Cartoons, Kicks, and Community Power: Inside FilAm Artist Cesar Cueva’s Layered Exhibit

July 14, 2025
By Jennifer Redondo 

It’s rare that Filipino-Americans get the opportunity to pursue their passion, yet alone, receive their parents' support. With the encouragement of his family, Cesar Cueva was able to build a career in the arts. His persistence has culminated in an art exhibit featuring his original work for the public to enjoy for the entire month of July in Emeryville, California.  

Cueva's art and life draw inspiration from diverse sources, including cartoons, video games, comic books, Filipino-American history, and social justice and equity issues. We had the chance to speak with the artist and invite you to read on to learn more about Cesar Cueva.

1. Tell us about yourself. 

My name is Cesar Cueva. I'm an artist, illustrator, and cartoonist. I am originally from Seattle, Washington. I come from a traditional Filipino-American family. My mom was a nursing director and my dad is a retired U.S. Army and post office worker. When my dad started out in the U.S. Army, he was a staff sergeant for personnel, which is the Human Resources department in the Army. He knew who was coming in and out of the base, and who was coming to Seattle. We would constantly have visitors coming to our house to get them acclimated to the area or until they got back on their feet. That was my first experience of having a sense of community, and helping one another out. That’s how I built my sense of the Filipino community.

 Growing up, almost every weekend I was attending Filipino parties, and going to my aunties and uncles’ houses. I always felt like there was something going on, and I found it really special for our community to get together. As I got older, I wanted to learn more about my community and the intersectionality.

I have an older sister that’s five years older than me. She was in a program called Pinoy Teach at the University of Washington. They would visit local middle schools and teach Filipino - American history. That’s what led me to the University of Washington where I studied Interdisciplinary Visual Art and American Ethnic Studies. 

In terms of art, as a kid I loved cartoons, especially Saturday morning cartoons: Transformers, Ninja Turtles, X-Men, and Batman. When I was a little kid, there was a show that showed how cartoons and comics were made. And that’s when I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up! Luckily my parents encouraged it, even though my aunties and uncles didn't. My parents were really receptive to it, and they just really wanted me to be happy. 

After graduating from college, I started my career in the museum field. I worked at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle as their first visitor services manager. I was there when they moved from a small garage space on 7th and Jackson to the new building that they're at now. I wore many hats while there – I did a lot of the design work, illustrations, and kept up with my artwork.  

2. What is life like as an artist? 

It has been a super long journey, but no matter what, I never stopped making art. I worked at museums, then I studied Animation at Animation Mentor. I went into the animation field and did some video games animation for Microsoft until I got laid off. To make ends meet, I worked odd jobs including various customer service jobs. 

I met my partner, now wife, around that time. We were doing the long-distance thing with her in New York and me in Seattle. We decided on the San Francisco Bay Area as neutral ground. I worked at the Exploratorium as an assistant manager for their business services team, then moved to the Oakland Museum of California right before the 2020 pandemic. It wasn’t until I got laid off from the Oakland Museum of California, that my art started to take off! 

I started to make a daily comic called Buhay based on my adventures with my wife. I was trying to find a job, and because nothing was happening, I continued to create even more art. I haven’t stopped making art, no matter if I have a job or not. 

I am also part of Kid Heroes, a collective artist crew founded by Patricio Ginelsa, best known for the film Lumpia with a Vengeance. He refers to us as the “Deep Fried Universe” – we are a pool of artists that like to draw and ink new pieces of art. I’ve done a couple of pages for some of their comics, and even created exclusive stickers for Comic-Con. I did a variant for Stockton that featured Dawn Mabalon. I've also done some exclusives for them for WonderCon. There’s a comic called Lumpia Origins that I did the cover and all the interior pages. We are headed to Comic-Con at the end of the month!

