I think I'll stay here in the 1800s ... feels right ... see where it goes. So, Mexicans are not of one, or Spanish and Indian heritages, but include Africans, Filipinos/Malays, Vietnamese, French, etc.. ergo ...
Article Last Updated: Monday, May 26, 2003 - 9:07:21 AM PST
Humble Homies
Fans see themselves in figurines
By Ricardo Gandara
COX NEWS SERVICE
WHEN Chelsea Camacho stares at the tiny plastic figures neatly arranged on the shelf of her bedroom, she sees her family. The fat guy named Sapo (toad in Spanish) looks like Uncle Jessie Godinez to her even if Uncle Jessie is on the slim side.
"Sapo is also Uncle Jessie's nickname," she says. "Isn't he cool?"
Chelsea, 11, dropped 75 cents in a gumball machine to get Sapo.
The toy figures, hot collectibles that have hit eBay and other national markets, are Homies, the creation of artist David Gonzales, who lives in Richmond. He depicts the barrio of his youth in many of the 120 characters in the Homies line.
Collectors, both young and old, especially those of Hispanic descent, see themselves in the 2-inch figures. Or they see a relative or perhaps someone from their childhood. Homies is a street term for someone from your neighborhood or hometown or, in a broader sense, anyone you would acknowledge as your friend.
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First sold in Hispanic neighborhoods in California in 1998, they're now in every state, England, Canada, Australia and Japan. National chain store Tower Records carries Homies, and they soon will be coming to Spencer Gifts.
The distributor, A&A Global Industries in Maryland, will not release sales information, but The New York Times reported sales of the figures have grown into the tens of millions. Denver, San Antonio and Chicago are the biggest Homies markets.
Since Gonzales introduced Homies, he's branched out to create Mijos, figures based on a tightly knit group of Hispanic children growing up in the barrio. He recently signed a contract with Scholastic Inc. to write and illustrate five books on the adventures of the Mijos characters. The storyline will be set in Oakland, Gonzales says via e-mail.
"If this thing makes it to animated television, and it looks like it will, the Mijos will call Oakland home, and help bring a little more prestige to the city," he says.
His other line is the Hood-rats, his answer to the Rugrats. And on shelves soon will be angels depicting children of all races, and the Palermos, a mob family turned clean.
As the Homies collection has grown, fans have spread across gender, age and race.
Nicole Garcia, 12, loves Homies because they are the first toy she's seen that reflects Hispanic life. "When I saw Right-eye, the girl with the long hair, I saw myself right away. I had long hair. That made me feel good to see myself in her," she says. She also likes the character Gata (female cat), who is modeled after creator Gonzales' wife.
Gonzales, 43, was the very first Homie created, a depiction of himself with the puffed hair he wore during the disco era. Today he describes himself as "a huge Raider fan" who sits in the Black Hole. He's the author of an underground comic strip called "Diehard Dan the Raiderfan" that appeared in a Raider fan magazine handed out in the parking lot before games.
He's also the artist responsible for the mural painted in the Fremont Post Office lobby called "Journey of a Letter."
Homies initially received flak from the Los Angeles Police Department and Hispanic advocacy groups that claimed the toys glorified gang members and stereotyped Hispanics. Gonzales says the opposition has died down. "I first started drawing Homies when I was 14," says Gonzales, who grew up in Richmond and was a student at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland from 1978 to 1980. "These were people I saw in my neighborhood. What I'm doing is an entertainment property, not a political statement. I'm not a spokesman for Hispanics. I'm an artist and millions of people love what I do and a handful of people who speak loud don't."
In development is a Homies grandmother and nurse because collectors are clamoring for them, says Gonzales.
Alicia Gaspar de Alba, who teaches a course called "Barrio Popular Culture" at the University of California at Los Angeles, had two students do a research project on Homies.
"The students found that Homies are produced by and are meant to represent the barrio community," she says. "When I'm asked if Homies might send a negative message or at least communicate that it's OK to be a gangbanger or a prostitute, I explain to be wary of imposing outsiders' value judgment on a cultural product developed by insiders for insiders. Gangbanging and prostitution aren't really anybody's first choice for a profession but that there are social conditions that lead people to perform those functions."
Arnold Ventos, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Texas, says Homies are a product of barrio art that's been around a long time. "Barrio artists have always created images that reflect their surroundings. It's an expression of their environment. As local art, Homies are OK. However, when you commercialize the product, it takes on a different dimension and can be misunderstood. But I also see that he's taken a negative image and turned it into a positive image," Ventos says.
The story behind Willie G. is an example. The figure represents an ex-gangster in a wheelchair who has turned his life around. He's a counselor who advises youths of the possible consequences of being in gangs. Every Homie has a story that can be found at
www.homies.tv/home.htm The figures are sold without names or background information in a plastic capsule.
One Austin collector who defends Gonzales is Richard Ball, who has 80 Homies. "All I see are these little guys who look cool. What's the problem? They're just figures. The artist is just being himself. He needs that expression of art," says Ball.
Gonzales scoffs at the early criticism: "I think there are a lot of people who aren't in touch with Chicano art in this country. I'm doing my own thing and making my own path. I say if you don't like the toy, don't buy it."
Staff writer Catherine Schutz contributed to this story.