Hispanic Comic Strip Brings Diversity To Newspapers.

The nation’s newspaper industry, responding to the changing tastes and complexion of American readers, is increasingly seeking to diversify the content of its comic pages with comic strips like “Baldo,” the first highly successful nationally syndicated comic strip about a Latino family.

The comic strip, which now appears in more than 150 Sunday and daily newspapers nationwide—including The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Houston Chronicle and The San Jose Mercury News—celebrates its first anniversary on April 17, 2001.

The growth of the strip in its first year coincides with recent U.S. Census figures that report that nearly one in three Americans is a member of a minority group, reflecting the massive surge in Latin American immigration
in the 1990s. Nationwide, Hispanics now number 35.3 million, or 12.5 percent of the U.S. population, having grown by 60 percent over the last decade. In the largest states—like California, Texas and New York—Hispanics are fast becoming the majority population.

Riding the Latin Wave

The creators of “Baldo” say the strip is riding the wave of interest in Latino fashion, food, music and a new generation of hot performers like singers Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera, actress Jennifer Lopez and comedian George Lopez.

“It’s kind of amazing when you think about it,” says Baldo co-creator Hector Cantú, an assistant features editor at The Dallas Morning News. “But up until very recently, the comics page just hasn’t had Latino characters. So you might see ‘Baldo’ as another testament to the power of the Latino market.” The trend is spreading. The lead character in the comic strip “Zits” has a Latino best friend and “Luann” has featured a Spanish exchange student. Even “Little Orphan Annie” has added a Latina supporting character.

“For years I would pick up different newspapers and there was nothing in the comics that reflected my boyhood experience. They were funny and well done, but not about what I have known growing up,” added Cantú.

Baldo Delivers Diversity to Comic Strips

So Cantú, who was reared in South Texas, proposed an idea to illustrator Carlos Castellanos, a former Miamian living in West Palm Beach. The two friends brainstormed over the phone.

Castellanos sketched characters. Cantú wrote the story lines. And about four months later, “Baldo,” the nation’s first nationally syndicated strip about a Hispanic family was born.

Typical Teen

The strip centers around a teen-age boy named Baldomero “Baldo” Bermudez, who is prone to daydreaming and likes cars, pretty girls and soccer.

Baldo lives with his father, the head of the Bermúdez family; Gracie, his little sister; and Tía Carmen, the live-in great aunt who hovers over him with her Old World ways.

Also prominent in the strip are Baldo’s friends, best buddy, Cruz, and Mundo, the neighborhood ice-cream man and soccer coach.

Baldo is like a lot of teen-agers. He enjoys being noticed by the prettiest girl in school. He enjoys a good game of soccer. And he’s building his very own car, a popular past-time with Hispanic youth.

But Baldo is also Hispanic. And the car he’s piecing together is a low-rider.

Cartoons depicting mostly Hispanic characters are rare.

Universal Press Syndicate launched the strip in English and Spanish versions in nearly 100 newspapers in April 2000.

“We were looking for a comic strip about a Hispanic family that was well-drawn and funny. When we saw Baldo, we knew it was the one,” says Lee Salem, vice president and editor of Universal Press Syndicate, which
distributes the strip.

Salem says only three other Universal Press Syndicate comics have started out with higher numbers than Baldo, “For Better or For Worse,” “Calvin & Hobbes” and “The Boondocks.”

“Baldo” has found favor especially in media and in Texas, where six million Hispanics account for 30 percent of the Lone Star State’s total population, growing 47 percent in a decade.

Cultural Bridge

“This comic strip is a bridge between different cultures,” added Salem of Universal Press Syndicate. “It’s just as funny for non-Hispanics as it is for those in the Hispanic community.”

The strip has a strong father figure, but no mother. “Having just one parent will help us focus on the relationship between father and son,” Cantú says. Baldo’s father is just called Dad.

The female influence on Baldo comes from little sister Gracie, a strong-willed rebel who campaigns to save the Earth, and great aunt Tía Carmen.

While the creators drew on some of their own life experiences to create the strip, Baldo’s physical features were modeled after Castellanos’ brother. They say the strip’s story lines about teen-age dilemmas and family interaction appeal to readers of all ethnicities.