InfoComic

The city of Santa Fe says it's making inroads in reaching out to the lower-income communities on Santa Fe's Southside, enlightening residents about their housing rights through a Spanish-language comic book.

It's been a year now that the publication has been distributed by the hundreds in the part of the city where the Latino immigrant population is most concentrated. And already a few stores are requesting more copies, along with the Southside Branch library on Jaguar Drive—a good indicator that the message on housing rights is getting out.

The 20-page publication is also helping those in the business of providing housing services, says Alexandra Ladd, the city's special projects manager for affordable housing.

Called "Tino, El Inquilino" (a rhyme on words translated as "Tino, the Renter"), it's chockful of scenarios in which characters deal with discrimination, either perceived or real, in affordable housing situations. Authors suggest one weapon is to keep detailed records, including receipts for security deposits.

Moreover, it explains that tenants without immigration documents still have the right to rent under the federal Fair Housing Act. The only problem is that there are two other laws at work that tend to complicate matters: the New Mexico Uniform Owner-Resident Relations Act and the Mobile Home Act.

There are times when all three converge, and the publication tries to outline the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants under all the laws, Ladd says.

Gabriel de Pablo served as the translator for the publication, she says, and Ruben Dario Rodriguez, Dominique Arce and Oliver Lee Arce illustrated the book.

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