Lalo Alcaraz: political humour across borders
Lalo Alcaraz’s work centres on the life of Latinos in the United States. The son of Mexican immigrants to the United States, he is well aware of the conflicts between Latinos and Anglos, the dominant English-speaking group, particularly in the domain of politics. Alcaraz is a Latino spokesperson, presenting the point of view of this segment of the American population and denouncing the incongruities and absurdities that it faces. His main target is politicians, even if others can also feel his barbs. Alcaraz is relentless in his criticism and has exposed the political motives for decades. His critiques are timeless, evident in the recent resurgence of his older cartoons and strips, highlighting the continued marginalisation suffered by Latinos. This paper looks at how Alcaraz uses bilingual and bicultural punning to present his case. Alcaraz is a master at double entendre and has an uncanny ability to encapsulate the problems while straddling two languages.