CONDORITO : 70 Years of Humor Without Frontiers
It is probably the most representative comics of the Latin American culture, surpassing the fame and reach of other famous Latin American comics such as “Mafalda” and “Gaturro”.
Its fame is such, that Condorito is not only well known in all Hispanic countries of the continent, but many believe - erroneously - that this quaint character is native of their respective countries.
“Condorito is Mexican.”, “Condorito is Colombian.”, “No, Condorito is Argentinian.”
In truth, Condorito and the entire family of characters that populate ‘Pelotillehue’, are the creation of René Ríos Boettiger, better known as “Pepo”, a Chilean cartoonist.
"Pepo" and his creation.
Legend has it that back in 1942, when Walt Disney visited Chile during his tour through Latin American countries, he met many of the best artists in each country, and Pepo was one of them.
However, seeing the result of Disney’s research (for the animated film “Saludos, Amigos”), Pepo was disappointed at seeing that Disney had decided to use a little aero plane in representation of Chile for the story located in that country.
According to the cartoonist, Disney should have used a condor, an animal representative of the Andean fauna and which also appears in the national emblem of this country.
Although many claim that this was the origin of his inspiration, others cite "15 Mil Dibujos" (15 Thousand Drawings), the first animated film made in Chile , which depicted an anthropomorphised condor - not too different from the condor drawn by Pepo - as main character.
But the theories do not end there.
As for the name of the character, many point to the magazine “Condorito” created by the famous Chilean illustrator Coré in 1949 - barely months before the release of the first comic strip signed by Pepo with his famous character.
According to the cartoonist, Disney should have used a condor, an animal representative of the Andean fauna and which also appears in the national emblem of this country.
Although many claim that this was the origin of his inspiration, others cite "15 Mil Dibujos" (15 Thousand Drawings), the first animated film made in Chile , which depicted an anthropomorphised condor - not too different from the condor drawn by Pepo - as main character.
But the theories do not end there.
As for the name of the character, many point to the magazine “Condorito” created by the famous Chilean illustrator Coré in 1949 - barely months before the release of the first comic strip signed by Pepo with his famous character.
Although the themes of Coré’s magazine were distant from Pepo’s character, its name came to identify forever the mischievous condor created by Pepo.
The truth is that the first “Condorito” cartoon saw light for the first time in August 1949, as a bi-color strip (red and black) in the magazine “Okey”.
The cartoon and its characters portrayed hilariously the reality of the country at that time, when millions travelled from the countryside to the city in search of better job opportunities and a better life standard, with the consequent cultural shocks and adaptation problems.
The character gained an almost immediate acceptance, but the sporadic release of the magazine - once a year - forced Pepo to find other avenues for its characters.
Thus, in 1955, Pepo created his own magazine, called simply “Condorito”.
In 1961, the magazine was published biannually. In 1970, the magazine began to be published three times a year, and by 1983 the magazine reached a monthly publication.
The truth is that the first “Condorito” cartoon saw light for the first time in August 1949, as a bi-color strip (red and black) in the magazine “Okey”.
The cartoon and its characters portrayed hilariously the reality of the country at that time, when millions travelled from the countryside to the city in search of better job opportunities and a better life standard, with the consequent cultural shocks and adaptation problems.
The character gained an almost immediate acceptance, but the sporadic release of the magazine - once a year - forced Pepo to find other avenues for its characters.
Thus, in 1955, Pepo created his own magazine, called simply “Condorito”.
In 1961, the magazine was published biannually. In 1970, the magazine began to be published three times a year, and by 1983 the magazine reached a monthly publication.
But the public was always eager for more laughs, and until recently “Condorito” was published every 15 days.
“Condorito”’s greatest hit was basing the story on a real town, and portraying humorously the idiosyncrasy, the archetypes and typical sprite of the Latin American people. Thus, the public saw themselves reflected on its pages - not in a biting manner, but benignly, with a mixture of humour and respect for its source of inspiration, just as in their moment did Cantinflas and Chespirito, other two great hits of Latin American humor.
The main characters of the stories are "Condorito", his best man “Don Chuma”, his girlfriend “Yayita” (“Little cut”), her mother, “Doña Treme” (after ‘Tremendous’), her father, “Don Cuasimodo” (after the character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame), her other suitor, “Pepe Cortisona/Saco de plomo” (“Bag of Lead”), as well as Condorito’s unconditional friends: “Huevoduro”(“Hardboiledegg”), “Garganta de Lata” (Tin Throat), “Ungenio” (Agenius) y “Comegato”(Cateater).
