René Ríos Boettiger
Encyclopedia
René Ríos Boettiger also known as Pepo, was a Chilean cartoonist, creator of the famous character Condorito
.
Although he studied medicine at the Universidad de Concepción
, Rios abandoned his studies in the early 1930s to devote all his time to creating his cartoons. In 1932 he moved to Santiago to work as a cartoonist at the satirical magazine Topaze. Adopting the pseudonym "Pepo" (from pepón, "little barrel", his childhood nickname), he created the comic strip Don Gabito for the magazine, a strip featuring a caricatured Chilean president Gabriel González Videla
. He also caricatured president Pedro Aguirre Cerda
as Don Pedrito.
In 1943 he created Condorito
, his most famous character, taking the idea from the condor of the Chilean coat of arms.
Over the next sixty years Rios contributed cartoons to a great number of publications, including El Pingüino, Ganso, Pobre Diablo, Can Can, Pichanga, El Saquero, El Peneca, and branched out into other forms of illustration as well. Rios died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 88.
A great lover of the seaside, Rios often drew while looking at the sea at El Quisco on the Chilean Central Coast. A statue of Condorito
now stands at the location. In 2000, an effort led by Omar Pérez Santiago (a scholar of Chilean cartooning and a co-founder of the academic Chilean Center for Comics) resulted in a sculpture of Condorito memorializing Rios being installed in the Chilean House of Culture in San Miguel.
Condorito
Condorito is a comic strip that features an anthropomorphic condor living in a fictitious town named Pelotillehue — a typical small Chilean provincial town. He is meant to be a representation of the Latin American people....
.
Although he studied medicine at the Universidad de Concepción
Universidad de Concepción
The University of Concepción , also known for its acronym UdeC, is one of the most prestigious universities in Chile. It is the third oldest university in the country, and it is part of the Council of Rectors. It was the first University founded in the South of Chile, and the first to become a...
, Rios abandoned his studies in the early 1930s to devote all his time to creating his cartoons. In 1932 he moved to Santiago to work as a cartoonist at the satirical magazine Topaze. Adopting the pseudonym "Pepo" (from pepón, "little barrel", his childhood nickname), he created the comic strip Don Gabito for the magazine, a strip featuring a caricatured Chilean president Gabriel González Videla
Gabriel González Videla
Gabriel González Videla was a Chilean politician. He was a deputy and senator in the Chilean Congress and was President of Chile from 1946 to 1952...
. He also caricatured president Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Pedro Aguirre Cerda was a Chilean political figure. A member of the Radical Party, he was chosen as the Popular Front's candidate for the 1938 presidential election, and was triumphally elected. He governed Chile until his death in 1941...
as Don Pedrito.
In 1943 he created Condorito
Condorito
Condorito is a comic strip that features an anthropomorphic condor living in a fictitious town named Pelotillehue — a typical small Chilean provincial town. He is meant to be a representation of the Latin American people....
, his most famous character, taking the idea from the condor of the Chilean coat of arms.
Over the next sixty years Rios contributed cartoons to a great number of publications, including El Pingüino, Ganso, Pobre Diablo, Can Can, Pichanga, El Saquero, El Peneca, and branched out into other forms of illustration as well. Rios died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 88.
A great lover of the seaside, Rios often drew while looking at the sea at El Quisco on the Chilean Central Coast. A statue of Condorito
Condorito
Condorito is a comic strip that features an anthropomorphic condor living in a fictitious town named Pelotillehue — a typical small Chilean provincial town. He is meant to be a representation of the Latin American people....
now stands at the location. In 2000, an effort led by Omar Pérez Santiago (a scholar of Chilean cartooning and a co-founder of the academic Chilean Center for Comics) resulted in a sculpture of Condorito memorializing Rios being installed in the Chilean House of Culture in San Miguel.
External links
- Pepo biography on Lambiek Comiclopedia
- Condorito official site
- Condorito Video