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Meet the creators of "Baldo" Comics

Photo courtesy of Hector Cantu

Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos Date: Thursday, 23 August 2007 Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) View Webchat Transcript

The current eJournal USA, "Dynamic English," focuses on the changing nature of the English language, including the influence of Spanish. A "Baldo" comic is printed in this eJournal because it is the first nationally syndicated comic strip featuring a Hispanic American family. Please join Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos, the creators of the "Baldo" comics seen in more than 200 newspapers around the United States, for a webchat to discuss the many Americans who live within Hispanic and American cultures and use both the Spanish and English languages, often blending them to communicate.

Guest Biography: Hector Cantu created his first newspaper cartoon when he was 12. "It was a small-town newspaper that just happened to be owned by my brother, but I think it counts," Cantu says. "It's called 'networking.'" He studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and today is the editorial director at Heritage Auction Galleries, an auction house that deals with cartoon art, where he's able to personally inspect work by his favorite artists. He previously was the production director at Quick, The Dallas Morning News tabloid for young readers in Texas, and managing editor at the award-winning Hispanic Business magazine in Santa Barbara, California. Cantu's writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine and Hollywood Reporter.

Carlos Castellanos says he was always interested in drawing. At about age 7, he recalls watching his first episode of "Bewitched"; watching the television character Darrin Stephens sitting behind a large drawing table and working from home inspired Castellanos to do the same. Castellanos began his freelance career as an illustrator while still in college in 1981. He now keeps himself busy doing work for magazines, book publishers, ad agencies, corporate clients and, of course, "Baldo."