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Quill poses 10 questions to people with some of the coolest jobs in journalism
Angelo Lopez came to California in 1974 and hasn't left. It wasn't a gold rush that brought him, but he did live the somewhat nomadic lifestyle of a prospector moving from place to place as a self-described "Navy brat." Born in Norfolk, Virginia, to Filipino parents, he spent his youth on military bases on the U.S. East Coast and Japan. He admits to always wanting to draw whenever he could get his hands on a spare scrap of paper, which attracted him to the illustration program at San Jose State University. After college, like many people with artistic skills, he says he had "no clue how to apply my illustration skills to the job market." He found stability working in the library system of Sunnyvale, California, but stilled pursued his illustration and cartooning passion freelancing for various papers. His work as an editorial cartoonist for the Philippines Today newspaper, which serves the Filipino-American community in the U.S., has garnered him three national Sigma Delta Chi Awards - 2013, 2015 and 2016.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What is the overall message or thesis from your body of editorial cartooning work, particularly the work you've done winning Sigma Delta Chi Awards?
What I'm trying to do is speak out for members of the Filipino-American community who aren't heard much. They have a huge stake in the immigration debate today. In a population of around 2 to 3 million in the U.S., a fairly large group feel threatened by the rhetoric right now.