FanGirl Consulting named licensing agent for Somos Arte’s La Borinqueña

The Brooklyn-based indie studio, Somos Arte (We Are Art), the name behind the hit comic superhero franchise, La Borinqueña, has tapped FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management as its agent to focus on licensing, promotional partnerships, and brand integrations.

Created by the graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriquez, the superhero emerged in 2016 as a direct response to the economic crisis affecting the island of Puerto Rico. Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, La Borinqueña is an original Afro-Puerto Rican character and patriotic symbol presented in a classic superhero story.

As a response to Hurricane Maria, Miranda-Rodriguez self-published the best-selling benefit anthology, Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, under his own studio Somos Arte.

The anthology features La Borinqueña teaming up with Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and other DC Comics heroes. All sales from this benefit anthology were used to award grants to non-profit organizations based in Puerto Rico. During the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con event, Miranda-Rodriguez was bestowed the Eisner Award’s Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic efforts.

Through sales of the graphic novels and various other collaborations, the grants program has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for grassroots organizations in Puerto Rico via the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

“Superheroes and their stories inspire us to help make the world a better place for all of us. With La Borinqueña, I set out to create a character that connects readers and fans to a real place rich with history and heritage,” said Miranda-Rodriguez. “Our hope is that La Borinqueña inspires us all to see our heroic potential to make a difference now, leaping from the comic book pages to the real world.”

Anita Castellar, CEO of FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management, added: “As a Puerto Rican woman myself, I couldn’t be prouder to build an official licensing program for La Borinqueña and to work with Somos Arte to celebrate our Puerto Rican heritage and share our stories with the world.”

In 2020, both Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana lent their voices to various public service announcements featuring La Borinqueña, and produced in conjunction with Voto Latino, Fair Fight, and Poder Latinx, to engage voters in the US general election and the Georgia runoff elections.

On December 18, 2020 La Borinqueña joined forces with Stretch and Bobbito + The M19s Band to produce the first song, music video, and comic book Que Bonita Bandera to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Puerto Rico’s flag which falls on December 22nd.

The song is released on 10x Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri’s label Uprising Music NYC (distributed by ADA/Warner Music) featuring vocals from such celebrities as Rosario Dawson, Rosie Perez and over a dozen more! On sale now with 100% of the net profits to benefit the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management will serve as global Licensing Agent for La Borinqueña brand, overseeing and seeking deals across licensing, retail, and promotional opportunities, as well as build direct to consumer and ecommerce strategies.