Ines Estrada is a cute little 18-year-old who lives in Mexico City and looks European for no reason. She makes comics that are a lot like her. They are goofy and pretty and fun to look at. We ran one of them yesterday, as a matter of fact. She talks about living like a "boom" because her accent makes her pronounce "bum" that way. Her laughter comes out "ha hrah hrah har!" She speaks in broken English in a way that is endearing and she types that way too. She is a fountain of creativity and makes all sorts of beautiful drawings, paintings, animated gifs, stuffed animals, stickers, and earrings. She is broke and happy and does awesome shit.
Vice: You are a Mexican with blue eyes and light skin. What's up with that?
Ines: I don't know. Everyone asks me that, and they all think I'm foreign. "Where are you visiting from?" Once it was free day for Mexicans at the anthropology museum and they wouldn't let me in, and then my friend Emanuel wasn't helping at all telling them, "Don't believe her, I know she's from Belgium." I had to show them my ID.
My grandparents were from different places around here, Tlacotalpan, Campeche, Mexico City... so I guess we must be from some old Spanish descend or something like that.
My editor thinks you look like the old children in Akira. What do you think about that?
Haaaa that's so coooool I want to make myself into a giant toy of toys and scare people too gruhugrh.
What's Mexico like?
It's like a giant horrible-smelling pudding with lots of sparkly colorful chips. Street markets everywhere, lots of people everywhere, and neighboorhoods in which you have extreme poverty on one side of the street, and right across, giant houses of extreme riches. It's horrible and beautiful at the same time. Everyone is lazy and we like to party all the time!!! And eat delicious things.
What's your take on Speedy Gonzalez?
He's pretty stupid. Slowpoke Rodriguez knew what's up.
Tell me about your recent trip to New York.
It was really nice, and whenever I go to the states I feel like I'm in an amusement park because everything is so signalized and clean. Everyone who works in food things is Mexican so I talked to them in Spanish, but they answered to me in English pretending they didn't know a thing. That was weird, I guess they felt bad I was there all touristy and they're there working their backs off in some shitty job...
I also met a small, sweet woman with a whisper for voice called Lauren Albert and this hairy guy, Nick Gazin, with whom I drew stuff and danced. We also made a book out of that you can see here.
It was nice hanging out with other people who draw stuff, I can only do that with my boyfriend here.
If you think New York is clean you should see Germany. That place is so clean it is comparable to Disneyland.
...Aren't you going to ask me about my drawings?
Fine! Tell me about your drawings!
I draw all the time with anything I have in hand and if I don't have any I go around looking for funny shapes in things. Right now I'm really into making books and booklet zine things..
and putting stickers in my drawings!
What do you like about cats? You draw cats all over the place. You drew cats on top of my drawings even. I don't like cats very much. I think they are gross.
Aawhhhhhh I love cats! I love animals in general. Whenever I pass by a dog or cat I go all awwww, melting in cuteness stupidity. I reaaaally like them, I dont know why, though I would never have one. Having a pet is like a having a furry kid that will never grow up and you will always have to pick up his shit and hairs. So instead of having one I draw a lots of them!
When will you dump your boyfriend, Roi, for me?
I don't think any time soon.
Maybe we just kill him together and split the profits then, huh?
Thanks for the idea! Roi and I should be doing that to you instead.
You are so cute and everything you make is cute too. Do you think the cute thing comes from a reaction to Mexico? You've said that it stinks like poop and frying meat and people and gas all the time. Is Mexico full of cute things or are you escaping into a cute world?
Hehehe you think I make cute things...I think it's both. I draw about things I see everyday, and things I see in my dreams.
I'd like to live in a hole in the ground with snow and visible stars at night, and few people, or maybe no people. An Arctic burrow with all the delicious South American fruits growing around, Oaxacan embroidered blankets, and Chiapan woollen animals that would talk.
What's with those stuffed animals you're always making?
They're our bastard kids. Roi sews them and we stuff them and paint them together. We have a lot of fun doing them and hanging around looking for textiles, buttons and whatever other shit we think we can put to them. We just bought this big colored numbers you can iron on and I'm so excited to try them!
This is the comic we were maybe going to run yesterday but didn't.
Check out Ines's blog here and her official site here.
NICK GAZIN
chingate!
Posted by: jermajesty | 27/07/2009 at 15:28
nice! they look like custom shrinky dink earrings.
Posted by: neener | 27/07/2009 at 15:35
hand holders are like cutie patootie os gemeos characters.
Posted by: uly | 27/07/2009 at 15:47
I like how she does fur. It reminds me of J. Penry but much simpler.
Posted by: Hannah | 27/07/2009 at 16:05
ines is my idol
Posted by: lala | 27/07/2009 at 16:48
Would it be safe to say that Ines is the cutest comic out there?
Posted by: The Host | 27/07/2009 at 17:15
The coolest things really do come in tiny, adorable packages from Mexico.
Posted by: seizures r. fake | 27/07/2009 at 18:02
my god she is beautiful
Posted by: nick tangent | 27/07/2009 at 18:30
jesus these are crappy.
Posted by: yikes | 27/07/2009 at 21:53
why does everything have to be cute cute cute? cute is the new nice. it's boring. think of a better adjective.
Posted by: lou | 29/07/2009 at 16:43
aaaanamames guey
Posted by: slowpoke rodriguez | 29/07/2009 at 18:24
Inès IS in fact pretty rad.
Posted by: Alessandro | 29/07/2009 at 19:32
creepy interview
Posted by: name zzzzz | 29/07/2009 at 23:57
uuuuuu she's very cute and talented, i am so jealous hah <333 so is everyone else in the interview
Posted by: waaah | 14/08/2009 at 19:03
INECHI 4 LYEF
she's soooo good, didn't know she was, in fact, as cute as her art!
Posted by: travwell | 18/09/2009 at 17:26
damn it, i saw her at my school
Posted by: Monica | 28/09/2009 at 05:19
estas son puras chingaderas
pero la morra esta chida
Posted by: sando | 25/10/2009 at 02:51
I love you :)
Posted by: Grant | 07/11/2009 at 05:45
esta de la puta verga esta mamada de entrevista no creen?
Posted by: Roga | 06/12/2009 at 00:58
I think so, esta de la purititita riata, me cayo en la punta del ..., niña creida que pusieron en un pedestal
Posted by: camaleon | 23/12/2009 at 21:43
she's like a celebrity of something already. looky here:
http://hipsterdate.tumblr.com/post/391265647/hipsters-i-have-a-heart-on-for
Posted by: ~thomas | 15/02/2010 at 20:24
She's only on here because she's Mexican, but she "looks European"... ie. because she is white enough.
Posted by: Janine Marcel | 10/09/2010 at 08:12
As the reader, you're choosing between believing the stories of young Miller or siding with his mother and his therapist (oh his therapist! What a tragic loon of a man he is!) that nearly everything he says is a fabrication.
Posted by: Buy Online Rx | 13/10/2010 at 18:04
Thanks mate... just dropped by. Will look for BIKE STN when we get to Seattle. Still in Buenos Airies.
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