We had the good fortune of connecting with Jayro Lantigua and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jayro, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I still hold a full time proper job at a warehouse while I work on my comics and art. Drawing has always been a deep part of both who I am and it keeps me sane. I grew up reading comics and watching cartoons all the time as a kid and was later introduced to Underground & Alternative comix such as the works of Daniel Clowes, Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Julie Doucet, Robert Crumb and many others in my early 20s. At that point I realized that comics can be about anything and I wanted to contribute to the medium with my own voice. I self publish comics and zines and decided to pursue this career as a cartoonist because it’s the only path that ever felt right for me. I was never really interested in anything else except making comics.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It wasn’t easy learning how to do everything I do with comics, I had to learn on my own since I never went to art school. I went to college and graduated with a BA in Psychology and minored in Philosophy. Truthfully it was more for personal growth than anything else and it greatly impacted my perception of the world and the way and write and depict things in my comics among everything else. My friend Luis Diaz showed me the more technical side of things such as formatting, proper scanning, and proper prep for print. He was a big help in the learning process. I constantly practiced and experimented, I learned a lot of dos and don’ts within the rules of cartooning which through that, I learned to break them to my benefit and develop my own voice. I’m thankful to a degree I didn’t go to art school because even though I was set almost set back by that, it helped me see and do things in so many unconventional ways that is helped me develop the approach I take today.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A good start are the breweries, we have so many in Dade. Unbranded is a favorite of mine as well as Tripping Animals and the Wynwood Brewery. I’d probably hit up a few spots to eat like the Mignonette, Blue Collar, Kyu, The Citadel, The Cozy Corner in Miami Springs because they always hit the spot for breakfast for me.

I’d go around hitting up Pizza spots like Manhattan Pizza in Hialeah, Steve’s Pizza, The Big Cheese, Pizza Tropical, Old Greg’s etc. only because you can never go wrong with that.

I’m pretty boring for when it comes to stuff I like to do. I’m not an adrenaline junkie or anything like that. I like visiting comic books shops like A&M Comics, Phil’s Comics & Tate’s as well as a great bookstore such as Books & Books and one of my favorite’s, Dale Zine, which is all about zines and DIY stuff that’s rad.

I love checking out the record stores like Technique Records, Sweat Records, Yesterday & Today (great jazz selection) and El Museo del Disco. Coming to Miami, you’d have to hit up some Cuban Bakeries and get a good colada.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this Shoutout to a variety of people as well as published works starting with Luis Diaz, who is a close friend. He is a great painter/illustrator and cartoonist who formerly worked on the Garbage Pail Kids. He mentored me on a lot of the things I know about making comics. Joey Ceballos, Graphic Designer and owner of Optic Blast Studios for believing in what I do and giving me gigs that helped boost my confidence in the beginning.

I want to thank my sister Diana Lantigua, my friends Andres Redondo, Gus Serafini, Joshua Ricart, David Mendez, Dan Margolis and my partner Eva Redondo for always showing their love and support and believing in me.

I also to dedicate this Shoutout to my friends and fellow cartoonists, Juan Navarro, Drew Lerman, Alexis Ziritt, Karmichael Jones, Harry Nordlinger, JB Roe & Cam Del Rosario for being who they are, being supportive and serving as constant examples of what this medium is all about.

I want to thank the cartoons I watched growing up, the works of the beat generation I read in my early adulthood. and Joe Bob Briggs when he hosted Monstervision which also served as a big influence. Finally, I dedicate this shoutout to the comic works of Josh Bayer, Gary Panter, Kaz Prapuolenis, Daniel Clowes, Julie Doucet, Charles Burns, Fletcher Hanks, Robert Crumb and Bill Wray which I read heavily in my 20s and well into my 30s. my 30s.

Website: https://linktr.ee/Xeroxoutlaw

Instagram: @xeroxoutlaw

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