Mafalda and Friends, #4, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
One of Argentina’s great contributions to the world–along with the tango, Martín Fierro, quality beef, Lionel Messi, the artificial heart, dulce de leche, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, et al–is Mafalda.
Who is Mafalda, you might ask?
Well, she is a comic strip character created by Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better and more simply known as “Quino”, back in the 1960s. Mafalda is precocious, perpetually six-years-old, and is constantly asking innocent but wise, witty, and worldly questions of her parents–say, tough questions about world peace, communism, capitalism, injustice, inequality, sexism, machismo, the social heirarchy, politics in general, and so on–rather than just sticking to the simple questions typical of children her age.
Examples of Mafalda’s Wisdom and Wit:
Example 1, Arguing with her Mom…
Mafalda: “But…why do I have to do it!”
Mom: “Because I am ordering you to, and I am your MOTHER!”
Mafalda: “If it’s a question of titles or diplomas, I’m your DAUGHTER! And we both graduated on the same day, no!”
Example 2, A desperate, screamed comment to her young friends…
Mafalda: “We are dreaming, guys! If you we don’t hurry up and change the world, it’s the world that will change us!”
Example 3, Mafalda musing to herself…
Mafalda [studying her index finger closely]: “It’s incredible the importance of the index finger.”
Mafalda [aiming her finger]: “A boss points his index finger like this and three thousand workers are out of a job.”
Mafalda [with sudden realization]: “Aaaaah! This must be that darned index of unemployment they mess around with so much!”
Example 4, Mafalda overhearing a conversation between two older men walking down the street…
One man to another [in a depressed tone, apparently discussing politics]: “It’s disgusting. It really makes you wonder where it’ll stop.”
Mafalda [musing silently–thought bubbles–about the man’s comment]: “Wouldn’t it be much better to ask ourselves where we are going?”
You get the idea.
For more about Mafalda, see Quino’s official website (in English) HERE. Yes, he is still active–born in 1932! And HERE you’ll find pictures of Quino himself (in wheelchair) at the March 1, 2018 inauguration of the sculptures in Mendoza (his birth place).
In Mendoza, I recently came across these classic figures as well as a nice mural dedicated to the little girl and her friends.
First, the sculptures. You see them in the above image that opens today’s blog. When in town, you can sit beside them for a selfie near the Universidad de Mendoza at Calle Arístedes Villanueva and Calle Huarpes. For navigation, there is even a pin on that location if you take a gander at Google Maps!
With Mafalda in the middle, you have Susanita on the left (a girl with stereotypical and very traditional ideas about marriage, a woman’s place, gossip, beauty, boys, etc.) and Manolito on the right (the son of a store owner and perpetually enthralled with money, business, economics, and capitalism). Both serve as perfect foils for Mafalda’s witty and sometimes biting comments.
A close-up of Mafalda herself with the Universidad de Mendoza in the background:
Mafalda and Friends, #5, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Just one street north of the bench, and a few blocks downhill toward city center, you’ll find a very recent (2019) mural painted by Tano Motta of the street art group, the Asfálticos. To find the art, look for the primary school just downhill from Avenida Belgrano on Calle San Lorenzo:
Mafalda and Friends, #1, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Some translations for you (mine)… The first panel says, “Yes, to Democracy, Yes to Justice, Yes to Liberty, Yes to Life!” The second says roughly, “Understanding and respect are important for everyone to live together and above all, you know what? To believe no one is better than anyone else.” The third panel simply says, “Peace“. The characters, from left to right are Manolito, Mafalda, Susanita, Miguelito, Mafalda, Felipe, and Mafalda again:
Mafalda and Friends, #2, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
Another perspective:
Mafalda and Friends, #3, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
If you are in the neighborhood to see the Mafalda sites, you’ll soon realize that the street, Calle Arístedes Villanueva between Belgrano and Boulogne Sur Mer, is a happenin’ place–IMHO, better even than the city center pedestrian zone (on Calle Sarmiento) in the evenings. There are restaurants (try El Palenque!), bars, night clubs, sidewalk seating, motor bikes, and lots of human activity. By the way, I have documented the hummingbird mural in the background before (created by Cees, Dötz, and Zupa, 2016) and it is quite a work of art:
Arístides, #1, Mendoza, Argentina, 2019
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