At no point did I think superheroes would become such a huge part of my life. As a kid, I looked at them, and I saw everything I wasn't. They had big muscles, supermodel good looks, and phenomenal cosmic powers. And me? I kind of looked like this, except shorter and with frizzier hair, and I never felt powerful. I was always just one big ball of nervous, soft energy, and superheroes, much like the bullies at school, didn't seem to have a lot of room for that, for me. So I stayed away. And besides, who needs superheroes when you're surrounded by Puerto Rican women from the Bronx?
Tak pernah saya berpikir superhero menjadi bagian besar pada hidup saya waktu kecil, saya lihat mereka punya yang tidak saya miliki Mereka punya otot besar Supermodel dengan tampang cakep dan kekuatan kosmiknya yang fenomenal itu Saya sendiri? Saya terlihat seperti ini, Kecuali lebih pendek dan rambut keriting Saya tidak pernah merasa kuat Ibaratnya bola besar, selalu gugup dan lemah lembut dan superhero seperti perundung di sekolah Sepertinya tidak butuh seperti itu, seperti saya Jadi saya memilih menyingkir dan juga, siapa yang butuh superhero Saat Anda dikelilingi wanita Puerto Rico dari Bronx?
(Laughter)
(Ketawa)
My tías were cops and paramedics, my abuelas were seamstresses and sold jewelry up the street, and my mom got her master's degree in education and taught kindergarten in New York City public schools for over 30 years. So my superheroes were sitting around the dinner table with me.
Bibi saya polisi dan paramedis Nenek saya penjahit dan jual perhiasan di jalanan Dan ibu saya memiliki gelar master pendidikan dan guru taman kanak-kanak sekolah negeri kota New York Selama lebih dari 30 tahun Jadi superhero saya duduk di meja makan dengan saya
And I don't know how much time you've spent with Puerto Rican women from the Bronx, but we're also some of the world's greatest storytellers. And I'd sit there at my grandmother's dining room table and I'd listen to the women in my family tell these wild, rambunctious tales about navigating their lives in the Bronx. And I wanted to be them so bad. But I wasn't tough like them either. So mostly, I listened, and I soaked it in, and I found myself gravitating to the soft threads in their stories, and I wrote those down. The funny, the goofy, the gentle -- those were my in to storytelling, so much so that I wrote a young-adult novel called "Juliet Takes a Breath," about a chubby, queer Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx navigating sexuality, family and identity. And on the strength of "Juliet," Marvel Comics tapped me to write the solo series for their first-ever Latina lesbian superhero, America Chavez.
Dan saya tidak tahu berapa lama Anda habiskan waktu dengan wanita Puerto Rico dari bronx Kami pendongeng terhebat di dunia, saya duduk di ruang makan nenek saya Saya simak obrolan wanita di keluarga saya Tentang cara navigasi hidup mereka di Bronx Dan saya ingin sekali seperti mereka Tapi saya tidak tangguh seperti mereka Jadi, saya cuma mendengar saja Saya meresapi cerita mereka saya tertarik sisi lembut pada cerita mereka Dan saya tulis semuanya. yang lucu, konyol, dan lembut pada cerita saya Cukup banyak sehingga saya menulis novel untuk dewasa muda berjudul "Juliet Takes a Breath" soal anak gadis Puerto Rico dari Bronx yang gendut dan lesbian mencari jati diri, seksualitas, dan keluarga Dan karena kekuatan "Juliet", Marvel Comics mengajak saya menulis seri solo soal superhero lesbian Latin pertama, America Chavez
Yeah!
Yeah!
(Cheers)
(tepuk tangan)
(Laughter) Listen, OK. Created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta for the Marvel miniseries "Vengeance," America Chavez has been in the Marvel Universe for over seven years. She's tough, Latina, and she's so strong that she can punch portals into other dimensions.
