La Borinquena Teams With Chocolate Cortes For New Charity Program

Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez, creator of La Borinqueña, is teaming with Chocolate Cortés to launch a campaign called "Activate Your Powers with the Arts," which hopes to raise awareness of the Cortés Foundation's cultural and educational programs in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The campaign will feature several events that will take place throughout the year, beginning with an art exhibition of original and reproduced images from La Borinqueña comics and graphic novels.

"As part of the 90-year history of Cortés Hermanos, we decided to develop an alliance with graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda Rodríguez, who has worked for large companies such as Marvel, Sony, and Atlantic Records," said Ignacio Cortés Gelpí, president of Cortés Hermanos, in a statement posted to Caribbean Business. " We are sure that this campaign will raise awareness about the power of education through the arts and show the work we do every day for the benefit of our communities," said Ignacio Cortés Gelpí, president of Cortés Hermanos, LLC.

Miranda-Rodríguez has done more than virtually any American indie creator to find mainstream acceptance of his character, whether it's creating public service announcements voiced by Hollywood stars, or crossing over with some of the best-known superheroes in the world as part of a charity one-shot he put together with DC.

"This alliance with Chocolate Cortés provides a unique opportunity for La Borinqueña to make itself known to both groups simultaneously and on a broader scale," Miranda-Rodríguez said. "I hope that it will be an important step to share with the world the history of our people."

You can see a Facebook video from Caribbean Business below.

Recently, Rosario Dawson and Madison Reyes lobbied Netflix on social media to bring the character to TV.

"Numbers say it all," Miranda-Rodriguez told ComicBook in a statement. "By 2023 Latinx buying power will be $1.9 trillion. U.S. born Latinx have been consuming content for generations that doesn't reflect our experience nor stories. Until Latinx are in these board rooms, we will not be able to greenlight our own projects. The issue continues to be that Hollywood studios, both old and new, are run by predominantly white men. They are responsible to see the value in everything they decide to produce, whether it resonates with them or not. Unfortunately, our stories don't resonate with them. Until we are seen as valued storytellers, we will continue to be left out. However, social media also adds an important variable here. Consumers now have a platform to articulate their wants and desires. Combine that with celebrities like Rosario Dawson who is using her platform to say that she wants to direct the pilot or Madison Reyes who says she wants to star in this. They then can mobilize their followers to demand that studios listen and that they give us the resources to produce our own stories."