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Williams College Libraries Thesis Release Form All theses are available online to Williams users with a Williams log‑in and password. Select o ne response for each queson. Form to be completed jointly by student and faculty member. ACCESS TO YOUR THESIS Does a faculty member claim co‑authorship? _X__ No ___ Yes When do you want your thesis made available to any user beyond Williams? _X__ Now ___ 5 years ___ 10 years ___ Aer lifeme of author(s) OWNERSHIP/COPYRIGHT It is permissible to reproduce porons of another person's work under the doctrine of “ fair use, ” including applicaons that clearly advance educaon or scholarship. If your thesis contains copyrighted materials exceeding “fair use” we cannot make it available to users beyond Williams. Does your thesis contain c opyrighted materials exceeding “fair use”? _X__ No ___ Yes (You may submit a second version oming copyrighted material. Contact the College Archivist for details at [email protected] ). Please contact the College Archivist at s [email protected] if you are unsure about the copyright status of your thesis. Please provide a brief (1‑5 sentences) descripon of your thesis below: This thesis analyzes the construc1on of Puerto Rican cultural iden1ty in the superhero comic book, La Borinqueña. Through an analysis of histories from both the island and diaspora, the author-ar1st puts forth ideas about the Puerto Rican “na1on,” which centers blackness and the diaspora, ul1mately countering tradi1onal discourse. Addi1onally, along with other La1nx comic book creator, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez deployed several cultural symbols to cue in his target audiences. The mixture of historical imagery and cultural symbols dis1nguish themain character Marisol as a complex character. Overall the way that Marisol performs her Puerto Ricanness and the manner of her release allow her to be a more representa1ve Afro- La1na character in popular culture. 1 of 2 Signatures Redacted Up, Up, and A-Wepa: Performing Puerto Rican Identities in La Borinqueña ​ by Katrina Martínez Professor María Elena Cepeda Ph.D., Advisor A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Latina/o Studies WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williamstown, Massachusetts 26 January 2018 2 To my fellow Boricuas across la isla and the diaspora, we are our greatest strengths. Y pa’lante, siempre pa’lante. 3 Acknowledgements I want to begin by thanking the amazing people who have paved the way for me to be at an institution like Williams College, especially the many academics of color and Puerto Rican activists before me. Thank you to everyone who has made Latina/o Studies possible at Williams, for giving me an outlet to explore myself and my histories in the classroom. A huge thank you to Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez for creating La Borniqueña and giving us the ​ ​ story of Marisol Ríos de la Luz. I am so appreciative of the time he took to sit down with me for two interviews, offering me valuable insight into the first and future issues. She has been one of my greatest sources of inspiration from the first time I saw her decked out in the flag. Without the support of my friends and family, I would not be where I am today. To my abuelita Gigi, her courage to cross an ocean and start a life in the US has been my inspiration my entire life. To my siblings, Nichole and Ruben Martínez, as well as Lily the pup, for keeping me grounded and laughing. You’re all phenomenal ones. Additionally, thank you so very much to my amazing and supportive friends Alex Carter, Eva Cordero, Shelby Schwartz, Yvonne Shih, Dalia Luque, Claudia Reyes, Cecilia Pou Jové, Isabel Peña, Carol Almonte, Kristina Hwang, Anna Pomper, Zeke King, and all of my Pokémon. And lastly, thank you to everyone who followed my thesis writing experience on Snapchat. I would like to thank the Leadership Alliance program at Columbia University for granting me the opportunity to conduct the research this past summer that would grow into my senior thesis. I would like to especially thank my cohort mentors, Laina Dawes and César Colón-Montijo for encouraging me to keep pursuing research and academia when I felt ready to quit. Their guidance and belief in my potential as a researcher continue to stay with me even now. Finally, I would like to thank some of the amazing professors and mentors I have had at Williams. Thank you to Professor Roger Kittleson for allowing me to explore new ideas in class and helping me develop as an intellectual. Thank you to Professor Tyler Rogers for believing in me during the short time we have known each other, always encouraging me to “put things out into the universe” and believing in me. Thank you to Professor Nelly Rosario for pushing my creative side and helping me understand the depth and power of graphic novels and for making sure I was able to interview Edgardo