Are you ready to uncover the enduring charm of Mafalda, the most influential girl in Argentina? At ExpatPathways, we invite you to dive deep into the story of this iconic comic strip character who has captivated the hearts of Argentinians and global audiences alike.
Discover why Mafalda is not just a reflection of Argentine society but also a beloved cultural symbol whose thoughts and questions continue to resonate today.
Whether you’re a digital nomad exploring Buenos Aires, a traveler seeking cultural gems, or an expat getting to know your new home, understanding Mafalda is key to grasping the essence of Argentine culture.
Who is Mafalda?
Mafalda is a character from an Argentine comic strip created by the cartoonist Quino, which ran from 1964 to 1973. The character is seen as a mirror of the Argentine middle class and the progressive youth, showing concern for humanity and world peace while rebelling against the world bequeathed by the older generations.
Mafalda is immensely popular across Latin America as well as in several European countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, and Italy. She has been translated into over thirty languages.
Umberto Eco, who wrote the introduction to the first Italian edition of Mafalda, has expressed deep affection for her, noting her importance for understanding Argentina.
Throughout the comics, we witness Mafalda attending school and interacting with her neighborhood friends, providing reflections, questions, and critiques of the world around her.
The cast includes her family (parents and a younger brother), her schoolteachers, and her childhood friends, each embodying different perspectives and behaviors—from Manolito, who dreams only of money as the heir to his father’s store, to Susanita, who views motherhood as the ultimate goal for women.
Mafalda – The Protagonist of the Comic Strip
Mafalda, the protagonist, represents the idealistic and utopian aspiration to make the world a better place, though she is enveloped in pessimism and concern due to the ongoing sociopolitical issues affecting the planet.
Her comments and antics reflect the social and political concerns of the 1960s. Through her words and actions, she denounces human malice, incompetence, and the naivety of proposed solutions to global issues like hunger and war.
In a 1987 interview, Quino explained that Mafalda’s nihilism refers to human nature rather than civilization, believing that without a change in human nature, humanity would face extinction.
Mafalda is said to have been born on March 15, 1960, or March 15, 1962, though her birthday is celebrated on the day her comic strip first appeared, September 29, 1964.
A typical middle-class Argentine family of the 1960s is her background. She is a fan of The Beatles, Woody Woodpecker, and pancakes, but detests soup—a metaphor for the military and political imposition of her time, as explained by Quino.
She often makes adults uncomfortable with her questions about socially established norms and the political management of the world.
She is convinced of the social progress of women and advocates for it, imagining herself studying languages and working as an interpreter at the United Nations to contribute to world peace.
Initially, Mafalda is four years old, entering kindergarten the following March. Over the ten-year span of the comic strip, she appears to reach third or fourth grade.
Mafalda’s Birthday
According to a note in Viva magazine, Mafalda was born on March 15, 1962. The note explained that the girl with the distinctive bangs and rebellious ideas was born on that date, as she told the director of a magazine.
The comic strip that made Quino famous first appeared in 1964 in the now-defunct magazine “Primera Plana,” and later moved to the newspaper “El Mundo.” When this outlet closed, Mafalda and her friends were forced to take a break until “Siete Días” magazine decided to hire them.
In her first appearance for the magazine, Mafalda sent a sort of resume to the director, where she revealed her birth date among many other details.
In 2007, the character’s 45th anniversary was widely celebrated. However, Quino clarifies on his website that the actual birthday of Mafalda as a comic strip character is September 29, 1964, the date it was first published in Primera Plana magazine.
He insists that any other date is incorrect, attributing the misunderstanding to a comic strip published on March 15, 1966, in El Mundo newspaper, which suggested she was born in 1960, and a biography published on June 2, 1968, in Siete Días magazine, which claimed she was born in real life on March 15, 1962.
Quino emphasizes that considering a chronology for a comic strip character is difficult, as Mafalda remains a child and always will be.
Why is Mafalda so famous?
- Mafalda first appeared on September 29, 1964. At the beginning of the comic strip, she is six years old and concludes at eight years old in the last publication.
- Mafalda’s popularity transcends Argentina, with widespread acclaim in Latin America, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Italy, embracing the Argentine girl with open arms.
- Many writers and intellectuals recommend reading Mafalda due to its relevance even 50 years after its launch.
- In Argentina, there are squares, streets, and monuments named after Mafalda or Quino, in tribute to the creator and his creation.
- Today, there are more than seven sculptures of Mafalda around the world.
- Mafalda was published until 1973, accompanying newspapers and magazines in their various editions.
- There are 12 official books published about Mafalda, translated into 27 languages, and approximately 20 million copies have been sold in Argentina alone.
- Attempts to animate Mafalda have not been successful. In fact, a Mafalda cartoon did not have the expected reception and was cancelled.
- The collection “Toda Mafalda” compiles official volumes, unofficial publications, and unpublished comics in a large book of 658 pages.
Why is Mafalda so influential?
Critical Thinking
From her very first appearances, Mafalda is a girl who expresses critical thinking. It is very difficult for readers, and even for researchers analyzing literature, to pigeonhole Mafalda on one side or another of an ideological spectrum.
Is she liberal? Does she advocate for social justice? In each of the comics, Mafalda does not hold back when criticizing the economy, capitalism, and even the system itself.
She also offers interesting conclusions about global politics, climate change, and countries like the United States or the then Soviet Union.
It is precisely this difficulty in labeling Mafalda and her thoughts that has not only made her popular and admired but also keeps her relevant despite the passing decades.