Over time, Pepo got rid of some characters and added others which became iconic, such as his nephew “Coné”, Yayita’s niece, “Yuyito”, and “Washington” the dog, thus diversifying the social contingent of Pelotillehue.
At the same time, Condorito added new roles to his growing charter of incarnations, coming to be policeman, fireman, burglar, waiter, farmer, football player, painter, magician, astronaut, hippie, cowboy, painter of the Pan American freeway, psychic, psychiatrist and stone mason, among many others, also being characterised as real and imaginary characters, such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, Elvis Presley, Prince Valiant, Tarzan and many more, depending on the requirements of the joke.
A good deal of the environment shown in the cartoons add tones of hilarity to each story, such as the commercial ads (“Drink Pin and go Pum!”), names of places (Restaurant The Phony Chicken, Teatropello (Irunyouover) Theatre), slogans (The Snouty: A journal poor but honest), names of Saints (San Guchito (little sandwich)), the sleep walkers and crazy men loose on the street, UFOs crossing the sky and crocodiles entering the sewers, etc.
As it became more international, the writers at Condorito stopped doing local references and widened the characters’ vocabularies in order to incorporate a more inclusive language from all speeches of Latin America.
However, in spite of its many changes in the stories and the re-design of its characters, the cartoon has never lost its original characteristics: the limited use of color (red, pink, gray, brown, black and white), everyday life situations as basis for all jokes, white humor without swearing or lewd language (for which sometimes it has been classified as a children's magazine), and its iconic expressions, such as “Reflauta” (an expression of surprise) , “Exijo una explicación” (‘I demand an explanation’), and the classic finish “PLOP!” at the end of each joke, which in turn generated the idiom “quedar plop” to signify “being baffled” in the common lexis.
In fact, in order to understand many of these jokes it’s necessary to have ample knowledge of Latin Americas Spanish, as well as its jargon and local cultures, since is humor is tightly linked to these, making thus of Condorito the perfect subject of a socio-cultural study.
The fame of Condorito in its native country has inspired all kinds of products: from objects in line with the National Day celebrations (decorated mugs, aprons, napkins and plates, etc.), toys, T-shirts, ice creams, dolls and wines, to the creation of a park dedicated to Condorito and his friends.
Moreover, Linares, the city that inspired Pepo for his “Pelotillehue” is a not-to-be-missed visit for the fans of this character. There they can visit the real establishments named after the places of the cartoon (Bar The Stink, Pharmacy No Remedy, The Phony Chicken Restaurant, etc.) and meet the real-life “Don Chuma” and “Doña Treme”.
By 2012, the “Condorito” cartoon strip was read in over a hundred Spanish language newspapers published in over a dozen countries, including Canada, the United States, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Japan.
Despite its fame, Condorito did not transfer to animation but until the 1980's, in brief shorts shown on television, where the characters had no voice.
However, in 2017 Condorito received the film-star treatment with the animated feature film “Condorito: The Movie”.
Since 2018 “Condorito” is published online (in English and Spanish) on the site www.condoritousa.com.
“Condorito”’s greatest hit was basing the story on a real town, and portraying humorously the idiosyncrasy, the archetypes and typical sprite of the Latin American people. Thus, the public saw themselves reflected on its pages - not in a biting manner, but benignly, with a mixture of humour and respect for its source of inspiration, just as in their moment did Cantinflas and Chespirito, other two great hits of Latin American humor.
The main characters of the stories are "Condorito", his best man “Don Chuma”, his girlfriend “Yayita” (“Little cut”), her mother, “Doña Treme” (after ‘Tremendous’), her father, “Don Cuasimodo” (after the character from The Hunchback of Notre Dame), her other suitor, “Pepe Cortisona/Saco de plomo” (“Bag of Lead”), as well as Condorito’s unconditional friends: “Huevoduro”(“Hardboiledegg”), “Garganta de Lata” (Tin Throat), “Ungenio” (Agenius) y “Comegato”(Cateater).
Over time, Pepo got rid of some characters and added others which became iconic, such as his nephew “Coné”, Yayita’s niece, “Yuyito”, and “Washington” the dog, thus diversifying the social contingent of Pelotillehue.
