TimelineJS: Hector Cantu
Copy of Official TimelineJS3 Template – Google Sheets
https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1nsaJaSWLHPXvEi-F5U-yf7YmHDnYrU1pGTtb1nCwCE8&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650
This is a timeline that describes all the aspects of what makes Hector Cantu, Hector Cantu. This timeline is broken down to the year that this information was present from. Timeline includes : that Hector was born in the year of 1961, in the state of Texas. Hector’s upbringing into comics was actually due to his cousin’s obsession with MAD magazine. When he first made a cartoon strip and sent it to MAD to be published, it was denied and was told maybe someday later he would be able to join the MAD family. Hector then used this as fuel to get better at his craft of making comics.Hector had to begin to translate his work into english to grow a following and get published in America. Before Baldo he wrote for the Dallas Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News. He’s also contributed to the Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and D Magazine. Baldo was born in 2000 after Hector and his good friend and illustrator Carlos Castellanos joined up and created this masterpiece. It goes through why they decided to choose a latino family and how it’s important to include diverse characters in the future for all artists to help grow the brand of comics. How Hector brought a lot of sensitive topics to surface to bring awareness of what latino and hispanic faced while being in america. Followed by Each member of Baldo’s family and why he made them. Ending with What he does other than comics like teaching and creation of the Texas national Society of comics.
Overall I think users should take a deeper look into his creation of Baldo and why he chose a latino family instead of an American family, and why he makes sensitive topics into jokes for all of us to laugh at. Gaps in my research would be what he did before Baldo because there wasn’t a lot on his earlier work with the various different magazines. I wish I could have seen something comic strip related before his creation of Baldo. There also wasn’t a lot on his awards in comics, and getting a lot of his broader information wasn’t on anything other than wikipedia. I hope my audience gets to learn in a digitalized way to gain a better understanding and appreciation for cartoonists’ work. I also would like them to gain a better understanding that sometimes there’s a deeper meaning for why people do things and this one example is another way we see this. Hector wanted to make a latino family because he wanted people to see what him and his family went through coming over to America. He wanted to shed light on serious issues by using comedy to make us engage but still learn as we laugh. I’m going to leave everyone you with a quote from hector’s abuela: “Everyone should start their day with a smile and a laugh” and that’s what Mr. Cantu shows us every morning when Baldo comes out.
Hector Cantu
My Cartoonist is named Hector Cantu, he is most known for his creation of the comic strips of “Baldo”. He started cartoons at an early age when he noticed his love for storytelling and drawing. His cultural background and ability to work in social issues along with his humor and wit into his cartoons is what makes him stand out compared to other artists. His big Breakout was after Carlos Castellanos and himself teamed up to create the world known comic “Baldo” in 2000. The strip quickly gained popularity for its relatable and humorous depiction of the Alvarez family, which includes Baldo, his younger sister Gracie, their father Sergio, and their grandmother Abuela. In Baldo Cantu shows the quest of the American Dream and shows different cultural and stereotypical situations you could see yourself in while also entertaining readers of many different backgrounds. Hector Cantú’s dedication to promoting diversity and inclusion in the world of comics has earned him numerous awards and accolades. His work has been featured in newspapers nationwide, contributing to greater visibility for Hispanic voices in the media. Cantú’s commitment to authentic storytelling has also led to collaborations with organizations focused on promoting literacy and education among Hispanic youth. We should learn about Hector because he has demonstrated the power of comics as a medium for cultural expression and social commentary. His work continues to resonate with audiences, making him a significant figure in the world of cartooning and a source of inspiration for aspiring artists and storytellers. In the later years in his life, he taken up teaching and the practice of public speaking for motivation of the Hispanic race, he talks about how to overcome adversity and deal with racism/change and even defying the odds and keeping your head down to strive to things people never thought you would accomplish.
Pin on Education & Teaching (pinterest.com)
In this comic strip Baldo’s dad is asking his kids how first week of school is going thinking he would get something interesting out of his kids showing they are learning or enjoying it, after he asks his daughter, he is happy She’s learning something useful and she’s happy about it, which puts a smile on his face. When he asks Baldo he says stages of grief and he expresses no emotion because what can you say about stages pf grief that’s happy. Some visual elements include the facial expressions, and that the little girl is young due to the yellow crayon or marker she has showing her youth and why she is happy about school.
In this comic we see Hector use Baldo and his family to show how grateful he is to be from the USA and that even people who aren’t originally from here support and understand the importance of July 4th and supporting the troops is a big deal in this country and they are Americans now, so they do it too. A moment for Hector and Baldo where people respect the writing style and time of the year with July 4th that week this was published.
Links
How the writer behind the comic strip ‘Baldo’ blends humor with humanity | PBS NewsHour
Hector Cantu | Speaking Fee | Booking Agent (allamericanspeakers.com)
Cartoonist follows his dreams, creates Baldo | Entertainment | victoriaadvocate.com
More on Cantu’s Early Years
Hector Cantu blames his cousin for his obsession with comic strips and books. “My cousin was so cool with his MAD magazines filled with comics, I wanted to be like him, so I became obsessed with them, so yes Thanks to him, he created my life.” It wasn’t much longer after that he had his first rejection letter from MAD magazine.
“It had a watermark of Alfred E. Neuman’s face. The editor said something like ‘Sorry, but maybe someday you’ll join the usual gang of idiots here at Mad’,” Cantu recalled about the handwritten letter. “I remember crumpling up the letter and throwing it away.”
