The Chaos, the Cooperation, and the Chatter: It’s a Menudo Sunday Q&A with Artist Erika Meza

There are certain illustrators that I keep on my watchlist. Each publishing season I eye the books as they come out, and I wait. Now, obviously I could follow these people on social media or check their websites once in a while, but there’s a special thrill to discovering that someone you admire has a new book out and you had no idea that it was on the horizon. For me, Erika Meza is one of those creators.

I don’t know if I can pinpoint the first Erika Meza book I ever saw. She’s had an impressive oeuvre over the years, and looking through the titles she’s worked on, I kept finding myself saying, “Oh, she did that one? AND that one? AND that one too?” But I do know the first book of hers that I fell in love with. That would have to be Mariana and Her Familia back in 2022. Then came To the Other Side, which completely wrecked me (and would undoubtedly wreck me even worse now). And then there was last year’s A Terrible Place for a Nest as well. It just meant that I was keeping a very close eye on 2025.

And then, lo and behold, there it was! A 2025 title! Menudo Sunday by María Dolores Águila (out now) is ostensibly a counting picture book, but it is also a whole lot more. Águila, as you may recall, is perhaps best known for the picture book Barrio Rising: The Protest That Built Chicano Park. The publisher describes her newest book this way:

“Sundays are the best: that’s when a little girl and her mamá, abuelitos, tías and primos all gather together to eat yummy menudo, a traditional Mexican soup. But when playtime with the cousins and family dogs gets out of hand and Abuelito Esteban’s special bowl of menudo breaks, everyone has to pitch in to make a new batch! Through all the menudo mishaps and sneaky snacks for perritos with wagging tails, young readers will giggle as they learn to count from 1-15 in Spanish and English. Bonus materials at the back of the book include a glossary of Spanish words, a note from the author, and tips for hosting your very own Menudo Sunday!”

And, of course, the art in the story is by Erika Meza. Given the chance to talk to her about the piece, I did not hesitate one iota:

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Betsy Bird: Erika! I am beyond delighted to talk to you today. I’ve been a big fan of yours for years (I consider TO THE OTHER SIDE to be a title every library should have). Now you’ve collaborated with Maria Dolores Aguila on MENUDO SUNDAY and it’s a delight. How did you come to be paired with this manuscript and what was it about the text that appealed to you?

Erika Meza: Betsy, I’m a BIG fan of yours for years. The (super kind!) review of TO THE OTHER SIDE you wrote is seriously one of my professional highlights; I can’t believe my luck to be able to discuss MENUDO SUNDAY with you. I signed up to the project years ago; what first caught my eye was the idea of making a book about menudo – in my opinion, one of the most under appreciated dishes in Mexico – but then, having the two abuelitos in the manuscript sealed it for me. 

BB: Oh yes! About them… You’ve done one particularly interesting thing with this book that I have never really seen in a picture book before. In the story everyone is visiting the two abuelitos. And it seems pretty darn clear that these abuelitos have been together as a couple for a very long time, as evidenced by the photograph of the two of them at the end. Gay grandparents get short shrift in representation on the picture book page. Was the idea of having them in the book yours, Maria’s, or someone else’s entirely?

Erik: I think it was Maria’s! The manuscript arrived in my inbox as it is on the book; I actually did a double take. Abuelitos, as a plural, often means grandma and grandad; it wasn’t until I read the names (Jorge and Esteban) that I got it. And that was it; I was in love with the book. This was the one detail that allowed me to dream up the world: where did they meet? When? How did they manage to get so many daughters? Are they all related? Adopted? Children of a different relationship? Now, all of this is only in my head, and it helped inform my illustrations. But I figured they perhaps arrived to the US in the 70’s, when the Pride movement started (Mexico would’ve still not been open to this sort of relationship), and decided to stay. Perhaps that photo is the first time they dared hold hands for a portrait. And perhaps the three sisters (in my head, two of them are a couple – that makes four!) were nieces, raised by Jorge and Esteban. And well, fast forward to this lovely Sunday gathering of a loving family that we are privy to in this book.

BB: Oh, I love that! I’ve never thought of illustrators giving backstories to characters so as to draw them before. Now from your bio, it says that you were born in Mexico, though you live in the UK now. How long did you live in Mexico? And what influence has it had over your art and work? Particularly, what are you bringing to MENUDO SUNDAY that you haven’t brought to a picture book before? 

Erika: I did not leave Mexico until I was 25, when I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to study illustration in France. At this point I was dazed by the books we saw in Paris, and was eager to try and create something similar to what I would see in bookshelves. Little by little, the nostalgia for the country I left behind (the food, the colour, the towns, the warmth of the people and my own family) has changed my art entirely, with it becoming more and more personal, and with MENUDO SUNDAY I certainly managed to recreate the chaos and the buzz of a family weekend. I feel that in MARIANA AND HER FAMILIA I was able to bring in memories of what it was like to have loads of cousins playing around, but this book really gave me the chatter of the grown ups, the jokes, the parallel world of the children, the chaos, the cooperation, the chatter… this book really feels like a family memory.

BB: Lord, I loved MARIANA. Do you ever base any of your characters off of real people? I only ask because these abuelitos felt mighty real to me. So did some of those aunts. 

Erika: I do!! Most often than not it is people I personally know (the two boys in MENUDO SUNDAY are my nephews), but sometimes it is people that catch my eye; neighbours, people from my childhood, from the larger family, or even from tv or stories. Abuelito Jorge is based off a man I saw in the Taco Chronicles (I tend to rewatch series I’ve seen already when I’m painting, so I can only listen to it and not get distracted); he was dancing away on Season 3 with such joy, that I knew he had to be my basis for this joyful, funny abuelo. And Abuelito Esteban ended up being based on an older boy I knew when I was little, who years later I found out was receiving conversion therapy. He was such a kind, creative person; he’d help me make outfits for my dolls with tissues! So, not knowing what happened to him, this was my way of imagining his every day life turned out to be full of love, acceptance and laughter.

BB: Wow. What a great answer. Now I have to ask (and this is as close as I’m going to get to a “gotcha” question)… when was the last time that YOU had menudo?

Erika: Ha; I can actually give you the date. January 16th, 2023; two years ago. That’s the last time I had breakfast with my dad, before heading to the bus station to go back to Mexico City: it was my send off meal, since it’s one of my favourites. He passed away a few months ago, so… let’s just say the next time I do have menudo, it will be a big experience..!

BB: Understandable. Finally, what else are you working on these days? What’s next for you?

Erika: Right now, I’ve got a toddler that keeps me adding steps to my count! But whenever I manage to work, I am devoting my desk time to a four book series written by Love Ssega here in the UK that I am EXCITED about. And when we go for walks, I am slowly working on a couple of picture books I am writing for this baby that I will hopefully send out to editors sometime soon. With everything that’s happened in my small family recently, these two are very, very personal stories and I’m crossing my fingers for them hard.

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Yeah, you never know if the artists you admire will turn out to be good interviewees. Turns out, Erika Meza is a master of wordplay as well as illustration. I’d like to thank her repeatedly for taking the time to talk to me today. Menudo Sunday by María Dolores Águila, illustrated by Erika, is out now, so you’ve really no excuse not to discover it for yourself. Thanks too to Liz Vaughan and the team at Dial for helping to put this together.

Filed under: Interviews