3. Where do you draw inspiration for your artwork?  

The inspiration is my love for cartoons and comics. I haven't stopped being a kid. I still love to watch cartoons and read comic books. In college, I was part of the Filipino - American Student Association and was a student organizer. I also studied abroad at the University of the Philippines in Diliman for a summer. That experience really opened my eyes to the issues Filipinos were facing in the United States and the Philippines. Also, it made me realize that they’re interrelated. That’s what really affected the outcome of my art.  

With my art, I always make sure there's a historical aspect and reference to the past. I want to make sure to celebrate it, but also as a call to action on how we can make sure that our people are good and so that we could help other communities in the future.

Last October, I made art for Filipino - American History Month. I created my rendition of comic book covers that I loved growing up, but added my own twist to it, giving homage to my community and Filipino - American history. I also love music so I decided to do my own spin on classic music albums. During Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) month, I took Nirvana’s Nevermind album and made a commentary about “utang ng loob” – kind of our debt of our inner self. 

In my art, you will see a lot of historical figures including big name organizers, activists and scholars. I also tinker with my other interests like Filipino fashion and sneakers. For example, I like to pair a warrior wearing Jordan 11s or a barong Tagalog or a Filipinana with Nike Air Maxes. I also like to create mashups of Sanrio characters: Dear Daniel and Hello Kitty dressed in barong Tagalog and Filipinana, the Little Twin Stars as Malakas and Maganda, Cinnamon Roll with a halo halo, and Pocchaco doing the tinikling. I try to infuse pop culture with our community.

4. Tell us about your current exhibit? 

I'm doing art that I want to do, that brings honor to my community. If people don't get it, that's okay because at the end of the day, it's the art that I want to do, which is the most important thing. I don't do art just for the likes. I do it for myself and my community. 

I live in Emeryville, and I joined the directory of artists for a gallery space at Bay Street. I got selected to share the gallery space with Basmah Masood, a really dope watercolor artist. My art exhibit shows off the Filipino - American community, and brings a spotlight on all the activism and organization that we do. I am also tasked to make some signage for the city of Emeryville. 

Of the work I have featured in the exhibit, there are four main pieces that I want to touch upon here. The first is a comic book cover based on the golden ages. I call it “World's Fair” because it highlights the World's Fair of 1904 that brought over Filipinos from the Philippines because the U.S. just took over the country. They showcased the “savages” that they're going to assimilate (benevolent assimilation). And it was a human zoo of different types of Filipinos in the middle of St. Louis during the winter. 

The second piece is an homage to Amazing Fantasy 15, which is the first appearance of Spider-Man. I wanted to shout out Carlos Bulosan, a Filipino - American writer who wrote America's in the Heart. He’s a big voice for Filipinos in the United States. 

The third piece is a powerful one called “Pinay Power” which is based on a Wonder Woman comic cover. Growing up in Seattle and being around all these organizers and activists – a lot of them are strong powerful women!  It's an homage to my family. I was raised by my grandma, mom and sister since my dad was away in the Army. I wanted to show how powerful Filipino women are. 

The last piece is based on a show that took place in Los Angeles in 2024 called “Island Woman Rise” that featured Ruby Ibarra, Rocky Rivera, Klassy, and Faith Santilla. There was an X-Men number one cover that they rebooted in 2013 that I took as an homage to these strong Pinays. 

I created this art to make it known that we're here and we’re standing up and resisting. Especially considering what we are going through right now – we are creating solidarity with other groups, resisting and letting those impacted know that we’re in the same boat. Together, we can be more powerful, stronger together! My artwork is my form of activism. I give much credit to those who are actually in the streets and actually pounding the pavement. Art is my form of resistance and showing support. 

5. Where and when is the exhibit? 

It’s a free art exhibit located at the Bay Street Mall located at 5616 Bay Street in Emeryville, California. It’s right next to Uniqlo, underneath the AMC Theater. My work will be on display for the month of July. 

6. Where can people find you and buy your art? 

On Instagram @artofthecartoon and my website. 

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Written by Jennifer Redondo

Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose

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