Goodbye, Quino: The creator of Mafalda says goodbye at 88

Joaquín Salvador Lavado Badger, better known as Cinchona, died on September 30th after suffering a stroke a few days earlier. The cartoonist left behind a significant legacy with his extraordinary characters and comics.

Argentine cartoonist and graphic humorist. Born on July 17, 1932, in Mendoza, Argentina. Cinchona He was called that since he was little, to differentiate him from his uncle, also called JoaquínHe was the one who sparked his imagination as a cartoonist from a very early age, as he was also an illustrator.

At the age of 13, he began studying Fine Arts in his hometown, but dropped out in 1949 with the idea of becoming a comic strip author. The achievement of selling his first work was the push that encouraged him to continue. But although he tried to get into various publishing houses in Buenos Aires, they closed their doors to him.

Its Beginnings

It was in 1954 when he managed to publish his first humor page in the weekly magazine "Esto es." From then on, he managed to publish in other media, such as Leoplán, Vea y Lea, TV Guía, Damas y Damitas, Panorama and the newspaper Democracia. In a more regular way he did it in Rico Tipo, Tía Vicenta and Dr. Merengue.

By 1963 he launched Quino World. The first compilation book of his comics. This opened the doors for him and he was asked to do an undercover advertising campaign for the Mansfield brand from the appliance company Siam Di Tella.

This advertising campaign was the birth of Mafalda. And although the campaign ultimately didn't materialize, the drawing was well-received and was published as a first comic strip in the literary magazine Leoplán. Later, It began to be published regularly in the weekly Primer Plana on September 29, 1964.. On the other hand, between 1965 and 1967 it was published in the newspaper El Mundo.

Obviously, with so much material, he decided to launch his first compilation book dedicated to Mafalda. Then, the Mafalda books appeared once the strips were collected. Following the publication order. Starting with the first one in December 1966. Later, they published That's how it is, Mafalda. in 1967 and Mafalda 3 and 4 in 1968. Maintaining the character's name in each volume, until it ended with issue 10 in 1974.

Mafalda It has been translated into 15 languages and published in multiple magazines and newspapers around the world.However, after several years, In 1973, Quino decided to abandon the Mafalda comic strip, having run out of ideas for the character.But the creator couldn't stay away from his daughter for long, and in later years he returned to her work to illustrate campaigns supporting children's rights.

Mafalda and other comic book characters

Quino, creator of the unforgettable Mafalda and one of the most internationally renowned Spanish-language cartoonists, has passed away. His apt words traveled across both sides of the Atlantic thanks to his cartoons and unique sense of humor. pic.twitter.com/bh7tG1uw4Y

— RAE (@RAEinforma) September 30, 2020

Mafalda is Quino's most popular character. A girl, a mirror of the middle class and progressive youth. Always concerned about world peace and humanity. So, she aspires to make the world a better place. She's a bit of a pessimist.

His comics are very witty, it touches topics such as political and social concerns and denounced the evil and incompetence of society. In addition, he also offered naive solutions to the problems he denounced.

It is worth noting that its name is taken from the film Show Your Face (1962), from the novel of the same name by writer David Viñas. It features a baby with that name. Quino found it a fun and ideal name for the character.

In this way, for the failed campaign, Quino drew several strips starring a family formed by a married couple, with a daughter and a son. Then, when it was going to be published in 1964, he began to draw new comics in which only the characters appeared. Mafalda and her parents.

Later he would create The new characters, such as Felipe, Susanita, Manolito, Miguelito, Libertad, and her little brother, Guille.. In addition to other secondary ones, such as Don Manolo (Manolito's father), Manolito's mothers, Susanita, Felipe, Miguelito, Libertad, Aunt Paca, Muriel and BurocraciaBefore continuing, we will refer to some characters without going into further detail.

Joaquin, Mafalda and Guille's father, is an office worker who drives a Citroën 2CV. And the girl, with her doubts, calls him into question on countless occasions.

We have Raquel, who is the mother, a typical housewife who dropped out of school after getting married. And Guille, the younger brother, is the only one who grows physically in the comic and likes soup, a food Mafalda hates.

Among Mafalda's friends is Felipe, who is lazy, shy and dreamyHe is more advanced than Mafalda in his studies, but he is more naive. He likes listening to The Beatles and reading The Lone Ranger. Another classmate is Manuel Goreiro or Manolito, which represents capitalist ideas. Ambitious and materialistic, he helps his father sell his business.

It is also Susana Clotilde Chirusi or Susanita, somewhat chatty, gossipy, racist and contemptuous of the poor. She is very good friends with Mafalda until she appears Freedom.

As to Miguel Pitti or Miguelito, is more dreamy than Felipe and with a range of complex questions and perhaps absurd. Finally, we have Freedom, an incendiary and liberal character that seeks to project political ideas against the established order.

Quino and his awards

He defined himself as “a journalist who draws” and added “What happens to me is that I don't understand how I drew all that.” He has received a good number of awards and recognitions:

• Palme d'Or in 1978
• Cartoonist of the Year in 1982, awarded by his peers
• Konex Platinum Award for graphic arts and graphic humor on two occasions 1982 and 1992
• Max und Moritz Award for Best International Comic Strip with Mafalda, in 1988
• Children of the Human Rights Alliance (B'nai B'rith) in 1998
• Haxtur Awards for the author we love in 2000
• Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires in 2004 and of Guaymallén in 2005
• Knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2005 and Knight of the Legion of Honor of the French Republic in 2014
• And the Doctors Honoris Causa from the National University of Córdoba in 2006 and from the National University of Cuyo in 2019 could not be missed.

And it wasn't just Mafalda

In addition to the famous MafaldaHe also produced other successful publications. He continued to let his imagination run wild, which allowed him to complement his extensive repertoire.

Among them we have, for the 70s, Don't yell at me (reissued in 1999), If I were you… in 1973. In 1976, Fine, thank you, and you? And in 1977, Pocket Men.

In the 80s, To the good table from 1980. Ni art ni part in 1981. Let me invent in 1983. Quinotherapy in 1985. People in their place in 1986. Yes darling by 1987. And finally, in 1989, Powerful, arrogant and impotent.

Then they followed Human is born in 1991, I wasn't by 1994, Short stories and other alterations in 1995, and ending the decade in 1999, How much kindness!

In the new millennium the publications continued. In 2002 a compilation was released called This is not all. Then, in 2005, What an unpresentable present! Later in 2007, we had The Adventure of Eating. And another compilation, All Mafalda. Then, in 2012, Who's there? And, to close, in 2016, Simply Quino.

Ending, Joaquín Lavado He was a real-life character who left us a legend in comics. As is Mafalda. Which, even as time passes, remains relevant. All we can say is: Quino, fly high.

Image: The Delta Newspaper