Quino, Cartoonist And Creator Of Mafalda Comics, Dies At 88
Mafalda is one of the most iconic cartoon characters for millions of Latinos around the world. The little girl highlighted the social inequities and pitfalls of dictatorships and authoritarian governments. Quino, the man who created Mafalda, died Sept. 30 at 88.
Joaquín “Quino” Salvador Lavado, famed cartoonist who created Mafalda, died at 88.
The world was first introduced to Mafalda in September 1964 in Primera Plana in Argentina. Soon after, the comic strip went global with readers on three other continents. The world fell in love with the young girl’s strong political statements.
Comic fans are mourning the death of Quino.
Lavado created the Mafalda comic strips from 1964 until 1973 being critical of dictatorships around the world, including in Argentina. The cartoonist stopped creating the Mafalda comic strips when the coup d’etat installed Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Three years later, the cartoonist fled to Spain to avoid being killed during the military dictatorship in Argentina.
Mafalda was a cultural icon that touched people from different walks of life.
At its height, Mafalda was being printed in 26 different languages for millions of readers around the world. Mafalda took complex and real issues facing the world and boiled them down into bite size moments people were able to understand by bringing it down to a child’s pure level.
“However, even if Mafalda is dissentient and rebellious, she is still a child, this is why she does not abandon the world to its fate, but she speaks with it and nurses it putting even plasters on its wounds if necessary,” reads part of Mafalda’s bio on Quino’s official website. “She invites it to improve, she exhorts it to resist, she makes it promise her that it would be still there when, as an adult, she’ll be an interpreter at the UN.”
Many in the English-speaking world do not know or know very little of Mafalda.
The Argentinian cartoon found wild success in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Quebec. Fans are sending their condolences through social media giving Mafalda and her quick wit and political prowess a time to shine.
Mafalda got people interested in the way the world and its governments work.
The young girl was always very politically active and interested. Her dreams and her zingers always went back to the heart of the issues the world was talking about. Mafalda influenced generations of young Latinas into being politically engaged and involved because of her involvement.
It’s hard not to honor Mafalda and her undying will to move the world forward.
When Mafalda speaks, she has a way of letting people feel like they have been seen. She is not afraid to speak up on the things she sees and doesn’t like. She is not afraid to be the one to voice the opinion everyone else is thinking.
Rest in peace, Quino.
You work will forever guide people through this world with intention and purpose. Thank you for giving us someone to see ourselves in.
