A few meters away, on a bench on the corner of Defensa Street, the curious and irreverent little girl waits with Suzanita and Manolito for those who come to visit her, of various ages and origins.
This place is part of the historic avenue, hundreds of people arrive every day and line up to take photos or buy key chains, t-shirts and replicas, conversations can be heard in different variations of english, portuguese and spanish and other languages..
The popular sculpture was placed here in 2009 by artist Pablo Irrgang, along with a sheet of paper pointing to the building where its creator Joaquín Salvador Ravador (Quino) lived and where Mafalda was born in 1964 place.
About 800 meters from Plaza de Mayo, these are not the only places that pay homage to the famous cartoonist and his most precious creations.
In Mendoza, Quino’s hometown, there is the largest sculpture of Mafalda to date: it is located in the town of San Martin and is three meters high, made by Juan Valdivia.
In it, the dark-haired girl who hates soup — or militarism and political imposition — is sitting at a table in Las venas abiertas de América Latina by Eduardo Galeano. ) on a book; Hopscotch, by Julio Cortázar; and Jose Hernandez’s Martin Fierro.
On the other hand, the town of Laguna Larga in Córdoba has the heaviest statue (one ton), made by Marcelo Cuello; the Children’s Republic theme park in the province of Buenos Aires has another huge attraction.
In the capital, the Plaza Mafalda in the Colegiales neighborhood was inaugurated in 1994, and in 2008 the mural “The World Through the Eyes of Mafalda” was created on the corridor between the Metro Stations A, Peru and D, Metro Stations.
The aforementioned are just some of the many gestures to honor this character and his author, who knew how to leave the Argentine borders and reach many corners of Latin America and the world.
But Mafalda is not just a graphic strip, a tourist attraction or the protagonist of a work declared cultural heritage of the city of Buenos Aires.
As the Italian philosopher and writer Umberto Eco said, she is the heroine of our time and must be treated with the respect due to a real person.
cultural milestone
On September 29, 1964, Mafalda first appeared in the weekly “Primera Plana”, and on July 25, 1973, she and her friends officially bid farewell to the readers of “Siete Días”.
As Gino explained, the idea for his creation arose out of a request from an advertising agency.
I was commissioned to work on Siam’s upcoming collection called ‘Mansfield’. That’s why I looked for names similar to it. When speaking about the origins of what would become his most famous publication, he pointed out that the campaign did not take place and I only had 12 strips left.
For the famous cartoonist, “Mafalda is a girl who tries to solve the dilemma of who is good and who is bad in this world.”
His honest, insightful, uncomfortable and necessary speeches had such an impact that they were translated into nearly thirty languages, and even Guaraní and Braille.
In addition, the Cuban filmmaker Juan Padrón (1947-2020) directed a series of cartoons about her.
In a conversation with Quino’s nephew, Prensa Latina, and Guillermo Lavado, who modeled the character of Guiller (Mafalda’s brother), he highlighted his The relevance of Uncle’s work, which he considers “a source of inspiration for an open mind and a necessary nutrient for the development of thought”. Everyone, regardless of age. “
His influence on Argentine society is perhaps unmatched by other writers. He states not only Mafalda, which is a cultural milestone, but also all his graphic creations before and since, including almost two thousand wonderful pages whose depth and relevance make it a classic.
For me, it was a great feeling to inspire Guille, but at the same time, it made me miss his absence. “We were very much in love, and beyond what his image represented, I had a deep affection for that man,” he noted.
The professional flutist ensured that the two maintained a very close relationship that went through several phases.
In childhood, there was a lot of kinship, there was a lot of communication; in adolescence, complicity and helping; and in adult life, not only had I had tremendous emotional and professional support, but with his wife, Alicia Colombo, he explained , he is a nourishing source of film culture and political criticism.
“When they started visiting democratic Argentina in 1983, I lived with them for a few months and we saw each other often when they were in Milan (Italy) and I was in Basel (Switzerland),” he said.
De Quino admired “his many virtues, his immense ability to understand human emotion, and his unwavering devotion to his craft”.
“He was a tireless worker. His honesty and respect for his readers should serve as an example to all of his colleagues,” he said.
In addition, he also emphasized that “he is forever young, it has nothing to do with age; he is forever young”. her anti-machismo and early feminist thinking; his clear critique of negative backlashes like gerontophobia; his openness but at the same time self-critical; But just a goldsmith.”
Guillermo felt that each of his characters had a lot of his uncle’s personality.
Felipe’s body was inspired by journalist Jorge Timothy, but he’s a carbon copy of Quino’s shy older boy. They all have their mark, he assures.
For him, the best way to remember him is to continue to read his work and adapt it into new forms and platforms so that a new generation can get to know him.
flesh and blood character
According to Humberto Eco, “Mafalda reflects the tendencies of restless youth, it presents childish disapproval, psychological eczema of reaction to the media, moral hives generated by the logic of the block, intellectual asthma Contradictory aspects of . Originated from atomic mushrooms”.
If the adjective “rebellious” is used in an attempt to define her, it’s not about conforming to nonconformist fashion at all costs: she adds that she is indeed an angry heroine who rejects the world for what it is.
The thinker sees the little girl, her family and friends as witnesses to a social moment and a country of contrasts.
Mafalda lives in a constant dialogue with the adult world that she doesn’t appreciate, disrespect, harass, humiliate and reject, claiming her right to remain a girl and not wanting to run a universe adulterated by her parents. (…) He points out that he has most likely read Che (Ernesto Guevara).
A lifelong devotee of writing, Gino died on September 30, 2020, the 56th anniversary of the first publication of his most iconic work.
Despite his absence, his name and Mafalda still walk the streets of Argentina.
The exhibition “Querido Quino” was held recently. The correspondence between cartoonists and readers shows the close relationship between them.
The letters chosen for the sample are part of the collection donated by Lavado to the Center of Argentine Comics and Graphic Humor of the Mariano Moreno National Library.
These letters, received over the years by Jorge Alvarez and de la Flor Publishing House or through digital platforms, contain praises, opinions, comments, requests, wedding invitations, personal experiences and wishes of many people.
They are also accompanied by photos, stories and drawings made by senders, many of whom wrote to figures such as Mafalda, Manolito and Libertad.
“Dear Mafalda: I realize that everything I read is reality because it always happens to me. Mom says I am a lot like you. I want to see you. My dream is to have as much as you friend,” wrote a 10-year-old girl in 1984.
Forgive me, but in the excitement I forgot to identify myself. My name is Eva Lorena Piero aka Lol. I live in your home country, Mendoza. I write poems about her, autumn, elves, etc. “Please answer me, I’m already disappointed in celebrities,” he added.
Graciela Aráu recalled in 1997 that Quino helped her overcome a difficult time in prison.
In turn, brothers Gregorio, Florencia, Mariana and Andrés stated in a 2014 letter that “Mafalda ) are made of strokes and lines that do not end on the paper but persist until they enter the skin, pass through the reason and remain in the heart” “.
The girl who made us laugh taught us to think and reflect. He introduced us to Libertad, and although we knew she was small, she was there. Gino never personally entered our house; however, it was always there,” the text added.
The authors respond to, thank, and advise them and many other readers on the most diverse topics and concerns.
At one point, she was sure, people thought of Mafalda as a flesh-and-blood figure, not always picturing her at the same age, but growing up with the passing of the years.
Perhaps, Guillermo commented, because it has become the flesh of the reader. We have her as the sister who represents us and humanizes herself.
arc/ml/gas