(ketawa) Ok, dengarkan Dibuat oleh Joe Casey dan Nick Dragotta untuk miniseri Marvel "Vengeance," America Chavez ada di Marvel Universe lebih dari tujuh tahun Dia kuat, Latin, Begitu kuatnya hingga ia bisa pukul portal dan pindah ke dimensi lain
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
I know, right?
Ya, kan?
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
And people were so excited, because finally, someone who shared her identities -- queer and Latina -- would be writing her story. And I saw that, right? And also, when I looked at America, I saw a young Latina in survival mode. See, because her moms had sacrificed themselves to the universe when she was a kid, and she'd been on her own ever since. No wonder she had to be tough. And that link, that link of having to be tough, that rested heavy with me. Like I said, I'm from the Bronx, and the Bronx is tough, tough like walking past sidewalk memorials and dodging cop towers on your way to the train type of tough. When stuff happens that's bad, people are like, "Yo, you gotta keep it moving. You gotta keep trucking. Don't cry. Don't let it get to you." And my mom and my tías and my abuelas, I never saw them take a moment to rest or to invest in self-care. And their soft? It never left the house.
Dan orang-orang sangat semangat karena akhirnya, seseorang berbagi identitas - lesbian dan Latin - akan menulis ceritanya dan saya perhatikan itu, bukan? Lalu, saat saya lihat America, Saya lihat anak muda Latin yang berusaha bertahan hidup karena ibunya berkorban untuk dunia Saat ia masih kecil sejak itu, dia hidup sendiri Tidak heran ia tangguh. dan hubungan itulah, menjadi tangguh berkesan bagi saya Seperti yang saya bilang, saya dari Bronx dan Bronx keras tangguh seperti berjalan melewati tempat penuh kenangan atau menghindari polisi saat menuju ke kereta Ketika hal buruk terjadi, orang akan mengatakan "Yo, jalan terus. Kamu harus jalan terus" "Jangan menangis. Jangan terbawa emosi" dan ibu, bibi, dan nenek saya, Saya tidak pernah lihat mereka istirahat sejenak atau merawat diri Sisi lembut mereka? Tidak pernah keluar dari rumah
And so that was the first thing that I wanted to give to America, the thing that I wished I'd been able to give to my abuelas and my tías, the thing that I'm trying to give to my mom now: permission to be soft. Like, it's OK to sit in silence and go on a journey just to discover yourself, and your pain will make you crumble and you will fall and you will need to ask people for help, and that's OK, and that being vulnerable is good for us.
Itulah hal pertama yang saya beri ke America, hal yang saya harap bisa berikan ke nenek dan bibi saya hal itu juga yang akan saya beri ke ibu saya saat ini izinkan diri menjadi lembut Contohnya, tidak masalah duduk diam dan jalan-jalan untuk mencari jati diri dan rasa sakit membuat Anda hancur dan jatuh dan Anda butuh bantuan orang lain itu tidak masalah, Jadi rentan baik untuk kita,
But see, I didn't come to all this compassion and healing stuff like, you know, out of nowhere, and so when it came to America's story, I wanted to give her the space to be human, to mess up, and to find soft on her own.
Tapi, ide mengenai kasih sayang dan penyembuhan diri tidak datang tiba-tiba jadi setiap saya tulis cerita America, saya mau beri ruang menjadi manusia, untuk gagal dan temukan sisi lembut pada diri anda
So she kind of had to quit her day job. You know what I'm saying? I had to give her a superhero sabbatical,
ia berhenti kerja, dan Anda tahu apa yang saya ucapkan? saya beri Anda cuti panjang jadi superhero
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
and the first thing I did was enroll her in Justice Sonia Sotomayor University.
