Written by: Cynthia Leonor Garza
Illustrated by: Alyssa Bermudez
For Ages: 3-7 years
Language: English, Spanish
Topics Covered: Self-Expression, Latinx Family Life, Mexican Cultural Tradition.
Summary: Lucía wants nothing more than to be a superhero. At the park, she jumps and flips off the monkey bars to practice her moves. Lucía overhears some boys talking to each other, saying that girls can’t be superheroes. This makes Lucía what she calls “spicy mad” and goes over to her Abuela. She and Abuela hatch a plan for the next day. Lucía learns that when her grandmother was young, she was a luchadora! Lucía’s grandmother tells her all about how a luchadora must be agile and do tricks, but they also must stand up for what is right. And most importantly, a luchadora never reveals their identity! The next day, Lucía wears an old mask to the park and prepares to show her tricks. Soon, everyone is wearing lucha libre masks on the playground. Lucía is ecstatic to see another luchadora with a pink mask on the playground one morning, but before she can go introduce herself she hears the same boys talking about how girls can’t be superheroes. The new luchadora looks sad, and Lucía decides she must reveal herself in order to stand up for what is right. Lucía breaks the luchador #1 rule, and takes off her mask! Suddenly, others start taking off their masks to reveal there are many girl superheroes. The book ends with Lucía and her superhero crew playing together on the playground.
About the Author & the Illustrator:
Cynthia Leonor Garza is a writer and she writes all sorts of things. Her debut picture book Lucía the Luchadora was published in March 2017. She has written essays for The Atlantic, commentaries for NPR’s All Things Considered and is an alum of the VONA/Voices writer’s workshop. She is also a journalist and has worked as a reporter for several newspapers including the Houston Chronicle and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from Rice University and has a Master’s in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She was born and raised in South Texas and currently lives with her husband and two young daughters in Nairobi, Kenya. You can reach her via Twitter or at luchalady [@] gmail.com.
As a born and bred New Yorker, Alyssa Bermudez‘s move to Tasmania has led her to discover a limitless wellspring of inspiration in the form of an urban and rural coalescence. Her artistic framework stems from her undergraduate and graduate degree courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York where she studied illustration, computer animation and interactive media. As an art teacher for 7 years, she hopes to encourage her students aged 5-75+ to activate that same artistic channel. She hopes to direct those who view her work into a deeper experience with curated colour, delightful subject matter and professional craftsmanship.