iYA! Youth Activism
Shorty Fatz is a comic strip, a world created by Samuel Rodriguez, Angel Luna and David Madrid. This world exists 3 at the confluence of race, ethnicity, immigration, labor, politics, urban life,...
...Breaking old stereotypes and making new ones" is the motto of the Shorty atz comic strip <www.shortyfatz.com...
...After laughing again, Rodriguez continues: "People can't get mad because e show what's going on around us...
...It's not just Latinos or Chicanos...
...When asked about the motto, odriguez laughs, then explains that today "in the different immigrant groups )u see styles crossing, cultures crossing, even subcultures crossing: a Punjabiip-Hopper, a Black kid speaking Spanglish or an Asian girl driving a lowder...
...De-Bug began as a publication that examined the work experiences of those on the high-tech, low-wage assem- bly lines of Silicon Valley and now focuses on youth and working people's perspectives on Silicon Valley life...
...Most of the characters are drawn fiom the varied personalities of eir surroundings, like the comic's namesake, Shorty Fatz, an oblivious, ~oze-loving yet sharply insighthl Chicano...
...We have to be honest...
...s also all these other groups adapting to the cultures around them...
...We even gave him a cape...
...We can't hide our flaws...
...If anything, he adds, "this is a step forward...
...The Shorty Fatz trio is part of a .owing number of extremely talented ethnic inner-city youths who are using eir unique experiences and skills to try to give something valuable to their mmunities...
...We have to be able to criticize our- selves...
...with frequent commentary by Shorty Fatz...
...In reference to some criticisms they receive about reinforcing negative ereotypes, Rodriguez says: "If you think that we are bringing our people ~ pp- pp p-p )wn by the way we portray them, you're in denial about what's happening on the streets...
...We want people to know we're fiom the barrio," says Rodriguez, "but e want to show people the complexity of it...
...Luna, Madrid and Rodriguez match this philosophy by using Shorty Fatz comic strips, when appropriate, in their work...
...This world exists 3 at the confluence of race, ethnicity, immigration, labor, politics, urban life, youth culture and, more than anything else, good-old-fashioned humor-in other words, their San Jose, California barrio...
...The critic, he says, is "a Chicano activist, a Che-beret-wearing, 'I'm gonna save the world,' rperhero character...
...It's putting out questions and gen- erating discussion...
...The Shorty Fatz world, says odriguez, has a character representing the critics who "say what we do is taking a step backward," because they also make part of the community...
...They help generate group discussion in workshops with at-risk youth on everything from racism to immigration issues as part of their day jobs at Silicon Valley De-Bug <www.siliconvalley debug.org...
...The comic reflects the increasingly multiethnic reality of their commuty...
Vol. 37 • November 2003 • No. 3
