Do you know why #LuizaBrillante wears a #elCoqui on her chest? . . . When I realized I wanted to create my own stories, I thought about how far it could potentially reach. Could it inspire a movie? A TV show? An animated feature? Branding was something people spoke about a lot in 2012, so thankfully, this was fresh in my mind. . . . I had to figure out how to design a character that could speak to Puerto Rican representation, and be timeless like some of the characters we all know and love in pop culture. The idea of a chest emblem came to mind. I've seen a plethora of t-shirts featuring some of my favorite superheroes, so I wanted my character to have something immediately recognizable that could inspire conversation, and get people, who knew the symbol, excited to see something they don't normally get to see from pop culture. . . . This symbol on my chest is el Coqui, the representation that the natives of the island of Borinquen, commonly known as the #Taino, would draw of the native #treefrog. We in the Puerto Rican community know this symbol, and anyone who knows us well knows it well! I've met many other Boriquas because of this shirt and people who have married or have befriended Boricuas. By making this design and writing this story about this little Puerto Rican girl, my life is so much more enriched. Swipe through to see more art of Luiza Brillante, the tshirt design, and the covers of the #AReasontoSmileSeries! . . . For t-shirts, head to threadless, & for books, head to www.thecurv.com/shop/books/2 !!! . . . #AReasontoSmile #tshirt #tshirtdesign #threadless #threadlessartistshops #threadlesstees #threadlessartist #childrensbookseries #childrensbooks #graphicnovelseries #graphicnovels #childrensbookart #puertoricanartist #puertoricanwriter #kidlit #childrensliterature #raisingreaders #babybookworm #puertoricancharacters #littlereader #readtokids #children #childrensbookillustration #childrenof_instagram #JavierCruzWinnik https://www.instagram.com/p/CC89vmWh9hx/?igshid=19xrn0jcp1q22