At the same time, Condorito added new roles to his growing charter of incarnations, coming to be policeman, fireman, burglar, waiter, farmer, football player, painter, magician, astronaut, hippie, cowboy, painter of the Pan American freeway, psychic, psychiatrist and stone mason, among many others, also being characterised as real and imaginary characters, such as Shakespeare, Cervantes, Elvis Presley, Prince Valiant, Tarzan and many more, depending on the requirements of the joke.
RETOUCH - "I think the apples need a color retouch!" "If you say so, well, do it!" "Easy to say so! The problem is to find them!"
A good deal of the environment shown in the cartoons add tones of hilarity to each story, such as the commercial ads (“Drink Pin and go Pum!”), names of places (Restaurant The Phony Chicken, Teatropello (Irunyouover) Theatre), slogans (The Snouty: A journal poor but honest), names of Saints (San Guchito (little sandwich)), the sleep walkers and crazy men loose on the street, UFOs crossing the sky and crocodiles entering the sewers, etc.
As it became more international, the writers at Condorito stopped doing local references and widened the characters’ vocabularies in order to incorporate a more inclusive language from all speeches of Latin America.
STREET - "An alm, for God's sake." "Don't even dream of it, young man." "I never give money to those who ask on the street." "Really?" "Then... Here's my address so you can take it to my home!"
However, in spite of its many changes in the stories and the re-design of its characters, the cartoon has never lost its original characteristics: the limited use of color (red, pink, gray, brown, black and white), everyday life situations as basis for all jokes, white humor without swearing or lewd language (for which sometimes it has been classified as a children's magazine), and its iconic expressions, such as “Reflauta” (an expression of surprise) , “Exijo una explicación” (‘I demand an explanation’), and the classic finish “PLOP!” at the end of each joke, which in turn generated the idiom “quedar plop” to signify “being baffled” in the common lexis.
In fact, in order to understand many of these jokes it’s necessary to have ample knowledge of Latin Americas Spanish, as well as its jargon and local cultures, since is humor is tightly linked to these, making thus of Condorito the perfect subject of a socio-cultural study.
The fame of Condorito in its native country has inspired all kinds of products: from objects in line with the National Day celebrations (decorated mugs, aprons, napkins and plates, etc.), toys, T-shirts, ice creams, dolls and wines, to the creation of a park dedicated to Condorito and his friends.
Moreover, Linares, the city that inspired Pepo for his “Pelotillehue” is a not-to-be-missed visit for the fans of this character. There they can visit the real establishments named after the places of the cartoon (Bar The Stink, Pharmacy No Remedy, The Phony Chicken Restaurant, etc.) and meet the real-life “Don Chuma” and “Doña Treme”.
By 2012, the “Condorito” cartoon strip was read in over a hundred Spanish language newspapers published in over a dozen countries, including Canada, the United States, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Japan.
Despite its fame, Condorito did not transfer to animation but until the 1980's, in brief shorts shown on television, where the characters had no voice.
However, in 2017 Condorito received the film-star treatment with the animated feature film “Condorito: The Movie”.
Since 2018 “Condorito” is published online (in English and Spanish) on the site www.condoritousa.com.
Although the publication of the magazine suffered a severe drawback at the start of 2019 when Televisa, the publishing company for the Condorito magazine for over 30 years, went broke, Condorito goes on, and there’s already plans to relaunch the magazine in the upcoming months.
And for those fans who can’t wait and wish to keep on laughing with the sprite of this ingenious bird, there are also two apps: “Condori Kart” and “Condori Meme”, available on Google apps, aside from its pages on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Because laughter brings down all barriers, and Condorito’s blight humor brings us even closer.
Visit the official page of this endearing character, where you’ll be able to learn more about its history, watch videos and keep in the lop of its latest news. (In Spanish only)
www.condorito.com
And for those fans who can’t wait and wish to keep on laughing with the sprite of this ingenious bird, there are also two apps: “Condori Kart” and “Condori Meme”, available on Google apps, aside from its pages on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
Because laughter brings down all barriers, and Condorito’s blight humor brings us even closer.
To Learn More:
Visit the official page of this endearing character, where you’ll be able to learn more about its history, watch videos and keep in the lop of its latest news. (In Spanish only)
www.condorito.com
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