Roberto Fontanarrosa
Encyclopedia
Roberto Alfredo Fontanarrosa (November 26, 1944 – July 19, 2007) was an Argentine
cartoonist
and writer. He created the characters Inodoro Pereyra, a fictional gaucho
, and Boogie, el aceitoso
, a fictional serial killer.
, province
of Santa Fe
, and he lived and worked there until his death. He was widely known by the affectionate nickname El Negro.
Fontanarrosa began his career writing and drawing comic strips and later branched out into writing narrative with short stories, especially about football (soccer)
. His better known strips are Inodoro Pereyra, featuring a gaucho
and his talking dog Mendieta, and the hitman Boogie el Aceitoso (which came to life as a Dirty Harry parody).
Fontanarrosa went on to write three novels (Best Seller, El área 18 and La Gansada), and seven books of short comic stories (Los trenes matan a los autos, El mundo ha vivido equivocado, No sé si he sido claro, Nada del otro mundo, El mayor de mis defectos, Uno nunca sabe and La mesa de los galanes). There are also a number of book compilations of his newspapers' strips.
His work has been seen in different Latin America
n newspapers including Argentine Clarín
, Colombia
n El tiempo, Uruguay
an La República, and Mexican
magazine Proceso
. In 1977 he was approached by Les Luthiers
(the famous Argentine humour/music group), who wanted him to collaborate on a script they were writing for a film starring the six group members; the film never bore fruit, but he instead became a creative partner, often writing jokes and situations for them, and most of their shows from 1979 onwards feature his input alongside Les Luthiers'.
In November, 2007 a posthumous work of Fontanarrosa was made public. The script of the animated film Fierro was co-written by Fontanarrosa and the characters designs came also from him.
and was bound to a wheelchair
. He continued to work, and participated in the meetings of the Third International Congress of the Spanish Language
, in 2004, where he gave a humorous lecture about taboo words and the final speech. On 26 April 2006 the Senate
awarded him the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Mention of Honour for his career and his contribution to Argentine culture.
On January 18, 2007 he announced that he would be no longer drawing his own strips because he had lost full control of his hand, but stated that he would go on writing the scripts for his characters.
, and was taken to a hospital. He died there about one hour later. His funeral service and the funeral procession on the next day were attended by thousands of common citizens, writers, actors, and political authorities. The procession stopped beside the Gigante de Arroyito
stadium (home of Rosario Central
, a team of which Fontanarrosa was possibly its most notable fan) and then continued north to the neighbouring city of Granadero Baigorria
, where Fontanarrosa was buried at the Parque de la Eternidad cemetery.
The main national news services and printed media of Argentina devoted special segments to Fontanarrosa's legacy and to the funeral service. The national government declared a Mourning Day for National Culture, and the municipal government of Rosario ordered flags to be flown at half mast.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
and writer. He created the characters Inodoro Pereyra, a fictional gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
, and Boogie, el aceitoso
Boogie, el aceitoso
Boogie, the oily is a character from comic strips in Argentina, created by Roberto Fontanarrosa. He is a fictional Vietnam veteran, soldier and bounty hunter, and is used to make parody of racism, violence, nationalism, sexism, which are included as exaggerated character traits.His comic strips...
, a fictional serial killer.
Early life
Fontanarrosa was born in RosarioRosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
, and he lived and worked there until his death. He was widely known by the affectionate nickname El Negro.
Career
"People would say that I'm comic writer, at most, and that will be true. I don't care too much how people will define me as a writer. I don't want to be a Nobel laureate. It will be enough for me if anyone tells me 'I laughed my ass off with your book.'"
Fontanarrosa began his career writing and drawing comic strips and later branched out into writing narrative with short stories, especially about football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. His better known strips are Inodoro Pereyra, featuring a gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
and his talking dog Mendieta, and the hitman Boogie el Aceitoso (which came to life as a Dirty Harry parody).
Fontanarrosa went on to write three novels (Best Seller, El área 18 and La Gansada), and seven books of short comic stories (Los trenes matan a los autos, El mundo ha vivido equivocado, No sé si he sido claro, Nada del otro mundo, El mayor de mis defectos, Uno nunca sabe and La mesa de los galanes). There are also a number of book compilations of his newspapers' strips.
His work has been seen in different Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n newspapers including Argentine Clarín
Clarín (newspaper)
Clarín is the largest newspaper in Argentina, published by the Grupo Clarín media group. It was founded by Roberto Noble on 28 August 1945. It is politically centrist but popularly understood to oppose the Kirchner government...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n El tiempo, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
an La República, and Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
magazine Proceso
Proceso (magazine)
Proceso is a Mexican magazine published in Mexico City. It was founded on November 6, 1976 by journalist Julio Scherer García, its current president...
. In 1977 he was approached by Les Luthiers
Les Luthiers
Les Luthiers is an Argentine comedy-musical group, very popular also in several other Spanish-speaking countries such as Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela. They were formed in 1967 by Gerardo Masana, during the height of a period of very...
(the famous Argentine humour/music group), who wanted him to collaborate on a script they were writing for a film starring the six group members; the film never bore fruit, but he instead became a creative partner, often writing jokes and situations for them, and most of their shows from 1979 onwards feature his input alongside Les Luthiers'.
In November, 2007 a posthumous work of Fontanarrosa was made public. The script of the animated film Fierro was co-written by Fontanarrosa and the characters designs came also from him.
Illness
In 2003 he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosisAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
and was bound to a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. He continued to work, and participated in the meetings of the Third International Congress of the Spanish Language
Third International Congress of the Spanish Language
The Third International Congress of the Spanish Language was a cultural event that took place in Rosario, Argentina, on 17, 18 and 19 November 2004....
, in 2004, where he gave a humorous lecture about taboo words and the final speech. On 26 April 2006 the Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
awarded him the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Mention of Honour for his career and his contribution to Argentine culture.
On January 18, 2007 he announced that he would be no longer drawing his own strips because he had lost full control of his hand, but stated that he would go on writing the scripts for his characters.
Death
On 19 July 2007, Fontanarrosa suffered a respiratory failureRespiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
, and was taken to a hospital. He died there about one hour later. His funeral service and the funeral procession on the next day were attended by thousands of common citizens, writers, actors, and political authorities. The procession stopped beside the Gigante de Arroyito
Estadio Gigante de Arroyito
The Estadio Gigante de Arroyito is a stadium in the Lisandro de la Torre barrio of the city of Rosario, Argentina...
stadium (home of Rosario Central
Rosario Central
Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina. Its football team currently plays in the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of the Argentine football league system, after being relegated in the 2009-10 season....
, a team of which Fontanarrosa was possibly its most notable fan) and then continued north to the neighbouring city of Granadero Baigorria
Granadero Baigorria
Granadero Baigorria is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located directly north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...
, where Fontanarrosa was buried at the Parque de la Eternidad cemetery.
The main national news services and printed media of Argentina devoted special segments to Fontanarrosa's legacy and to the funeral service. The national government declared a Mourning Day for National Culture, and the municipal government of Rosario ordered flags to be flown at half mast.