12 Facts About Kat Fajardo

Katherine Fajardo was born on January 16,1991 and is an American cartoonist and author.

Kat Fajardo is known for her book cover illustrations and comics that focus on Latino culture and self-acceptance.

At an early age, Kat Fajardo was a fan of anime and manga.

Kat Fajardo later graduated with a BFA from The School of Visual Arts in 2013, where she studied cartooning, illustration, and animation.

In 2016, as a response to the lack of Latinx voices in the comics community, Fajardo created and co-edited an all Latinx art and literature collection called La Raza Anthology: Unidos y Fuertes with her partner Pablo A Castro.

The graphic novel was adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Kat Fajardo, lettered and colored by Leigh Luna with assistance by Madeline McGrane and Andrea Bell.

Kat Fajardo's work is heavily influenced by her personal search for wholeness in her cultural identity as an American Latina of Colombian and Honduran heritage.

Kat Fajardo ultimately recognizes that she should be proud of her heritage, but cannot find the courage to outwardly celebrate it.

Kat Fajardo ends the comic proud of her journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance, and hopes to use her artwork to contribute to better representation of Latinos and Hispanics in the media.

Kat Fajardo is currently working on La Raza Anthology, which is a collection of comics, illustrations, poems, and short stories by more than 30 Latino creators discussing topics such as assimilation, racism, feminism, and queer and self-identity.

In 2016, Kat Fajardo's minicomic, Bandida, was a recipient of the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo mini-grant.

In 2017, Kat Fajardo was awarded the CXC Emerging Talent Award at the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, which was presented by Tom Spurgeon and Jeff Smith.