The Voice of Children
Mafalda invites readers to see children with new eyes. Along with her friends, she presents us with a wide variety of scenes that are as hilarious and funny as they are profound in their dialogues.
With Mafalda, you learn that children, especially when they start their schooling, begin to build a way of thinking and seeing the world. Family and school are the two main pillars for Mafalda, but so are her passion for books and art, to the extent that many scenes are triggered by her expressions more typical of an adult in a child’s body.
Thanks to Mafalda, we learn that children are not just individuals who depend on their parents and strictly obey the rules imposed on them.
As they grow, each of the influences and experiences shape a personality and a way of thinking. The interaction among children amplifies that voice that Mafalda wants to raise in favor of the little ones.
The Role of School
In many scenes of Mafalda, we can see how teachers are astonished by certain reactions of the protagonist. The comic strip questions what the purpose of school is, what it educates us about, and what world it prepares us for.
However, Mafalda never diminishes the importance of school. On the contrary, the beginning of the school year instills in the protagonist a desire to learn, something very different from what happens to her friends. With Mafalda, you can reflect on what the contribution of the school is to your education.
Does it only serve to incorporate knowledge? Mafalda’s comics lead us to think that the school, in certain circumstances, can be disconnected from the needs or expectations of the children and adolescents who go through it.
The Role of Parents
Mafalda’s relationship with her parents deserves a separate chapter. Mafalda’s family fits the archetype of the Argentine middle class: young parents who work throughout the year, with the mother in charge of raising the children and the father focused on his job as an accountant or administrative officer.
Mafalda’s comics leave many snapshots where the protagonist maximizes the art of interrogation. Children are naturally curious, and a chain of questions motivated by some doubt or question can be endless.
This is often seen in Mafalda’s comics, where she poses unexpected questions to her parents who most of the time do not have a logical answer to give or simply lack one.
In this particular relationship that Mafalda establishes with her parents, we must also consider the scenes where Mafalda repeats the interrogation process with other people like police officers or mail carriers.
An Invitation to Reflection
One of the reasons why Mafalda remains relevant in Argentine and world literature is her invitations to reflection. With Mafalda, in addition to laughing, we find ourselves faced with the proposal to think absolutely about everything.
“Why” and “for what purpose” are questions that often arise in our daily lives, but which are most often overshadowed by the fast pace of our routine.
However, Mafalda is not a philosopher. She is nothing more and nothing less than a girl trying to understand the world she inhabits from a rational perspective, an exercise that inevitably motivates us as readers to repeat the same procedure.
Mafalda in Buenos Aires: tourist sites and activities to get closer to the Argentine girl
Plaza Mafalda
Located in the Colegiales neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Plaza Mafalda was inaugurated on November 28, 1995. This park, named in honor of the comic strip character created by the Argentine cartoonist Quino, features street art including a mural of Mafalda.
The plaza is designed with sections named after Quino’s characters, with cement pathways forming a Tic-Tac-Toe pattern converging in the center. Although there are no statues of the characters, their illustrations are displayed alongside panels from the comic strip.
The park consists of seven triangles connected at the vertices, each representing a different character. This charming plaza includes play areas, dog runs, mature trees, and benches for sitting and enjoying the surroundings.
It’s noted for its simple, practical design with creative infrastructure, abundant nature, recreational spaces, chess tables, and children’s play areas. It is well-lit, and the beautiful area is often filled with people engaging in sports or dance, and walking pets.
Mafalda Statue in the Paseo de la Historieta (San Telmo)
San Telmo, the neighborhood where Quino, the creator of Mafalda, lived for many years and developed his famous character, is home to the Mafalda statue on the Paseo de la Historieta (Comic Strip Walk).
This sculpture, created by artist Pablo Irgang using polychromatic epoxy techniques, is part of a larger effort to celebrate Argentine culture and should be preserved from vandalism. The statue appears seamlessly integrated into its surroundings—near a bar and under the shade of large trees.
This spot is very popular, especially on Sundays when visitors can walk from Plaza de Mayo through the San Telmo fair to reach this comic strip street.
The area features many stalls selling Mafalda-themed souvenirs, and there’s often a queue for photos with the statue. The Comic Strip Walk, inaugurated in July 2012, includes a total of twenty statues of Argentine comic characters, making it a cultural landmark and a meeting place that celebrates Argentina’s role as a global exporter of humor.
Mafalda books
While many people are familiar with Mafalda without having truly read the comics, the full depth of her character is best appreciated through the books. Mafalda’s comics, which have been compiled into both individual volumes and complete collections, offer a vivid reflection of societal issues that remain relevant today.
Each comic strip, like scenes from “The Simpsons,” can be used to explain current world events, underscoring Mafalda’s enduring relevance. The comics are not strictly sequential but do follow a chronology that includes significant events like the birth of Mafalda’s little brother Guille, the introduction of new friends, and Mafalda’s own growth.
Published by Ediciones de la Flor, these books are available new or used and can be found at major book fairs in Buenos Aires, providing an excellent opportunity for both newcomers to Mafalda and collectors seeking a memorable piece of Argentine culture.
Last Considerations
Exploring the world of Mafalda offers a deep dive into the essence of Buenos Aires culture, capturing the enduring affection Argentinians have for this iconic character.
At ExpatPathways, we highlight how Mafalda continues to be a relevant and recommended reading, providing both humor and critical reflection.
The questions she raised over five decades ago still resonate today, unanswered, underscoring the perennial relevance of her observations on life and society.
Join us in revisiting this cherished figure and see why Mafalda remains a poignant symbol of Argentine identity and cultural heritage.
