Mafalda at 60: The Comic Strip That Changed the World

Mafalda, the iconic Argentine comic strip created by Quino (Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón), celebrates its 60th anniversary. First published on September 29, 1964, the strip ran until 1973 and was translated worldwide. The character, a six-year-old girl with a Beatles song in her head and a toy gun in her hand, combined childlike innocence with sharp political and social critique, addressing issues like poverty, war, and authoritarianism. Quino, born in Mendoza in 1932, created Mafalda for an appliance company campaign (Mansfield) that never materialized, but the strip found its way into publications like Leoplán, Primera Plana, and El Mundo. The comic reflected Argentina's 1960s socio-political context, including the rise of dictatorship. Quino stopped the strip to avoid repetition and due to political dangers, moving to Milan after the 1976 coup. He later used Mafalda for UNICEF's Declaration of Children's Rights (1977), Spain's education law (1986), and COVID-19 awareness (2020). Quino died in 2020 at age 88.