pertama-tama saya daftarkan ia ke Universitas Justice Sonia Sotomayor
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
Because where else would she feel safe and represented and liberated but a university dedicated to the first Puerto Rican woman nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States? And her first class is "Intergalactic Revolutionaries and You," and America is so excited, she's ready to show off her strength, she's ready to show off her portal-punching skills,
ke mana lagi ia merasa aman, terwakili, dan bebas Kalau bukan di Universitas pertama Puerto Rico, didedikasikan untuk wanita dinominasikan oleh Mahkamah Agung Amerika Serikat Kelas petamanya "Intergalaksi Revolusioner dan Anda" America sangat bersemangat dan siap untuk tunjukkan kekuatannya, Dia siap untuk tunjukkan keterampilan memukul portal,
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
and I stripped that safety net from her right away. And I limited her powers, and I changed up her location and shook up her world, because that is what college is like,
Saya lepaskan jaringan pengaman darinya saya batasi kekuatannya, dan ganti lokasi guncang dunianya, karena begitulah kehidupan kuliah
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
especially if you're alone. But I didn't want America to be alone for long, and so in a homework assignment gone totally wrong, she lands on a battlefield with the X-Men.
Terutama, saat Anda sendiri. Saya tidak mau America kesepian terlalu lama Jadi, saat tugas kuliah tidak berjalan mulus ia gabung ke medan perang bersama X-Men,
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
Because, when I was in college, the Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas was my mentor, and I knew that America Chavez needed one, too. And who better to mentor America Chavez than Storm, the first black female superhero and one of the most powerful members of the X-Men? Nobody, that's who.
Karena, saat saya kuliah, Mentor saya ialah Pendeta Kelly Brown Douglas saya mengerti bahwa America Chavez butuh mentor juga Siapa lagi mentor terbaik untuk America Chavez selain Storm, Superhero wanita kulit hitam pertama dan salah satu anggota X-Men terkuat? Tidak ada lagi
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
And Storm teaches America how to quiet her mind inside of a star portal, and when America quiets her mind, she opens up the dimensions, and in that silence, she can listen for anything and anyone. And no one has ever offered her silence and deep reflection as a way to be powerful. And at first, she rejects it, but with Storm's encouragement, it clicks, and America quiets the world around her, and she leans into a deep vulnerability. I mean, her and Storm even hug. I know. And that's because my mentors loved me enough to encourage me to investigate myself and my ancestors, and when you're 19, how do you even know what that means? I didn't learn about the history of my people in college. I learned about the history of my people sitting on my grandmother's lap when she pulled out the photo album and she named everyone that was here and everyone still left on the island.
Storm mengajarkan America cara menenangkan pikiran saat dalam portal bintang Ketika America menenangkan pikirannya, ia buka beberapa dimensi, dan dalam diam ia bisa dengar apa dan siapa saja Tidak ada yang pernah menawarkannya hening dan refleksi mendalam sebagai cara menjadi kuat. Pertama ia menolak, namun dengan bujukan Storm, berhasil, Dan America menenangkan dunia sekitarnya Ia bersandar pada kerentanan yang mendalam Maksud saya, ia dan storm bahkan berpelukan Saya paham. itu karena mentor saya cukup mencintai saya mendorong saya menginvestigasi diri dan leluhur saya dan saat umur 19, bagaimana Anda tahu apa artinya? Saya tidak pernah belajar sejarah leluhur saya di kuliah Saya belajar sejarah leluhur saya di pangkuan nenek Ketika ia mengeluarkan photo album dan ia menyebutkan semua orang dan yang masih tinggal di pulau itu
So obviously, I had to crash-land a grandma on America Chavez, and not just any grandma -- a big, strong, luchador grandma, one that loved her enough to take her to the ancestral plain, where America Chavez could see the history of her people play out in the skies above.
