Mafalda World Arrives In Mexico In Interactive Exhibition

Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct. 17 (EFE).- The humor, tenderness, and criticism of Mafalda, the character created by Argentine cartoonist Joaquín Lavado “Quino,” is in the Mexican city of Guadalajara with an interactive exhibition that will travel to five cities across the country.

The exhibition “The World According to Mafalda” brings the public closer to the universe of this iconic character born in the 60s but whose thoughts and teachings remain timeless, such as those of its creator, exhibition organizer Gustavo Rosas told EFE in an interview on Sunday.

“More than a run-of-the-mill cartoonist, he was a social chronicler with a highly critical sense. His ideas and his own ideology reflected greatly in the character he developed,” he said.

It is the first time that the entire exhibition is shown to Mexican viewers after a part of it was included in a cultural festival for children in 2010.

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the return of the exhibition to Mexico and it was finally put up to pay tribute to Quino, a year after his death.

“The response of children is surprising. It is a good opportunity for them to know this work that is still relevant, all of Quino’s work is still relevant, we have the same social and family problems as when the character was created,” Rosas said.

As if entering a black-and-white comic strip, the exhibition takes the public into Quino’s life and the characters that made him famous through images, interactive activities, and workshops. The viewer takes a walk through spaces that were part of the comic strip, such as the dining room where Mafalda refuses to have noodle soup, her wardrobe, her desk, and a family album.

There are the albums and posters of The Beatles, her favorite group. It also recreates part of the family apartment and the car they went on vacation in, a 1960’s Citroen, a replica of the one Quino owned, Rosas said.

The sarcasm, criticism, and progressive thoughts that define Mafalda have a special place in the exhibition with a series of sculptures of worlds, as she conceived them in the strip, and with a section dedicated to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

“The World According to Mafalda” is an exhibition created in 2007 as a tribute to Quino. Since then, it has traveled across Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica. In Mexico, it will be displayed in Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla, and Mérida in the coming months.