One of the most meaningful experiences during my sabbatical unfolded in December 2024, when I was invited to speak as Author of the Month at the Mérida English Library (MEL). Nestled in the heart of Yucatán’s capital, MEL is more than just a library—it is a crossroads where neighbors, newcomers, and knowledge seekers gather as a part of a vibrant community. Being welcomed into this space as an author was fun, and meaningful, having so often participated there as a reader, parent and community member.
My presentation, “Storytelling Across Media from Nationhood to Now,” celebrated the evolution of serial storytelling in Mexico as outlined in my book Serial Mexico, which had recently been honored by the Modern Language Association with the Katherine Singer Kovacs Prize honorable mention.
At MEL, I focused especially on a colorful and fascinating character who shaped national identity and civic imagination: Don Catarino y su apreciable familia, Mexico’s first national comic strip hero and his family. Created in the revolutionary era, Catarino first appeared in El Heraldo de México, a progressive newspaper founded by Salvador Alvarado (whose name many locals know from the nearby stadium). Through humor, family antics, and political satire, Don Catarino offered working-class readers an empowering and often hilarious lens through which to understand their place in the newly forming Mexican nation.
What made Catarino so revolutionary? He was a charro-patriarch, uprooted from rural Guanajuato and trying to make a life for his family in post-revolutionary Mexico City. Through daily strips, memoirs, advice columns, even a foxtrot and a (now lost) animated film, Don Catarino became a multimedia phenomenon. And, in a parody that still sparks reflection, El Heraldo proposed him as a presidential candidate for the 1924 elections—his slogan: “¡Sufragio efectivo, no reelección!”
In many ways, Don Catarino’s story mirrored the aspirations of Mexico’s rural working class to be seen, heard, and represented in the emerging democratic project. His popularity—spanning four decades and multiple newspapers—offers a powerful reminder of how serialized stories can speak to everyday lives, inspire political consciousness, and build community.
That same spirit of storytelling and connection filled the room at MEL. The questions, anecdotes, and reflections from attendees—Mexican locals, international expats, and curious readers—turned the event into a community conversation. We talked together about how serial formats like telenovelas, blogs, and comics don’t just entertain—they educate, organize, mobilize… building bridges across borders, classes, and generations just like on this night as 2024 was coming to an end.
As I remember the evening, I’m struck by how spaces like MEL embody the very ethos of public-facing scholarship. My aim with Serial Mexico has been to amplify the voices and cultural practices of everyday Mexicans over time. To see that work resonate with the local and international audience in Mérida was affirming.
I’m grateful to the incredible MEL staff who carefully orchestrated every detail of this event. Special thanks, too, to my family who were part of the joy of that special evening.
Public scholarship is at its best when it meets people where they are. That December night reminded me that storytelling—especially in serialized form—remains one of the most powerful ways we can engage, learn, and grow together.
Read more about this event here.
