Have you heard of the norteño (northerner) who saves immigrants from coyotes and la migra at the US-Mexico border? Of the man with impenetrable skin and super strength?
No one had until Texas native Hector Rodriguez detailed El Peso Hero — because his enemies say his life isn’t worth un peso — and his feats in a series of comic book stories that now span nearly a dozen issues.
“The idea of the Peso Hero came to me in 2003,” said Rodriguez, an avid fan of comic book folklore and a bilingual elementary school teacher in Dallas. “I have always wanted to see a Latino hero, one who has his finger on the pulse of the community. Marvel and DC have their characters but very few Latinos.”
It’s hard for the general pop culture fan to recall any Latino superhero in comic books, let alone movies, besides Miles Morales who was only just introduced in 2011. While there are heroes in Latin America like El Santo and many others, in the realm of American pop culture there isn’t a Pedro Parques or an Antonio Stark, there hasn’t quite been an array of unique and diverse characters that young and older fans alike can relate to.
Real talk, I would love to see Spider-Man eating a torta or un taco de pastor.
Correct me if I’m wrong but in a span of over 10 years with blockbuster movies, the Marvel series only had ONE (!) Latino actor, Michael Peña, in a secondary role as the comedic relief in Ant-Man. The only other Latino character I can remember from similar A-list movies is Cassian Andor in Rogue One, portrayed by Diego Luna. (Upon watching James Cameron’s 1986 Aliens for the first time this quarantine summer, I was ecstatic to see a Private Vazquez and ultimately disappointed but not surprised to learn that she was actually a white actress in brownface.)
The lack of diversity in the comic book and entertainment industry leads to a dearth of relatable characters for fans of color, not only a huge missed opportunity but a disservice to current and future generations of artists.
“We saw the impact of movies like Black Panther where all the writers and creators saw how kids reacted to seeing someone like them on the screen,” Rodriguez emphasized when referring to the importance of bringing in new and distinct characters into pop culture.
From El Peso Hero issue no. 1.
For Rodriguez, the concept of a uniquely Mexican-American hero formulated during his time in College Station, Texas, where his father was obtaining his master’s degree. As someone whose family had spanned generations in Eagle Pass, Rodriguez experienced a culture shock in the whiter town that was home to Texas A&M. There was no bilingual program there during the late 1980s and while there was a comic book store to satiate the local fans no Latino superheroes graced the covers, ultimately leading Rodriguez to make up his own.
El Peso Hero’s — also known as Ignacio — stories range from Mexico City to Monterrey to Houston and even Washington D.C. and have less to do with seemingly invincible enemies bent on destroying the world but rather the darker and real-life abuses that affect migrants, laborers and refugees when they’re forced to leave their home for el sueño americano across the Rio Bravo.
The stories weave through the complicated web of dynamics between cartel bosses like El Catrin, human traffickers, corrupt government enforcers like El Grito who ridicule and mock Ignacio’s humble beginnings, and politics that are meshed in endless corruption and boundless idealism. El Peso Hero leaps and punches his way through the nuanced cultural connotations and regional constructs that many who have grown up Latino in the United States would understand. As Rodriguez focuses on personal and intimate stories about individuals’ circumstances, he’s not afraid to point fingers to the powers that be and how their influence and decision-making affect everyday people.
El Pero Hero’s origin story is fleshed out over numerous issues and we empathize with how he carries the responsibility of his past and his family even as he’s looked down upon by both the Mexican and American elites and government officials. The titular character’s identity is not constrained to either country, rather it forms part of the wider borderlands, a story that strives to give readers a nuanced tale about the complexities, dangers and human essence that flows on both sides of the Rio Grande.
As a teacher, Rodriguez sees and hears these stories daily, it’s what gave rise to the Peso Hero.
El Grito, a “superhero” propped up by the Mexican media and government establishment, is an example of the tension between Mexicans who think they’re better than their paisanos.
In 2011, one of Rodriguez’s fourth grade students arrived to class with tears streaming down his face, visibly shaken and confused. Earlier that day, his father had been deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“It hit me very hard and me dio mucho sentimiento,” Rodriguez recalled. “I told him that within these walls, I would be his father in school and that I would do anything it took to help him.”
With a renewed sense of purpose, the teacher put pencil to paper, finally translating his years-long idea into reality. The Peso Hero took shape and his story was etched into drawings and into comic book history as El Peso Hero Issue No. 1.
And in the years of the most anti-immigrant president in recent history, El Peso Hero hasn’t backed down.
Back in 2015 when Donald Trump was just a presidential candidate, the Peso Hero crew decided to dedicate one of its covers in homage of the iconic Captain America 1941 debut cover where he punches Adolf Hitler. Another issue also pays homage to the famous Spider-Man Issue No. 1 with former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — who is known for his racist policies and has publicly stated that he had his own “concentration camp” of immigrants — replacing the crook on the cover.
El Peso Hero cover art with then candidate Donald Trump on the cover.
“We had never taken a political position then and we all saw his message… as creator of the Peso Hero, it was my responsibility to take a position against racism and to see how we could do that,” Rodriguez said.
After publishing their commemorative issue, the Peso Hero creative team received hate mail for the first time, a testament to their belief that comic books are and have always been political.
“Stan Lee always said that if a story doesn’t have a message, then it doesn’t have a soul,” Rodriguez noted, alluding to Lee’s famed column condemning racism. A friend of the famous late comic book legend Jack Kirby told Rodriguez that Kirby would have been proud to see the Peso Hero cover, an enormous compliment according to Rodriguez.
That work and attitude continues to this day; Rodriguez is working on a special issue to celebrate the Peso Hero’s first decade, hopefully the first of many.
“Every kid wants to be a hero that looks like them and that’s very powerful and that’s hopefully something we’ll have as part of a bigger platform to inspire others,” Rodriguez said.