Equipped for Worry: the manatee that sums up Miami
A manatee in water wings is every Cuban grandmother I know.
Luna Vasquez — from the journal
Based in Wynwood, Miami. Works in a style called Neon Havana: neon and hot pastel palettes, comic panel structure, halftone and screen-print texture, celebrity and pop iconography, Latinx cultural motifs, high-contrast black outlines.
Hat Defying Everything: the one thing still under control
A palm tree bent double under a hurricane while a man holds his hat—the hat is the hot colour.
Tulle Refusing Transit: the fan is the hot colour
A quinceanera in full dress at a Miami bus stop, carrying the whole joke in one electric turquoise fan.
Nap Worth Everything: The Cat Chose Correctly
A cat asleep on guava pastries in a bakery window, one hot turquoise against cracked pastel.
Tow Pulling Everything: One Oar Against the Entire Ship
A cruise ship towed by a rowing boat—the joke is the scale, the hot colour is the oar.
Lesson Between Species: the domino is the hot colour
A grandfather teaching a pelican to play dominoes on cracked Miami plaster—the domino is neon, the joke is Cuban.
Leash Pulling Fuchsia: The Hottest Thing in the Frame
A fuchsia leash pulling a miniature alligator past art deco hotels—the colour does all the work.
Off Duty Entirely: the tower gets one night off
A lifeguard tower wearing a party hat is the entire joke, and it works because Miami never stops.
Fastball Gone Tropical: When the Mango is the Pitch
A Little League windup with a mango instead of a baseball—the hot pink kind that belongs in your hand, not on a mound.
Cortadito on the Wing: the pelican knows what time it is
A pelican at the ventanita with a turquoise cup, because Miami runs on cafecito and nobody is exempt.