Masa Revolution crew Martin Espino and Victor “victor-e” Mendoza rehearse the traditional Mexican Aztec Dance with Liliana Curioca at an art studio in Long Beach. Martin performed at the Tulipanes Festival in Holland, Michigan for the last six years. This time, he invited along these two special guests to take the sounds of Ancient Mexico to this annual Latin Art and Film Festival.

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• Friday, September 13
• MEXIKA “Sounds of Ancient Mexico” tours Michigan
• 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
• TULIPANES FESTIVAL, Holland, Michigan, USA (MAP)
• Martin, victor”e” and Liliana will be there for just one day at a huge auditorium playing 3 shows for kids in the day, and a special adult show at night

A man dressed as a chicken was among the artists showing off their latest creations during the first Latino Comic Expo. The daylong event drew several hundred kids– of  all ages– to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach.

More than 50 artists and vendors set up their books, DVDs, and posters on rows of tables inside a sun-drenched space at the rear of the museum. Hundreds of fans turned out to buy comic books, get autographs, and attend workshops. Sharon Nicholls drove 35 miles from Pasadena to the coast with her eight-year-old son, Elias.

“He loves reading La Cucaracha in the L.A. Times on Sunday mornings, so I guess the hook for him was the chance to meet Lalo Alcaraz.”

Alcaraz created La Cucaracha, which has gone on to become the first nationally-syndicated, politically-themed Latino daily comic strip. Fellow cartoonists Richard Padilla and Javier Hernandez teamed up, brainstormed the idea of showcasing Latino creators, and did the legwork to make it happen.  That includes lining up personal appearance from established artists: Lalo Alcaraz, Jim Lujan, and Roman Montes de Oca– and dozens more.

“The first Latino Comics Expo is a one-stop shop of movies, comics, and books based on Latino themes,” says Hernandez. “There are pop-culture references as well, like Lucha Libre, Aztec Mythology, and Mayan history.”

L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe recognized the expo’s cultural value. Just days before the event, Knabe presented co-founders Ricard Padilla and Javier Hernandez with a certificate of recognition.

“El Muerto” film screening, 2007.

Hernandez garnered worldwide recognition as the mastermind behind the comic book superhero turned movie, El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie/The Dead One.  The film adaption of the Mariachi musician with a skull face starred Wilmer Valderrama and premiered at the San Diego Latino Film Festival in 2007.

Hernandez is also the Main Title Animator for Masa Revolution: The Backstreet to The American Dream.  The independent documentary for theatrical release establishes that street food in L.A. derives from street food in Mexican and captures the strife as this once marginalized industry, which was born in LA.. and built on the backs of immigrants, becomes a global phenomenon.

Latino Comic Expo co-creators Hernandez and Padilla hope to take the show on the road: Chicago, Miami, Texas.  They say even Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil would likely draw enthusiastic crowds. Spanish sir names or not, the co-founders say their event is for anyone with an eye for Latino art and themes.

Cyrus Molina

Eleven-year-old Cyrus Molina started beat boy dancing (“breakdancing”) when he was in elementary school.  His father, Michael is one of the O-G street kids from back in the day.

Masa Revolution Graffiti Wall from Masa Revolution The Film on Vimeo.

Gang banging and tagging aside, graffiti art around L.A. became a way for artists without  finances and with no formal venues to express themselves in the 1970s. They mostly created murals in the blue-collar neighborhoods where they lived.  It was unpolished, bold, accessible.

Many local artists now feature their pieces at places like Sherman Oak’s, The Basement.  Saber is  among the high-profile graffiti artists who’ve gained international status and command crowds at exclusive galleries.

Food trucks also come from similarly humble beginnings and are experiencing a similar Renaissance.

Shiho Nakaza earns her living as an illustration artist. She sketches food trucks for fun. Her first rendering was of the Kogi Truck in 2008.  Masa Revolution met her at Santa Monica’s Victorian Museum at the First Tuesday dinner service, Sept. 28. 2010.