“The book was originally a memoir about coming to America - my history and how it connects to what's happening right now. Trump sounds just like the things Castro said — this is pretty dangerous.”

Edel Rodriguez is a Cuban American artist, activist and author who’s created more than 200 magazine covers for the likes of Time, The New Yorker, Newsweek and Der Spiegel - which are singular and striking given our current political climate. Edel’s latest work is the graphic memoir "Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey" - telling the story of his childhood in Cuba and his family's decision in 1980 to join a hazardous flotilla of refugees, the Mariel boatlift. This may be one of the best (comic) books Raman read in 2023, so naturally we reached out for a chat.  In WORM - which is a term Castro used for Cubans who chose to leave the country - Edel uses his own life to capture what it's like to grow up under an authoritarian government and to sound a caution - from the runup to the 2016 US election to January 6, 2020 — to the future we are facing THIS election year. In our conversation we go deep into - and beyond Edel’s personal story - to get at the why for his activism and storytelling approach...

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