Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez
Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez (born June 21, 1970) is a writer at Marvel Entertainment, Editor-in-Chief at Darryl Makes Comics LLC, Art Director/Owner at Somos Arte and Studio Edgardo creative services, and creator of La Borinqueña, an original comic book character that has grown into a cultural phenomenon and a nationally recognized symbol of Puerto Rican patriotism, social justice, and equality.
[citation needed] Though Colgate University seemed far removed from the South Bronx, Miranda-Rodriguez experienced discrimination and racism, experiences that served to spark his passion and purpose.
Morales was slated to be my keynote speaker, but after a family emergency she suggested I ask Luis Garden Acosta, who ran the El Puente community center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to speak in her place.
He curated culturally and socially conscious works, producing and promoting events such as El Puente's poetry slams in the early 1990s, some of which featured the yet-to-be-discovered poet & playwright, Tony-winner Lemon Andersen.
[citation needed] Miranda-Rodriguez sought to motivate young people's interest and passion for personal activism and community leadership by integrating hip-hop culture in the classroom, bringing in artists as guest speakers, to include Crazy Legs, Rosie Perez, Q-Tip, Tony Touch and Bobbito Garcia.
During his time at El Puente, Miranda-Rodriguez would be reunited with his mentor, Iris Morales, who sought him out to be the Artistic Director for her award-winning PBS POV documentary, ¡Pa'lante, Siempre Pa'lante!
[citation needed] Throughout his time with El Puente and ¡Muevete!, Miranda-Rodriguez also kept honing his craft, strengthening his graphic design skills working at Latino web magazine Mi Gente.
Studio Edgardo has worked with Phil Jimenez (DC/Marvel), Koi Turnbull (DC/Marvel/Aspen), Le Beau Underwood (DC/Marvel), Lee Loughridge (DC/Marvel), and Raul Treviño (DC/Marvel).
Their work was presented in an app commissioned by the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCADI) to preserve the history of the community.
Called, Mi Querido Barrio (Spanish for 'my beloved neighborhood'), the app presented Miranda-Rodriguez and the other artists' work as markers in a virtual tour of the community.
McDaniels brought Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez in to serve as Editor-in-Chief, and Atlantic Records executive Rigo "Riggs" Morales as Senior Editor.
[17] Miranda-Rodriguez notes that in tackling such 'villains' as voter rights, climate change and police accountability, it is Marisol's activist and academic identity that could be potentially more powerful than her superhero self: "She doesn't fight crime, per se.
[18] Regardless of the initial motivation that Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez had that led to the creation of La Borinqueña, the outcome of the character was a significant impact on the Puerto Rican community following Hurricane Maria.
[20] With it being published by Somos Arte and set for release on May 23, 2018, Miranda-Rodriguez took on the role of Producer, sharing that his goal was to inspire Boricuas (Puerto Ricans) with stories about their island to push for reconstruction following the devastation seen throughout their land.
This led Miranda-Rodriguez and his partner to establish the La Borinqueña Grants Program through Somos Arte in 2020, with the end goal of supporting Puerto Rican organizations that find solutions for common and widespread problems the community faces.
