Often taking an autobiographical approach, these creators navigate gender, queerness, migratory displacement, and ethno-racial identities in a format that has historically underrepresented femme and non-white voices. ¡Oye! Cuéntame un Cuento brings these barrier-breaking comics to the limelight.
Sharon Lee De La Cruz is a multi-disciplinary artist and activist from New York City. Her thought-provoking pieces address a range of issues related to tech, social justice, sexuality, and race. De La Cruz’s work ranges from comics, graffiti, and public-art murals to more recent explorations in interactive sculptures, animation, and coding. She graduated with a BFA from Cooper Union and a MPS from NYU-ITP. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, Processing Foundation Fellowship, and a Tin House Summer Workshop participant.
Breena Nuñez is an Afro-Guatemalan-Salvadoran cartoonist living in San Francisco, CA. She creates diary comics that often explore themes surrounding the awkwardness of racism, being a queer Afrodescendiente from the Bay Area, and understanding what it means to be Central American from the US. Their hope as a cartoonist & educator is to help BIPOC folks give themselves permission to express their personal stories through the language of comics. Breena’s comics are primarily self-published as zines, but you will also find some comics in publications such as The New Yorker: Daily Shouts and The Nib.
Daisy Ruiz, better known online as @Draizys, is a Bronx-bred Illustrator, Founder and Creative Director of award-winning compilation zine Deadass Tho NYC, and a one-third of WOC art Collective Spicy Mango Comics. Her illustrations take inspiration from her 5 year-long Scene phase, her East Coast Chicana upbringing, and everyday NYC living, just to name a few.
Stephanie Rodriguez is a Bronx-born comic, book artist, and illustrator. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 2011 with a BFA in Illustration. Stephanie creates illustrations and self-published comics depicting the highs and lows of everyday life. Stephanie's work has been featured on BuzzFeed, Remezcla, Vayner Media, and Michigan Radio (NPR). Her debut young adult graphic novel is set to publish in Spring 2023 by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Sharon Lee De La Cruz (2021)
Sharon Lee De La Cruz (2021)
Breena Nuñez (2018)
Breena Nuñez (2019)
Daisy Ruiz (2021)
Daisy Ruiz (2021)
Stephanie Rodriguez (2019)
Stephanie Rodriguez (2017)
Below you’ll find a selection of comics, books, prints, & other items created by the exhibiting artists. Support by clicking on the item & purchasing their work directly!
Daisy Ruiz, I love Myself Pink Diablita Tote
Daisy Ruiz, Off The Chain Cumbia Party Sticker
Daisy Ruiz, Tweety BX Luv Made-t-order
Stephanie Rodriguez, How to Mend a Broken Heart
Breena Nuñez, Speak Africanismos
Stephanie Rodriguez, Stories From the Boogie Down
Daisy Ruiz, Bodega Run Hand detailed Riso Print
Breena Nuñez & Lawrence Lindell, Laneha House #2
Breena Nuñez & Lawrence Lindell, Laneha House Digital Comics Bundle
Stephanie Rodriguez, Girls Night Print
Breena Nuñez & Lawrence Lindell, One
Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Selfies V.1 Zine
Stephanie Rodriguez, My Hoops Print
Daisy Ruiz, Draizy's Garfield in the BX Sticker Sheet
Stephanie Rodriguez, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Print
Sharon Lee De La Cruz, I’m a Wild Seed
Daisy Ruiz, Tweety BX Luv Sticker
Stephanie Rodriguez, Lil' Shorties
Sharon Lee De La Cruz, Sticker Pack #1
Breena Nuñez & Lawrence Lindell, Laneha House #3 (pre-order)
EXHIBITION WALKTHROUGH WITH @STEPHGUEZ
On opening day, September 15th @ 4pm, check out our Insta-stories @latinxprojnyu for a sneak peak of the in-person installation of ¡Oye! Cuéntame un Cuento with Stephanie Rodriguez.
COMICS TALK: MEET THE COMICS OF ¡OYE! CUÉNTAME UN CUENTO
Get to know the Comics in a ZOOM panel moderated by Anthropology PhD candidate Andrés Olán Vázquez.