Power Paola

Early life

Paola Gaviria, known by the pen name Power Paola, was born in Quito, Ecuador. During her mother's pregnancy, a doctor insisted that she was not pregnant but was the victim of a "tropical virus." Her family moved to Cali, Colombia when she was 13 and she studied at the Fundación Universitaria de Bellas Artes in Medellin, where she cofounded the art collective Taller 7. She describes herself as a "nomad" and has since lived in Sydney, Paris, San Salvador, and Bogota, though she now lives in Buenos Aires.

Comics

Power Paola initially worked as painter, then started reading the work of comics artists like Marjane Satrapi and Julie Doucet. She started drawing comics at age 27, to entertain herself and document her life while working in a kitchen in Sydney. She initially self-published her comics on Flickr and as print zines. In 2011, Argentinian publisher Editorial Comun published her memoir Virus Tropical, which tells the story of Paola's childhood growing up in as a rebellious daughter in a conservative Colombian family dominated by strong women. The book was met with critical praise and republished in English and French by Random House / Mondadori. Critics have noted her loose drawing style and intimate voice. Of Virus Tropical, reviewer Josep Oliver said, "Using a strongly expressive naïve style, Paola creates a very personal comic, with a clear feminine voice, that is a standard bearer of the comic of those latitudes." Reviewer Abril Castillo Cabrera compared reading the book to visiting a therapist, writing that Power Paola creates "an atmosphere that we can access, a story with a beginning and a closing, an elaboration of his life and a bridge that tends to the lives of others who read it."

Her work was shown at Fundacion PROA in Buenos Aires as part of the Chicks on Comics exhibition "Long Distance Relationship" in 2017.