Jelas, saya datangkan nenek untuk America Chavez tidak sekadar nenek biasa-- besar, kuat, nenek petarung yang sayang dengannya dan membawanya ke tempat leluhur tempat America Chavez bisa melihat sejarah bangsanya bermain-main di angkasa
And America gets to see Planeta Fuertona, the birth planet of her grandmother, and she sees it get invaded, and she sees her grandmother and her mom flee. And she also sees the joy that they experience when their new homeland accepts them openly and offers them tremendous care. She gets to see great pain met with even greater compassion, and that's right alongside the tremendous strength of her family. And so everywhere that I could, right, I wrote her little love notes for her and for all the other queer kids of color trying to be magnificent. Like, when you lose yourself, dig deep into your ancestry, because you will find the pieces there.
dan America mengunjungi Planet Fuertona, planet kelahiran neneknya, ia melihat planetnya diserang ia lihat nenek dan ibunya melarikan diri dan ia juga menyaksikan pengalaman menyenangkan mereka ketika tempat tinggal baru menerima mereka dengan terbuka dan menawarkan rasa peduli yang besar ia menyaksikan kepedihan bertemu dengan belas kasih yang besar bersamaan dengan kekuatan keluarganya begitu juga di tempat lain, bukan saya tulis catatan cinta kecilnya untuk ia dan semua anak kulit berwarna dan lesbian mencoba menjadi pribadi luar biasa seperti saat Anda hilang jati diri gali lebih dalam soal leluhur Anda, karena Anda akan temukan di sana.
And also, reminders that soft is not a pass to duck, to hide, to be silent, to cower. Soft is also a push to hold ourselves accountable. Kind of like when America lands in World War II and comes face-to-face with Hitler, and she knocks him the hell out ...
Sebagai pengingat sisi lembut bukan untuk dihindari disembunyikan, didiamkan, direndahkan sisi lembut kita sebagai pendorong sebagai tanggung jawab diri sendiri seperti America masuk ke perang dunia kedua dan bertarung dengan Hitler, dia habis-habisan menjatuhkannya
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
just like Captain America did in 1941, and who knew we'd need America Chavez to punch Nazis in 2018.
Sama seperti yang Kapten Amerika lakukan pada tahun 1941 siapa yang mengira kita butuh America Chavez untuk meninju Nazi di 2018
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
(Applause)
(tepuk tangan)
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
And even that, that justified act kind of wrecks her a little bit, so I made sure that she linked up with her best friend, and they talk feelings and they go on a road trip and they sing "Just a Girl" by No Doubt at the top of their lungs.
Walaupun kejadian itu membuatnya hancur saya pastikan dia tetap ketemu sahabatnya mereka ngobrol soal perasaan mereka dan jalan-jalan bernyanyi "Just a Girl" dari No Doubt sekencang-kencangnya
(Laughter)
(ketawa)
And when Midas, a sinister corporation, takes control of Sotomayor, threatens to ban portals and almost kills America ... her ancestors reach for her ... because they know that she needs to heal. And it is that burst of care, that healing, that gives her the fuel to defeat Midas and reclaim herself.
dan saat Midas, perusahaan jahat mengambil alih Sotomayor, mengancam membatasi portal, dan hampir membunuh America leluhurnya mengontaknya... karena mereka paham ia butuh pulih dengan rentetan kepedulian mereka, ia sembuh, dan semangat lagi mengalahkan Midas dan balik menjadi dirinya sendiri
See, because that myth of having to go it alone and having to be tough ... doesn't serve us. America Chavez is a whole superhero, and she still needed a team of support to help her find herself. And she needed that gentleness, the type of gentleness that is rooted in compassion and still very much invested in justice and liberation. Because it's in that space where softness and vulnerability meet strength that we transcend our everyday selves, that we become something greater, something majestic, maybe even something super.
Lihat, karena mitos harus berjalan sendiri dan harus tangguh tidak cocok untuk kita America Chavez adalah superhero utuh ia butuh dukungan untuk membantu menemukan dirinya ia butuh lemah lembut tipe kebaikan yang berasal dari rasa kasih sayang dan investasi lebih banyak pada keadilan dan kebebasan karena dalam ruang kelembutan dan kerentanan bertemu kekuatan kita melampaui diri kita sendiri kita menjadi sesuatu yang besar dan agung mungkin bahkan menjadi super
Thank you.
Terima Kasih
(Applause)
(Tepuk Tangan)