Patoruzú is a comic character created in 1928 by Dante Quinterno and is considered the most popular hero of Argentine comics. Patoruzú is a wealthy Tehuelche '' cacique'' with great estate properties in

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

, and possesses both superhuman physical strength and a charitable yet naive heart. He was originally only a side character in Quinterno's series "Don Gil Contento", but became so popular with readers that the comic was renamed after him.

History

Patoruzú first appeared on October 19, 1928, in the ''Las Aventuras de Don Gil Contento'' strip in the ''Crítica'' newspaper, under the name of ''Curugua Curuguagüigua''; ''last cacique of the giant Tehuelches'', of whom ''Don Gil'' becomes tutor. The name was deemed too difficult to pronounce and was soon changed to Patoruzú, after the then-popular candy ''Pasta de Orozú''. Nevertheless, the strip was canceled by the newspaper after only a few days. Later that year Dante Quinterno started working for '' La Razón'' newspaper with the strip ''Don Julián de Monte Pío'' (predecessor of another of Quinterno's popular characters: the playboy

Isidoro Cañones Isidoro Cañones is a fictional character from Argentine comics, created by Dante Quinterno. He was created as a supporting character of Patoruzu, but got his own comic book afterwards, which is periodically reprinted. The character is often refe ...

). In September 1930, Patoruzú was again introduced into the strip when Don Julián became his tutor. Slowly, Patoruzú assumed greater importance in the strip, which on December 11, 1931, was renamed to ''Patoruzú''. In 1935 Quinterno sold the publication rights to ''El Mundo'' newspaper, and the first compilation of the adventures of the ''cacique'' was published. The strip was also published in newspapers in other Argentine cities outside of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. In November 1936 the first Patoruzú monthly magazine was released and completely sold out the same day. The magazine was then published fortnightly, and then weekly. The magazine reached a record circulation of 300,000 copies, soon requiring a team to create its scripts and drawings, under the supervision of Quinterno. On April 30, 1977, the 2,045th and last issue of Patoruzú was released. Slightly adapted versions of the original have been published, as well as the comic ''Patoruzito,'' about the life of young Patoruzú. In 1942 the 12-minute short film '' Upa en apuros'' was the first Latin-American animated film produced in colour. The series also inspired French comics writer and artist Rene Goscinny who grew up in Argentina from 1928-1945 to create the characters Oumpah-pah in 1958, and Asterix and Obelix a year later in 1959 with artist Albert Uderzo.

Characters

* Patoruzú Patoruzú is the last descendant of the fictional Tehuelche ''Patoruzek'' dynasty. The source of his uncommon strength seems to be related to what he was fed as a child—soup made from the bones of an extinct giant animal—but also to the strength of all his ancestors, which he receives whenever he faces injustice. He is extremely generous and charitable but is often deceived by greedy characters, who in the end are always properly punished. Patoruzú uses many native expressions that give his speech an aboriginal flavor; however, they derive from different tribes of Argentina and so are not consistent with each other (e.g.

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guaraní language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * ...

''gurí'',

''Che'', etc.). Patoruzito e Isidorito

* Isidoro Cañones An incorrigible

playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

and stereotypical ''

porteño In Spanish, the term (feminine: ''Porteña'') means "port city person". It is used to refer to residents of port cities such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; El Puerto de Santa María, Spain; Valparaíso, Chile; Mazatlán, Veracruz, Acapulco and Tam ...

'', he is supposed to be Patoruzú's tutor and look after him, but he spends most of his time trying to find new ways of getting more ''patacones'' bills out of him, to spend on parties, cars, and horses. * Upa Patoruzú's teenage brother is shy and naive, yet more aware of modern ways than his older brother. He has a big belly that he uses as a weapon whenever injustice is to be fought. * Patora Patora is the youngest sister; she lives in a convent in

because her obsessive desire to get married makes her fall for the first man she sees. * La Chacha Patoruzú's nanny and wet nurse lives on the ''estancia'' (ranch), far from any city. In spite of her age, she is vigorous and hard-working. Her

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spanish, other Southern European, Latin American, and Iberian-influenced cultures around the world. The name comes from the Spanish (to bread, i.e., ...

s are highly appreciated by the other characters. * Ñancul The foreman of Patoruzú's ''estancia,'' he is often in a bad mood, but Patoruzú respects and trusts him. * Coronel Cañones The Colonel, the quintessential retired military man, is the uncle and tutor of Isidoro. A very correct and respected person, he is always trying to straighten out his nephew. * Pampero Pampero (''from the Pampa'' and also the name of a strong southern wind, meaning in essence that he "runs like the wind") is Patoruzú's faithful horse, one of the fastest, if not ''the'' fastest, in the world. He responds only to Patoruzú's call. * Patoruzito This modern comic is set during the early years of the life of Patoruzú, with ''Isidorito'' (young Isidoro), ''Patoruzito'' (young Patoruzú) and his horse ''Pamperito'' (young Pampero).

History

Characters

References

External links