WATCH: La Borinqueña Encourages Puerto Ricans in Georgia to Go Vote

Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez, the creator of La Borinqueña, joins forces with Voto Latino and Fair Fight Action to encourage Latino voter turnout in Georgia.

The Puerto Rican community in Georgia continues to grow. The number of boricuas in the state more than doubled from 35,532 in 2000 to 89,462 in 2014. The Latino population, in general, is almost 1 million. This massive population increase in Georgia is why Latino advocates are making sure their voices are heard during the critical Senate runoff election in the Peach State. 

“There has been a massive movement of Puertorriqueños across the United States, and Georgia is one of the states where we have seen an incredible growth,” said Edgardo Miranda-Rodríguez, creator of the comic book La Borinqueña, in an interview with The Americano. 

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Miranda-Rodríguez cites the economic crisis in Puerto Rico and natural disasters such as Hurricane María for their migration to the mainland. “So it’s important for us to engage in this civic duty but also to tell the Latino population, ‘Estamos presentes. We see you there.'” 

Miranda-Rodríguez has teamed up with Voto Latino and Fair Fight Action to deliver three video episodes featuring La Borinqueña, the hero of his graphic novel series, to encourage voter registration. 

Voto Latino co-founder and actor Rosario Dawson will voice La Borinqueña in English, while Zoe Saldana, actor, activist, and Voto Latino Impact Council co-chair, will voice La Borinqueña in Spanish.

“I created La Borinqueña not only to be a superhero featured in her own independently published graphic novel series but to be a symbol for social justice in the real world via our philanthropy and activism,” Miranda-Rodriguez said. “Therefore, it is an honor for us to have our Afro-Latinx character take a stand for voting rights and exclaim, ‘¡Georgia con ganas!’ in these runoff elections.”

According to Voto Latino, the organization has registered 35,787 voters in Georgia for the 2020 election cycle. Approximately 64% of those registered were between 18 and 39, and 57% were women. The organization expects to register 12,000 to 15,000 voters ahead of the Dec. 7 deadline. 

RELATED: Lawsuit: Georgia Wrongfully Purged Almost 200,000 Residents From Voter Rolls

“As an activist, I have a responsibility to be engaged,” Miranda-Rodríguez said about his collaboration. 

The writer said one of the reasons he wanted to help get more people of color registered to vote was due to the voting purge allegations against the state. A lawsuit claims that almost 200,000 voters were purged from voting registrations. The majority of voters in that group were people of color. 

“I can’t see this level of injustice and not do something about it,” Miranda-Rodríguez said. “It’s heinous. It’s a direct attack against people of color.”

He said their push to engage with Latino voters and the African American community is to show solidarity. Miranda-Rodríguez also credits Stacey Abrams as the driving force of the historic record turnout in Georgia. 

“To have La Borinqueña march alongside Abrams is more important than having her march alongside Wonder Woman because Stacey Abrams is our wonder woman on the ground,” he said.