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Boing Boing Video presents an animated short by Bob Jaroc and Andy Ward “The Return of Superbarrio” (La Vuelta de Superbarrio), in Spanish with English subtitles.
Superbarrio Gómez is a “living superhero” in Mexico who seeks to fight injustice and corruption on both sides of the US/Mexico border through protests, civil disobedience, and political action. We’re told that a man named Marco Rascón Córdova developed the character and organized the events at which he became famous throughout Mexico, but that the actual guy in the Superbarrio suit is someone else — someone whose name is kept a closely guarded secret.
Here’s something that makes this animated short particularly special, and an odd kind of documentary/fantasy: Jaroc says the characters are voiced by Marco Rascón Córdova and the anonymous guy who plays the role of Superbarrio in real life. So, we’re hearing the voices of Superbarrio’s creator, and Superbarrio himself.
This animated short was produced by Plaid and Bob Jaroc as part of the audiovisual, mixed media album Greedy Baby.
Given the string of really bad news out of Mexico this week, it seems the nation could use more of the likes of this guy right about now.
Below: images of the lucha-masked crusader courtesy Bob Jaroc. More in this Flickr set.
Update: A number of Boing Boing reader/viewers who speak Spanish have tweeted or written in very politely to point out that “La Vuelta de Super Barrio” may not be the best translation — “El Regreso de Super Barrio” would probably be more correct. I’ll leave that choice to the director, though, and Spanish is not my native language. Also, BB community member Vladimir Bazan Estrada says,
Thanks for running this animation today, it makes me feel that there’s still hope and proud of my heritage. Now, time to write to the creator of the animation so i could thank him/her. If you wonder why i dont have that much hope, this animation shows the general mood of the city. Good animation… just a non happy ending. Also, i dont know if you know the comic called “El Santos VS la Tetona
Mendoza”, (The santos vs Big tits mendoza), that’s one of the best examples of underground comic in mexico, the strip was published for the last 8 years in one of the most radical newspapers in Mexico, La Jornada.