Celebrating 50 years of Mafalda!

Argentina’s most famous 6-year old girl is celebrating her 50th anniversary this year. Malfada is a well-known and loved cartoon character throughout the country. Created by Quino in 1964, Mafalda has captured the hearts of Argentinians and has become one of the most emblematic images of the Argentine culture. The strip featuring Mafalda, who reflects the Argentine middle class and progressive youth, tackles complex issues in the world such as humanity and world peace.

The stories of Mafalda have seen as much success in countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece and France as in Latin America and has been translated into more than 30 different languages. There is even a “plaza” in Buenos Aires dedicated to the comic strip as seen in the picture below. Also in Sal Telmo, the neighbour where Quino lived, a life-sized statue of Mafalda was erected in front of his old house in 2009.

The comic strip is centered about Mafalda, but also includes characters like her parents and other children who were added into the story line after the development of the comic strip. Malfada often uses her unexpected intelligence to manipulate her parents with complex issues and is accused by her friends of being a pessimist at times. However, she undoubtedly does whatever she can to help both her friends and family in times of need. She represents sound morals and attempts to guide Argentinians to follow in her footsteps.