Draws in Spanish | Conversations with Latinx Visual Artists and Designers

This week’s guest believes making money from art isn’t harder than any other career. In this episode, I chat with Cuban-Bahamian artist and author Reyna Noriega who’s worked with clients such as Apple, Old Navy, and The New Yorker. Reyna and I talk about the complexities of being Afro-Latina, why NFTs are dumb, and why she ultimately decided to leave teaching art to focus on being an artist. Reyna...

This week’s guest describes herself as “100% Mexican and 100% American.” In this episode, I chat with Mexican-American Graphic Designer and Illustrator Marisol Ortega . Marisol and I discuss everything from the trauma of being first generation American, to getting a full scholarship to art school, to landing an in-house role at Amazon. Aside from her Mexican background and culture, we also get int...

This week’s guest found her way to illustration after resisting a creative career for a few years. Ree is a Seattle-based Venezuelan independent character designer and illustrator. She’s built a career off of her unique character style and perspective and continues to share it with the world through Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Ree found herself in a severe creative block for the past few years...

This week’s guest originally went to school for Behavioral Psychology before finding her way to graphic design. Lila Miller Espinosa is a Brooklyn-based Mexican graphic designer and illustrator who currently works as the Digital Design Manager at Parkwood Entertainment — aka Beyoncé — while running her Spanish-language newsletter Bonita Semana. After years of being a working psychologist, Lila sp...

Pepita Sandwich grew up feeling like she couldn’t be an artist because her work wasn’t realistic enough. Josefina — who goes by her nickname Pepita Sandwich — is a Brooklyn-based illustrator and cartoonist who loves to capture “crappy magic” and nostalgic emotions with her creative work. She was raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and grew up visiting art museums and eating endless amounts of ice cr...

Leaving a stable desk job always feels risky, but this week’s artist — Jackie Rivera — took the leap and never looked back! She is a Seattle-based artist who creates colorful and very graphic pieces mixing illustration, animation, and lettering. Jackie knew it was time to leave her admin job when she received an inquiry for a freelance project with a budget in the 5-figures, and even though she di...

This week’s artist went from buying second-hand Vogue magazines to illustrating Vogue covers! Niege Borges is a Brooklyn-based, Brazilian-born illustrator and graphic designer who creates vivid, bold, and movement-driven illustrations of figures and faces. She kicked off her creative career studying graphic design, but an ad agency internship revealed her knack for illustration. Niege eventually m...

Do you ever have the urge to sell everything you own and move to a tropical island? Well this week’s [Draws in Spanish] guest did just that! Although Manuela doesn’t consider herself someone who usually makes impulse decisions, we talked all about how her time living abroad in Isla Mujeres, Mexico and how her experiences in Latin America directly influence her work to this day. Manuela, now an art...

If you’ve ever felt shy speaking Spanish, you’ll feel right at home with this episode. This week, I chat with Portland-based illustrator and author Molly Mendoza about how their Mexican/Irish-American culture influence their colorful and dynamic work. Molly was raised in the Chicago suburbs before moving to Arizona in middle school, and eventually landed in Portland, OR for college. Since their co...

In this episode, I sit down with Natali Martinez to uncover where she draws inspiration for her cute illustration style, how her Venezuelan roots influence her work and perspective, and exactly what goes into getting started with an online shop. Natali, who unexpectedly moved to Florida after Chavez took power in Venezuela, pursued a degree in animation only to realize she didn’t have the patience...

If you’ve ever had a crisis about your Latinx identity, you’ll feel at home with this episode featuring Mexican-American collage artist Ruby Marquez. Ruby is very familiar with the emotional ups and downs surrounding Latinx identity and is on a never-ending journey to connect with their indigenous roots. Ruby, who was initially encouraged to become a Firefighter by their father, connected with col...

When Katty decided to move with her now-husband from Bogotá, Colombia to Miami at age 19, her whole family thought she was crazy. She quickly learned that she would have to acclimate to a new way of life including learning that her aspirations for being an artist and illustrator couldn’t be satisfied at the state university where she was attending college. It wasn’t until she moved to DC and atten...

What’s the name that you give when a barista asks? There’s a good chance that it’s not the one that’s on your license or what your friends call you. Fran Meneses knows all about that, having grown up in Chile and living most of her adult life in Germany, the UK, and now the US. The Brooklyn-based queer illustrator is known for her insightful comics that she posts to her popular Instagram account @...

[Draws in Spanish] showcases noteworthy Latinx visual artists, exploring their creative journeys and how they got to where they are today. Host and Chilean-American illustrator, Fabiola Lara , brings humor and empathy to the conversation, uncovering how the artist’s culture and Latinx identity informs their artwork. Whether you’re just starting your creative career or looking to discover the next...