“El Paso native Valeria Contreras has been interested in cartoon and comic art since she was a kid. Her love for it grew and while in high school, she was able to combine her passion for the environment and art through an independent study class. At the end of her senior year, Valeria published her first graphic novel, Jamie’s Jungle, a 230-page book that teaches kids about climate change, endangered species, and other environmental topics. “That is something that inspired me to keep going and I have kept going ever since,” says Valeria. After high school, she attended the University of Chicago where she majored in international studies and visual arts. From there, Valeria went on to establish her own bilingual comic book publishing company, Valcon Comics. Her most recent publication, El Cartoon, is a free, bilingual educational newspaper that focuses on teaching kids a new topic every month…”

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