He used this rejection as fuel to keep pushing and get better at his work. He had an idea after brainstorming with his abuela one day. “It was something I always had in my mind. A hidden dream,” he said. “I really didn’t see any comics that included people or characters that were representative of the way I grew up. There were no Latinos.” SO, what did he do… Called his good buddy Carlos Castellanos who was the best illustrator he knew, and they created Baldo. Cantu takes this as a win because that kid at 12 years old would’ve been proud of the creation of Baldo and how his work evolved throughout time. He chose to bring the little boy Latino culture into a light instead of hiding in the shadows.
Filling in the Gaps
Topics that I discovered during the timelineJs project were that his cousin should be accredited for getting Hector into comics and introducing him to all the comic strip magazines at the time including Hectors favorite MAD magazine. Hector started to build his MAD magazine collection every week and try to make sequels to the comics in there. It wasn’t too long after that he submitted and was rejected from the magazine company for emulating someone else’s work. Hector also had to translate his work to English when he arrived in the states. He realized that Spanish Cartoons weren’t around in the US, nor did they have a following to become good enough. He needed to do this to gain followers and more viewers to look at his work, he knew he had to start to use English or translate all of his work. He catered to his audience giving Americans a different idea of who Hector was.
Before Baldo he wrote for the Dallas Times Herald, The Dallas Morning News, Angeles Time Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and D Magazine. His life now adays consists of teaching at the University of Texas at Dallas in a class that Is built around Comic creations. This is considered a Creative-Writing class at the University. The last two things I discovered was with Hector living in Dallas Texas he cares a lot about the future of Comics down there and he was actually the Founding father of the Texas Cartoonists, The Texas division of the National Cartoonist Society. The last discovery was that Hector will not produce any other strips or different cartoons other the Baldo until he dies. He wants to put all of his love, attention and hard work into the creation of Baldo every week instead of worrying about one or two other cartoons to distract me.
After doing the Timeline JS I felt efficient enough to include it into my final project with my group in a separate section of our redesign where we can see everyone’s cartoonists in the class inside a timeline. Under their name and picture, it will have all of their accomplishments throughout their career in comics. I have realized I can use this for any visualization in future classes giving me something to talk about that isn’t just a paper or slideshow.
Conclusion
Hector Cantu has given us laughs for so many years in the comics business. His creation of Baldo brought so many people all over the world happiness first thing in the morning. he is a renowned Mexican American cartoonist and writer, has left behind an impressive array of awards and accomplishments throughout his career. As the co-creator of the popular comic strip “Baldo,” Cantu has not only entertained readers but also made significant contributions to the representation of the Latino community in American media. With his unique blend of humor and social commentary, he should be remembered for his commitment to diversity, his impact on the world of comic strips, and his contributions to bridging cultural gaps.
Through humor and wit, Cantu has successfully used “Baldo” as a platform to shine a light on the challenges faced by many Latino families while promoting understanding and empathy. Cantu’s work has earned him several accolades and recognition. In 2003, he received the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Editorial Cartoons, underscoring his ability to use cartoons to address social issues and advocate for positive change. The National Cartoonists Society has also recognized Cantu for his talent, awarding him the prestigious Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 2007. These awards highlight his exceptional skills as a cartoonist and his ability to use his art to spark important conversations. Cantu’s contributions extend beyond the pages of “Baldo.” He has actively engaged with the Latino community and worked towards promoting diversity in the entertainment industry. He has been involved in initiatives that provide scholarships for young Latino artists and writers, encouraging them to pursue their creative ambitions. By showing his diversity and supporting emerging talent, Cantu has left a lasting impact on the industry, paving the way for future generations of diverse voices in comics.
Cantu’s work has been instrumental in bridging cultural gaps and fostering understanding between different communities. “Baldo” has been published in both English and Spanish, showcasing the bilingual nature of many Latino households. By addressing universal themes that resonate with people of diverse backgrounds, Cantu has helped create common ground and fostered empathy among readers from various cultures. In this way, he has contributed to building bridges and breaking down stereotypes through the power of storytelling.
Hector Cantu’s awards and accomplishments reflect his multi-dimensional impact on the field of cartooning and beyond. Through his beloved character “Baldo” and his dedication to portraying the Latino experience authentically, he has raised awareness about important social issues and promoted diversity in media representation. Cantu’s ability to use humor and relatability to engage readers has allowed him to transcend language and cultural barriers, fostering understanding and empathy. He should always be remembered for his commitment to diversity, his influence on the world of comic strips, and his efforts to bring communities together through his art. He is truly one of a kind and completely changed the meaning of being a cartoonist.
TIMELINE JS
https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1nsaJaSWLHPXvEi-F5U-yf7YmHDnYrU1pGTtb1nCwCE8&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650
In my time that was spent on each website. The creation product was a lot different. In Wiki data, a lot of the issues were data based. There wasn’t enough information on the website. When creating a visualization, it wouldn’t pull some dates or basic info due to the lack of broad ness and lack of information. With the visual timeline while using Timeline JS, we are just using our own notes on our Cartoonist who we have been studying about for the past 3 months and generating with dates and description spitting out in an easy to find timeline link that gives us an opportunity to share our creation. This isn’t like Wiki data because you get out what you put in, if something is wrong it’s our fault. Where in Wiki data sometimes you can’t do anything about it because the information isn’t there.
Comments
One response to “Chase Conklin – “Hector Cantu””
I really like how he used his research to go in depth with his cartoonists. I like how he set up his page, the format is fluid. I really like how he uses the cartoonists back ground to inform the reader on important information.
I would like to see a list of awards that his cartoonists earned through his career as well as a list of accomplishments.
I learned that hector used the comic strip “Baldo” to illustrate some of his own life experiences.
I would like to learn more about Hectors awards.