SoCal student podcast partners with famed Latino cartoonist to push green transportation

EL MONTE, Calif. (KABC) -- At Mountain View High School in El Monte, the student-led podcast called "The Art of Talking" is usually recorded in a classroom.

On Tuesday, students gathered in the school's auditorium to listen in on a live recording with influential political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz.

He's a nationally syndicated cartoonist, and his famous cartoon strip "La Cucaracha" is known for its use of current events and pop culture to shift attention to major social and political issues affecting Latinos.

"Cartoonist and artists should present what's going on and should comment on what's going on," Alcaraz told students during a discussion with the podcast's hosts.

The award-winning Chicano artist recently lent his talents to the El Monte Union High School District by collaborating with students on a 90-minute animated PSA titled "Taking a Healthy Ride on the Green Side."

Students and administrators who worked with Alcaraz voiced the project, which focuses on green transportation. They also received help from the California Air Resource Board. The school district is part of the Clean Mobility in School Pilot Project also known as CMIS.

It aims at boosting knowledge and acceptance of zero-emission mobility options for staff, students, and parents.

"These students should be in the project because they are so articulate, and they are very in touch with this era that we need to not conserve, but we need to think green and think smart about our environment," said Alcaraz.

De Adalene Olmeo, one of the podcast's hosts, hopes that message will resonate with her fellow classmates.

"The message of the video, I feel, is really going to help students understand, 'Hey, there's problem here."