Argentine cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado, better known as Quino, creator of the hugely popular comic strip Mafalda, has died in the city of Mendoza.
Frequently compared to Schulz’s Peanuts, Mafalda addresses serious concerns through the eyes of a gang of quirky but likeable children. The main character is a precocious little girl, obsessed with the world’s ills and sharply observant of the hypocrisies and idiosyncrasies of adults.
Several generations of Latin Americans have found it impossible not to empathize with Mafalda and her close core of friends: Felipe, Manolito, Susanita, Libertad and Miguilito. Mafalda wants definitive answers to her questions and is often perplexed when adults invariably cannot provide them. She finds it hard to accept that the world is not black and white. Her greatest dislike is soup; she adores the Beatles. And is always embarrassing her parents in public with pointed observations and awkward questions.
Through Mafalda, Quino raises his own questions and doubts about human relationships, the way we treat our environment and the politics of our times.
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