Greetings today to this Visualblock community. Today I wanted to bring here a character (and one of his books) that many may know, others may not (especially the youngest), and it is MAFALDA, a caricature created by the Argentine artist Quino, a pseudonym used by Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, who created this comic strip in 1964, and was creating new stories until 1973, however its importance, its validity is timeless.

I met Mafalda as a child, perhaps about 6 years old, my mother showed her to me in the newspapers, because at that time in many Venezuelan newspapers, especially those of a national nature, they inserted one or another Mafalda story. At that time I knew how to read, but there were certain topics that escaped my understanding, such as a certain black humor and cultural and social references, which are characteristic of this character, for which reason I constantly asked my mother what this meant or that, and she patiently explained to me.

For a little girl like I was at that time, and even with Mama's explanations, what seemed very funny to me were Mafalda's little adventures, more than the social or political criticism she might contain, because yes, she was a character who underhandedly criticized many aspects of the society of the 60s and 70s of the last 20th century. However, although mom explained the meaning of the scene or story to me, at that time I was amazed at the dialogues that she had with her dad, or with other characters in the comic strip, because she was not alone, along with Mafalda were : His father (whose name I never knew), his mother who was called Raquel; also his friends, neighbors and classmates Felipe, Manolito, Susanita. Another character was Guille (his little brother) who lived with a pacifier in his mouth, and Libertad (his turtle). In fact, I had a turtle that I named Libertad (Freedom), inspired by this cartoon.

With the passing of time I was seeing Mafalda with different eyes, because growing up, maturing and understanding many aspects of the world, all this allowed me to appreciate and understand in its proper dimension, the depth of the message of this comic strip. She spoke from politics, nuclear war (this comic was created in the midst of the Cold War), relationship problems, where Susanita was the character who brought up these issues, because she lived dreaming of getting married and having children, so we could perceive the pattern of thought of many women of the time; rebellion, expressed when Mafalda refused to eat soup, or to do something that her parents told her she should do. He also showed through his interaction with the other characters, both the nobility and human misery, conflicts of interest, the absence or presence of principles and values; and obviously, social and political injustices.


I believe that Mafalda, more than a cartoon or a comic strip for children, is more suitable for adults, especially for those who grew up and/or lived at the end of the last century, however, I recommend reading it to everyone; you will see how so intelligent, many aspects of human nature are shown in this cartoon. It could be said that it is a kind of "photograph" of the Latin American and world society of that time, but it is also fair to say that, rather than being circumscribed or limited to that historical period, many of its approaches are still valid, so it is worth read it or reread it. And you, do you know Mafalda?


Here I end my post today, in which I wanted to share a character, a cartoon that I think is simply GREAT. Greetings.

Fuente documental / documentary source
Todas las fotos de este post son de mi autoría y fueron tomadas con mi teléfono Xiomi REDMI 8 A // These photos are my own, and were taken with a Xiomi REDMI 8 A phone
Los divisores son cortesía de @eve66 quien comparte bellos diseños que embellecen el maquetado de nuestras publicaciones. // The dividers used are courtesy of @eve66 who shares beautiful designs that embellish the layout of our post.
En caso de que se requiera utilizar el contenido o las imágenes de este post y de mis otras publicaciones, agradecería que se hiciera referencia a mi autoría (Fabiola Martínez) y se citara el enlace correspondiente. Gracias. // In case it is required to use the content or images of this post and of my other publications, I would appreciate if you could refer to my authorship (Fabiola Martínez) and cite the corresponding link. Thanks.

Delegations welcome!

