In “Doodles from the Boogie Down,” Stephanie Rodriguez uses a semi-autobiographical story to show aspiring artists how they can pursue their dreams.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.was growing up in the Bronx during the mid-2000s, she dreamed of getting into the competitive LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.“Doodles from the Boogie Down,"A first-generation Dominican American, she knew early on that she wanted to be a visual artist. But her mother had other ideas.
With “Doodles,” Rodriguez set out to accurately portray the complex relationship between a mother and daughter, how kids with creative sensibilities can chase their own dreams and how budding artists can find inspiration outside of Manhattan cultural institutions. That English teacher – represented in the graphic novel as the art teacher Ms. Santiago – let Rodriguez hang around in her classroom after school to perfect her drawing skills, and exposed her to art she had never seen before.
"Seeing a book with a Dominican girl on the cover, and she's just growing up and it's not just trauma, you see joy, she goes to parties, it's fun – it’s like we’re really being published," says bookseller Scarllet Veras.Rodriguez says completing “Doodles from the Boogie Down” has been her biggest challenge yet.
“There's a lot of kids out there that are like, 'Oh, I'm interested in something, but I don't have anyone around me that can teach me more about this thing,'” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to use that moment for that question to be answered. Ms. Santiago’s like, 'I'm an art teacher, I studied art. This was one of the routes that you can take as an artist. But you can also be a fashion designer, work in architecture, graphic design.
“Seeing a book with a Dominican girl on the cover, and she's just growing up and it's not just trauma, you see joy, she goes to parties, it's fun – it’s like we’re really being published,” she said. “We’re here, and we’re not being erased.”
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