LOS ANGELES — As an editorial cartoonist, Lalo Alcaraz is used to working with smaller images.

He is the creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip, “La Cucaracha” and best known for his contributions as a cultural consultant on Pixar’s “Coco” and Nickelodeon’s “The Casagrandes.”

What You Need To Know

  • A local cartoonist created a five-story mural to encourage the Latino community to get vaccinated

  • The mural can be seen from the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles near Beaudry and 2nd

  • The California Department of Public Health commissioned Lalo Alcaraz to create it after seeing his drawings and animations in other public health campaigns

  • Alcaraz has already pitched some other micro-mural projects related to COVID and public health that could pop up around LA County in the near future

“The piece was this big when I drew it on my screen and it became this massive, massive piece,” he said. 

Back in December, the California Department of Public Health asked him to partner with them. They had seen some cartoons and animations he did for CovidLatino — a project that provides critical COVID-19 information for Latin communities across the country. Alcaraz says it took about a week with a dedicated muralist team.

“[It’s] physically, the biggest art piece of mine that’s ever existed,” Alcaraz said. “I don’t like heights. I’m not a fan, but I did up there with my hard hat and my harness.”

He says every person depicted in the cartoon is an age-appropriate candidate for a vaccination or booster. The goal is to raise awareness among Latinos, who are part of Los Angeles' most vulnerable communities. Nearly 40% of California is Latino, and yet, that group makes up close to 44% of COVID-19 deaths.

“We have to care for each other. You know, the two hands are also the community holding up. The hand represents all of us,” Alcaraz said.

But with LA County on the verge of another indoor mask mandate, the ongoing message of vaccination and boosting may feel futile to some at this point. Still, Alcaraz isn’t backing down.

“I’m an editorial cartoonist, so all I do is work on lost causes, right?” he said. “All we can do is just keep plugging away on that message: get boosted. Get vaccinated. Mask up, if it’s required.”

Alcaraz has already pitched some other micro-mural projects related to COVID and public health that could pop up around LA County in the months ahead.

“I’m pretty sure millions of people have seen the mural, whether they want to or not,” he said with a smile.

And as new COVID variants sweep the city, he just hopes more people will follow through to protect themselves and others.

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