Depicting a Culture That Is Not Yours

A conversation about identity with artist Yuyi Morales

For twenty years, illustrator Yuyi Morales lived as an immigrant in the United States and depicted stories about her native Mexico. From abuelitas to hermanitas, Frida Kahlo to Señor Calvera, the characters in her children’s books practically burst with all the vibrant color of a south-of-the-border fiesta.

Now the situation is reversed: Morales had just moved back to her hometown of Xalapa when she took on the project of illustrating Sherman Alexie’s debut picture book, Thunder Boy Jr. In it an American Indian boy recounts his quest to find a name for himself that signifies his individuality while still honoring his family heritage.

I reached Morales in her new studio on the occasion of Thunder Boy’s May 10 release. Below we discuss how she honored Alexie’s text while weaving in her own perspective as a Mexican-American, combining the stories of diverse “brown people.”

What did you think when you first read Sherman Alexie’s text for Thunder Boy Jr.?

I loved it. I was so relieved to be able to say yes, because before I got the manuscript I was worried. I like Sherman and his work so much, but what if this is not something that I can illustrate, something that’s for me? When I saw it I was…