The first Mexican comic book in Braille was released this past December, in order to approach citizens in Mexico who are visually impaired and lack Braille publications, as well as raising awareness among the visually able population.
In Mexico, 1.2 million citizens have some sort of visual impairment, according to the "National Institute of Statistics and Geography" and only 1 percent of the publications are in Braille, removing almost every opportunity for them to read. This is the reason why writer Jorge Grajales and cartoonist Bernardo Fernandez - aka "BEF" - created the first Mexican Braille comic book.
"Sensus: El Universo en Sus Ojos" translated in English as "Sensus: The Universe in His Eyes," was created to reach those who are blind and also raise awareness among the rest of the people who have the privilege of reading with their eyes. The story tells the adventure of an astronaut who lands on a planet where he begins to lose his sight and the locals teach him how to appreciate the world with other senses.
The comic book was brilliantly elucidated, incorporating the Braille text on one side of the book, while the illustrations narrate the story on the other. At the end, the Braille alphabet is included in order to share this message with everyone. It is a tool for communication that will help all society.
Only 3,000 copies will be printed out of the book, which will be available in specialized stores as well as in a "bus-store" that will be stopping in several sites in Mexico City, Puebla, and Veracruz. Grajales and BEF want to continue the series Sensus with two more titles that are planned for the first months of 2015.
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