John Rivas
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John Rivas is the Puerto Rican creator of Bonzzo the comic strip.
Rivas describes "Bonzzo" as a young likable adult facing life with a child's mentality. Rivas designed some special "Bonzzo" strips commemorating NASA's achievements, including "Beyond the Moon", a calendar of the year 2000 honoring Hispanic heritage.
NASA also instated the Bonzzo Award, a pint-size Bonzzo statue that will be given annually to the individual who makes the biggest contribution to NASA's Hispanic program. On October 12, 2000, Charles H. Scales, the director of Equal Opportunity at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first recipient of the Bonzzo Award. The statue was signed by Marshall Center Director Art Stephenson, Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Rosello and John Rivas.
NASA celebrated last year's Hispanic Heritage Month at the Kennedy Space Center with an exhibit of "Bonzzo" comic strips, and a life-sized Bonzzo figure marched in the 2004 Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated in New York City.
There are no syndicates in the U.S. or Puerto Rico yet, but Bonzzoo appears daily in two of the four leading newspapers in Puerto Rico, El Mundo and El Vocero. While U.S. syndication is one of Rivas immediate goals, he won't stop at that. Inspired by Walt Disney World Rivas dreams of one day creating a "Bonzzo" theme park, "Bonzzolandia".