"The Lower You Ride, The Cooler You Are: A Baldo Collection" - Reseña

Hispanic Times Magazine, Sept 22, 2001 by Hector Cantu, Carlos Castellanos

In The Lower You Ride, The Cooler You Are: A Baldo Collection (Andrews McMeel Publishing; September 1, 2001; $10.95 soft cover), Dallas Morning News feature editor Hector Cantu and graphic illustrator Carlos Castellanos chronicle the hilarious year-long adventures of Baldo, a nationally syndicated comic strip about a Latino teenager and his family living in the United States.

Throughout, the characters in Baldo-from 15-year old protagonist Baldo Bermudez and his sister Grade to Dad and Tfa Carmen-balance their mainstream sensibilities with their Latino culture, creating a humorous mix of silliness and real life experiences.

The new compilation book of published comic strips by Cantu and Castellanos is derived from the first year of the highly successful nationally syndicated comic strip about a Latino family. Baldo is the first syndicated comic strip to depict the lives of a Latino family, and is distributed by Universal Press Syndicate in Spanish and English.

The Baldo comic strip, now appears in more than 150 Sunday and daily newspapers nationwide, including The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Houston Chronicle and The San dose Mercury News. Baldo celebrated its first anniversary on April 17, 2001.

The Star of The Show

Baldo Bermudez, who has a penchant for magical daydreaming, is the main character of The Lower You Ride, The Cooler You Are. Like other teenagers, he longs to date the prettiest girl in school. He enjoys a good game of soccer, and is building his very own car-one piece at a time. He's also Latino. And the car he's building is a lowrider.

He lives between the sometimes-conflicting influences of his U.S. home and Latin American heritage. He has a strong father figure, but no mother. The female influence on Baldo comes from his little sister Gracie, a strong-willed rebel who campaigns to save the Earth, and great aunt, Tia Carmen, who forces Old World ways and magical remedies on the family. Also prominent are best buddy Cruz, and Mundo, the neighborhood ice cream man and soccer coach.

The Creators

Hector Cantu created his first cartoon when he was 12. He went on to study journalism at the University of Texas-Austin and today is an assistant features editor at The Dallas Morning News. He lives in Dallas with his wife and three children.

Carlos Castellanos has always been interested in creating art. He began his freelance career as an illustrator in 1981 while still in college. He presently keeps busy doing work for magazines, book publishers, ad agencies and corporate clients in Florida and nationally. He lives in West Palm Beach, Florida with his wife and two sons.