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."^[5] 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.^[6] She describes herself as a "nomad" and has since lived in Sydney, Paris, San Salvador, and Bogota, though she now lives in Buenos Aires.^[7]

Comics

Power Paola initially worked as painter, then started reading the work of comics artists like Marjane Satrapi and Julie Doucet.^[8] She started drawing comics at age 27, to entertain herself and document her life while working in a kitchen in Sydney.^[9] She initially self-published her comics on Flickr and as print zines.^[10] In 2011, Argentinian publisher Editorial Comun published her memoir Virus Tropical, which tells the story of Paola's childhood growing up as a rebellious daughter in a conservative Colombian family dominated by strong women.^[11] 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 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 her life and a bridge that tends to the lives of others who read it."^[12]

Her work was shown at Fundacion PROA in Buenos Aires as part of the Chicks on Comics exhibition "Long Distance Relationship" in 2017.^[13]

Virus Tropical became a movie in 2017.^[14][15][16]