Who Is Mafalda? Meet The Comic Strip Icon Presenting The International Emmy Award 2024
Mafalda, the iconic Argentine comic strip character, has been invited to serve as a presenter at the 52nd International Emmy Awards Gala. The official Instagram page of the prestigious awards announced the exciting news with a post featuring Mafalda. The post included an image of the beloved character dressed in a red outfit, her hair styled loosely and a bright smile on her face. The text overlay on the poster read, “Mafalda Presenter.” The side note read, “Mafalda will present at the 52nd International Emmy Awards Gala tonight in NYC!” Take a look:
Here is all you need to know about Mafalda:
1. Mafalda is an Argentine comic strip created in 1963 by cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, known by his pen name Quino.
2. The story revolves around Mafalda, a six-year-old girl who represents Argentina’s middle-class and progressive youth. She cares deeply about humanity and world peace and often addresses serious issues with innocence and curiosity.
3. The comic strip ran from 1964 to 1973, first appearing in the magazine Primera Plana (1964-1965) and then in the newspaper El Mundo (1965-1967). When El Mundo shut down in 1967, the strip was temporarily paused but resumed in Siete Días Ilustrados in 1968. Its final publication was in 1973. It became widely popular in Latin America, Europe, Quebec and Asia.
4. After 1973, Quino occasionally brought Mafalda back, mainly to support causes like human rights.
5. In 1976, Quino recreated Mafalda for UNICEF to help illustrate the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Pablo Irrgang, a Mafalda sculptor, described the character as a “protesting girl.” Speaking to the United Nations, he said, “Mafalda is that rebellious, questioning, protesting girl, who educated my generation to a great extent and continues to do so today with children – and is doing it with my children – and embodies a lot of values that right now, in this world, are super necessary.”
