Tintero: A Festival of Arts and Comics - PART ONE

Tintero: Festival de Arte y Comics

by Lil' Leia

Hi! Tintero is a new festival where more than 45 independent and well-known artists present their prints, zines, comic books, minicomics, and more. This year’s inaugural edition held in Casa Cultura Ruth Hernández Torres, located in Río Piedras. Its organizers were Rosa Colón and Carla Rodríguez from Soda Pop Comics.

There was live music performed by indie artists Las Acevedo, Furry Vowels, Dino Analog Orchestra, and Dead Hands. The first floor hosted an exhibition about the history of comics in Puerto Rico, curated by LJ Lacourt from F3 Comics, while the artists themselves occupied the second floor.

The first edition of the Tintero Awards was also held at the event, which included distinctions such as Best Zine (won by Supakid), Best MiniComic (won by José Vélez), and Best Comic (won by Dias Comic and Supakid). I also interviewed the organizers (Soda Pop Comics), artist Franchy Morales, and a new indie artist, Alanna Marie.

INTERVIEW WITH SODA POP COMICS, CREATORS OF CUPCAKE GRAFFITI AND PARACOSM:

LIL' LEIA: Hi! How did you come up with the idea for Tintero?

SODA POP COMICS: We came up with the idea when we were in a meeting and we were talking about how people who love comics have to have another place besides the PRCC to unite, and also give a chance to indie artists who don't usually get that much exposure to showcase their artwork.

LL: Have all the artists published comic books or zines?

SPC: Not all of them, because some of them are just starting to showcase their art and have yet to publish something, but since we were promoting the idea of publishing something and then have it up for sale at Tintero, most of them made a zine or minicomic just for Tintero.

LL: Has Tintero met your expectations, in terms of attendance?

SPC: It has extremely exceeded our expectations, it's been full capacity since we opened! We are more than satisfied about how it's turned out.

LL: Are you guys going to do it again next year?

SPC: Definitely! But we have to get a bigger place for it so we can have more artists and host more people.

LL: Was there any criteria to be showcased in Tintero?

SPC: The only criteria was that everything that you wanted to present and/or sell had to be original art, no fan art, whether it was prints, comics, original art, pins, t-shirts, etc.

LL: Is this the first time an event of its kind has happened in Puerto Rico?

SPC: Yes, this is the first time an event like this has ever happened here.

LL: Thanks for letting me interview you guys!

SPC: Thanks to you!