Next month, Sesame Street icon Sonia Manzano (who played the character of Maria from 1971 until 2015) will make her comic book debut as part of the Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico anthology.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The book, which is being released by La Borinqueña creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, will see his character crossing over with numerous DC Comics creators and superheroes. It will feature contributions from dozens of writers and artists, including Gail Simone, Tony Daniel, Reginald Hudlin, Denys Cowan, Rosario Dawson, Ruben Blades, and more.
Manzano joined ComicBook.com to discuss the project, how she came to be involved, and her hopes for the future of the embattled Puerto Rico.
How did you come to be involved with “Ricanstruction?”
Well, [Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez] came to me through a friend of a friend. Someone I know who supports him put us in contact.
I was surprised. Of course I’m going to do everything that might help Puerto Rico in its reconstruction! And I took a second look because that’s the point of this project.
Even though to me, comics for me were Superman, when they were 10 cents, and truth, justice, and the American way. Even Batman was a little bit dark for me when I was a kid. And this was like in the ’50s and ’60s. So comics kind of ended for me, and then I got into them again with Spider-Man, because he had real feelings and that was cool.
But now, of course, comics have taken on a more important role in our society. There’s a lot of opportunities in the comic book world to get real points across now. I noticed that obviously, and so when Edgardo approached me, I was like, “Well is La Borinquena, does she have like super powers? Like you know, Superman does, coming from that old school.”
And he explained to me how different it was. But still, I’m interested in children’s stories and how children might perceive the world. And that’s how I came up with the little story of the girl who’s Puerto Rican, but has never been there. And feels her hopes are dashed when the hurricane comes, and it’s no longer there for her to see.
So I tried to stay within my own, my comfortable milieu, which is explaining the world to our children. And I think that that kind of point of view might make the book richer. Because many different points of views are the best way to grow.
La Borinquena’s not in my story; it’s just a little girl, it’s just three pages. I go from my own life; when I was a kid I had never been to Puerto Rico. I’m Puerto Rican, but I had never been there when I was a little girl.
I had fantasies of it, of what it was like, based on what I would overhear my parents say. You know, and I would have these images in my head, and well you know, which was fantastic images because I was a little kid. So I took that real emotion, or that real feeling I had as a little kid and gave it to this little character, who is asking her grandmother, “Tell me about Puerto Rico.” And her grandmother tells her, and she has these fantasies about it and she can’t wait to go. And then the hurricane hits. And she says, “Oh my God, it’s not going to be there anymore.” And the grandmother says, “Well, it hasn’t been the way I saw it for many years anyway. So it’ll still be there, but in a different form in the future.” And that inspired the girl to fantasize the rebuilding of Puerto Rico.
As far as the way it looks, I write picture books, and I’m always amazed at artists and illustrators can tell the story that I write. They kind of enhance it and make me see the stories in a different way. And this particular illustrator, I think did a good job. The way the girl looks, is very current. Maybe in my mind I was thinking more old-fashioned looking people. But he really brought it up to what people look like today.
Is there a difference kind of writing a child for a story that’s explicitly for children versus one that you know is going to be read primarily by adults?
Yeah, I think that one of the talents that I, or tenets that I learned from Sesame Street is, you should write something on two levels. And those early years of Sesame Street there were a lot of sophisticated, you know, an adult could watch the show and laugh at certain gags. And the kid wouldn’t be excluded. And we were encouraged to try to write on two levels so that the kid appreciates and has a good time, but also that a parent can watch with them. Those Ernie and Bert gags that were so funny, and college students like Ernie and Bert and all of that.
So I always maintain that sensibility. I think that a lot of people write for kids and I think their task is to teach them lessons. And it’s not that always necessarily. It’s also just to explain the world we live in in an easy way. And I try to do that.
How do you kind of emotionally connect with Puerto Rico these days?
I have been there and I believe that a lot of New Yoricans have an idea of Puerto Rico. It’s the Puerto Rico of our dreams. It’s, you know, when I first got there when I was 14. I thought that everybody danced. ‘Cause we danced in the Bronx a lot and we had roast pork a lot. I thought that was to be had on every corner. That it was like my life in the Bronx, but exalted, you know. And every good experience that I had in the Bronx that was Puerto Rican, I would go there and everybody would be doing the same thing at the same time.
Much to my surprise, they weren’t. So it’s always kind of stepping in two worlds. I know that it’s a wholly different experience. I don’t get into conversations about what politically should happen in Puerto Rico, because I’m not there. I’m more here. But I think that being in America makes you a better … if you’re Italian, it makes you a better Italian. If you’re Greek, it makes you a better Greek somehow. Because you adore those things from the past.
But still, isn’t it funny that you still connected when I went to the Puerto Rican Day parade and all of those kids are saying, “Puerto Rico!” And cheering. I’m sure half of them can’t speak Spanish and have never been there.
You can pre-order Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico at Amazon. The book will be released to the public on May 23, although may make its debut at convention appearances with Miranda-Rodriguez before then.
