NBC reports Lalo Alcaraz has become the first Latino recipient of the prestigious Herblock Prize, awarded annually by the Herb Block Foundation to “distinguished examples of editorial cartooning that exemplify the courageous, independent standard set by Herblock.” Alcaraz, who is best known for the daily political comic strip “La Cucaracha,” will receive a $15,000 cash prize, and a sterling silver Tiffany glass trophy, during a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. next month.
The Herb Block Foundation stated, “No other political cartoonist working in the U.S. brings as much passion, dedication and brilliance to the fight for fair immigration at the border and justice for the Latino community. Lalo Alcaraz’s courage and unapologetic focus on these and other civil rights issues makes him a deserving recipient of the 2022 Herblock Prize.” Alcaraz commented, “It still doesn’t feel real to have won this big award.”
As well as “La Cucaracha,” Alcaraz is also the co-host of the KPFK radio show the “Pocho Hour of Power,” and has worked as a writer, producer and cultural consultant on films and TV shows like Coco and The Casagrandes. The foundation highlighted his recent work raising awareness of COVID-19 vaccines among the Latin American community, saying, “One of the most striking pieces in his portfolio is his powerful homage to Chicano artist Emanuel Martínez‘s 1967 ‘Tierra o Muerte (Land or Death).’ Alcaraz cleverly replaces Emiliano Zapata’s rifle with a vaccine needle and titles the image ‘Vacuna o Muerte (Vaccine or Death),’ creating a work that draws inspiration from the past in order to tackle the current pandemic.”
For more on Alcaraz, you can visit his official site here, and read the Herb Block Foundation’s announcement of his win here.
