What Is Gráfica Latina?

In these digital times where we’re living in, making sure our history and cultural legacy are preserved and studied is fundamental, especially when the owners of big social media networks and digital databases can go full Elon Musk on us and threaten to delete our digital fingerprints and collective data and information to save a few bucks. That’s why the work of initiatives like Gráfica Latina is so important both for us and for upcoming generations. Gráfica Latina is a digital repository that aims to serve as a resource for students, academics, professionals, and enthusiasts alike that are interested in expanding their references on graphic work developed by designers and artists from Latin America.

In their own words: “The idea of this publishing platform has evolved in the last years. Thanks to a travel grant, José Menéndez (Puerto Rican graphic designer) visited Puerto Rico and Cuba in 2016 to start this collection of imagery, and first-hand stories of Latin graphic design. In 2020, with the help of a second grant, he resumed this research and the curation of content for this digital archive. He was joined by Tatiana Gómez (Colombian graphic designer) in an effort to push the research and content of the site further. Puerto Rico and Cuba are then the first countries to present visual content. Our goal is to make this archive grow through different kinds of entries, further research, and future collaborations. The resources and references entries present an–also–growing list of Latino/a/x contemporary practitioners that we admire and want to share with you all. We welcome all kinds of contributions–from publications, resources, to links–to enrich this archive”.

Gráfica Latina is basically an ongoing digital project/community that compiles some of the most relevant graphic collectives within the modern Latinx designers community – a Latin 2.0 Library of Alexandria, you might say. By visiting its website, you can learn more about the work, activism and visual impact of top designers and cartels from Puerto Rico and Cuba, as well as Argentina, México, Colombia, Brazil, Perú, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela. And not just that, the site also allows you to send them the portfolio of designers you think should be part of their compilation, making it an ever-growing endeavor nurtured by its users as well.

If you’re looking for inspiration or documentation from Latinx graphic designers, Gráfica Latina is the place to go. Latinx voices and POVs are unique, and they should be studied and celebrated like we do with anglo and European designers, as they do the same (and sometimes more) with less resources at times, depending on their contexts. As they say on their website: “¡Que viva la gráfica latina!”.