when he came to speak to our class. And finally, thank you to my very first advisor Professor Leslie Brown, who kept me grounded during my first two years at Williams and always reminded me to not sweat the small stuff. My deepest gratitude goes to my amazing mentor and advisor, Professor María Elena Cepeda for her unwavering belief in me and my work. She constantly reminded me not to get too frustrated with my research progressing, because everything would come “paso a paso.” Her support and words of wisdom allowed me to focus and refine my research skills. Through her senior seminar on Transnationalism I was able to complete my first independent research project, which has helped me in every research project since. She introduced me to the world of cultural and media studies, ultimately sparking my interest in utilizing popular culture as an analytical lens. Professor Cepeda, you have been a shining light throughout this entire process and I cannot thank you enough for all that you done for me. You are truly an inspirational mujer. 4 Up, Up, and A-Wepa: Performing Puerto Rican Identities in La Borinqueña ​ Table of Contents Introduction: “It’s a Bird It’s a Plane--It’s La Borinqueña!:” Marisol’s Origins……….......5 ​ ​ ​ ​ Chapter 1: “Nothing Quite Like Nueva York:” Puerto Rican Placemaking………….…….18 ​ ​ Chapter 2: Leaving the Gutter Space: Graphic AfroLatinidades in La Borinqueña……....49 ​ ​ Conclusion: Graphic Futurities and Puerto Rican Possibilities….………………………….76 References……………………………………………………………………………………….82 5 Introduction: “It’s a Bird It’s a Plane--It’s La Borinqueña!:” Marisol’s Origins ​ ​ ​ ​ “Given everything that’s going on in Puerto Rico right now with the financial crisis…I thought to myself, now more than ever, Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans in the diaspora need a symbol to rally around.” -- Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez, quoted by Tanisha Love Ramirez in the Huffington Post When Marisol Ríos de la Luz, aka “La Borinqueña,” flew onto the comic book scene in June 2016 at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City, she immediately garnered attention as an Afro-Puerto Rican superheroine. The creator of La Borinqueña, Edgardo ​ ​ Miranda-Rodríguez (1970-) designed Marisol to unite Puerto Ricans both on the island and in the diaspora. A self-identified Nuyorican, Miranda-Rodríguez grew up in the South Bronx before moving to Puerto Rico for a short time during his teenage years. Having previously worked as a writer for Marvel Entertainment, he has also curated numerous shows involving comic book art including The Santerians: The Art of Joe Quesada and Café con Comics: Boricuas in the Comic ​ ​ ​ Book Industry. He founded the Brooklyn-based independent publishing company, Somos Arte ​ (We Are Art) in 2010. Through Somos Arte he created La Borinqueña and the story of Marisol, ​ ​ largely in response to the burgeoning economic debt on the island and a desire to bring awareness to the ongoing crisis. As stated in the interview above with the Huffington Post, he ​ ​ believes that Puerto Ricans across the island and diaspora “need a symbol to rally around.” For him, Marisol as “La Borinqueña” reflects an opportunity to fuse comic book artistry and narrative abilities with deeply personal topics such as the current state of Puerto Rico. The first issue of La Borinqueña follows Marisol, an Afro-Nuyorican college student at ​ ​ Columbia University, as she becomes a superhero during her semester abroad with the University of Puerto Rico. Marisol lives in the Los Sures neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her parents, an Afro-Puerto Rican father and a lighter-complexioned Puerto Rican 6 mother. Her maternal grandparents live in San Juan, Puerto Rico and house her during her semester “abroad” in Puerto Rico. Marisol effectively occupies the middle space of having roots in New York City but still having another “home” on the island. At Columbia, she is an environmental studies major, with a specific research focus on rock and crystal formations. On the island, she collects five crystals from various caves, which summon the Taíno mother goddess and the goddess of water, Atabex. During their encounter, Atabex shows Marisol various images of Puerto Rican history from the island and diaspora before calling on the spirit of Yúcahu and Juracán to bestow her with super strength and the ability to fly by controlling winds. After Marisol leaves Atabex, she immediately springs into action to save the city of Aguadilla from flooding. During the introduction of the comic book, Marisol reveals that few people aside from her Chinese-Dominican best friend La La Liu know about her superhero identity. Considering the written narrative of La Borinqueña along with the visual allows ​ ​ audiences to frequently reaffirm Marisol’s identity as an Afro-Puerto Rican woman.

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