Cantú created his first cartoon at age 12 for a community newspaper in Crystal City, Texas, owned by his brother, inspired by Mad magazine cartoonists Sergio Aragonés and Antonio Prohías.

He studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was an assistant managing editor at The Daily Texan.

He was managing editor of Hispanic Business magazine in Santa Barbara, California.

In 1998, Cantú and artist Carlos Castellanos[3] teamed to create the comic strip Baldo, about a 15-year-old Latino-American teenager, Baldomero Bermudez, nickname Baldo, living with his 8-year-old sister Gracie; their father, Sergio; and their aunt, Tia Carmen.

[2] As of 2007, Cantú is editor and publisher of The Intelligent Collector magazine at Heritage Auctions.