A Los Angeles cartoonist is making waves online with a painting called “Summer of ICE,” depicting an ice cream cart sitting alone on a sidewalk, but not for the reasons you might think.
“Once in a while, an image will take off,” said award-winning and nationally syndicated artist Lalo Alcaraz of the image, while acknowledging that its title is actually a play on words.
“ICE” is a reference to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that has been responsible for large-scale detainment, arrest and deportation actions nationwide since President Donald Trump took office.
Alcaraz said his painting was inspired by a single photo, posted on the GoFundMe page of the family of one immigrant in particular, Enrique Lozano, who was detained by masked men on June 23, as he pushed his ice cream or “paleta” cart down Culver Boulevard.
Alcaraz wanted the photo, shared millions of times online since it first appeared, to reach an even larger audience: his fan base.
“I thought, ‘this deserves to be elevated,’ you know?” said Alcaraz.
In “Summer of ICE,” the cart looks forlorn and sad, with its owner nowhere to be seen. It tells a story of the sudden and fear-inducing impact of such abductions, with thousands of primarily Latino immigrants being detained by masked, armed men without name tags.
Alcaraz said it also asks the question: If a mild-mannered ice cream vendor can be snapped up off the street, what about everybody else in the U.S.?
“I don’t know how this is legal,” Alcaraz said as he sat in the studio where he draws his nationally syndicated cartoon strip, La Cucaracha. “Just hammered by these masked men.”
Prints of the painting are now being sold on Alcaraz’s website. He is making arrangements to send a portion of the proceeds to Lozano’s family, as they try to get him out of federal detention in another state.
Alcaraz doesn’t discuss business with reporters, as a rule, but acknowledged that sales have been brisk. “I’ve sold quite a few prints and they’re still coming in,” he said.