Carlos Federico Yunqué González, more commonly known as Fiquito Yunqué, is a fictional character (the name is actually a heteronym) who formerly wrote a weekly

humor Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids i ...

column for the Puerto Rican weekly newspaper

Claridad ''Claridad'' ("Clarity") is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was founded in June 1959. The paper served as the official publication of the Puerto Rican independence movement and later the Puerto Rican Social ...

titled ''"Me Mudo a La Esquizofrenia"'' (''"I'm Moving to

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

"'') for close to two years (2007–2009). ''"Me Mudo"'' has been published as a blog since February 1, 2009 on

Blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

. The column has developed a cult following among ''Claridad'' readers, with fans in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Early history

During close to twenty years in its 51-year run, ''Claridad'' featured a comedy column named ''"Entrando Por La Salida"'' ("In Through The Out Door"), initially inspired by Eddie López's comedic style. The column's author was a fictional character named Fernando Clemente, whose identity had been closely guarded by Claridad's Editorial Board through the character's run. The name was actually a pseudonym for Roberto Fernández, a lawyer who wanted to honor

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

but didn't want to use his own name as part of the pseudonym. Speculation about Clemente's identity lasted until his death in 2011. A reorganization at the newspaper left it without comedy writers. Since Claridad tends to have a rather serious tone, many readers demanded that Clemente return. When it became evident that this was not possible (the last author of the column rejected the idea, hinting that he had left Claridad in less than favorable terms), Claridad went on a search for a replacement. This search ended with the publication of an interview that preempted the first ''"Me Mudo"'' column: a conversation between José Elías Torres (head of the news department for WPAB-AM in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

and a Claridad editorial board member) and Yunqué. This interview was featured on the February 7, 2007 edition of ''Claridad''.

The Character

Fiquito (a

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

which is the diminutive of "Federico", or "little Fico") is a pseudonym, as that of his predecessor. However, an entire life history of the character has been revealed through bits and pieces published in various ''"Me Mudo A La Esquizofrenia"'' columns. Fiquito was born in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

, approximately in 1977. He is an

Industrial Engineer Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...

, married, and has no children. The column's by-line claims that Fiquito is a "musician, writer and mental patient" who claims responsibility for his words, "or so he says". Fiquito's family embodies all political factions in Puerto Rico. His paternal grandfather was a die-hard supporter of

Puerto Rican independence Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire until 1898 and since then from the United States. Today, the movement is most commonly r ...

; his maternal grandfather was a supporter of statehood for Puerto Rico. His father is a reluctant follower of the

Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico The Popular Democratic Party (, PPD) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Liberal Party of Puerto Rico, Pu ...

(PPD in Spanish), while his mother is a passionate supporter of the

New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico The New Progressive Party (, PNP) is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates for statehood.Melina León's second cousin. He claimed to have developed a conscience as

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

as he could possibly develop while growing up in Puerto Rico. His high school hobby was playing

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

in a

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

garage band Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

. Fiquito joined the

University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

in 1995, attempting to pursue a

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

degree. He loved Puerto Rican and Caribbean history, but realized he could not make a living in the humanities in an academic setting, something he detested. At the same time, he met the American-born daughter of an English literature professor, with whom he had an enduring affair that had him almost lose a semester of school ("a full semester of sex and Shakespeare", he claims). She had been raised in Puerto Rico and was a member of the Federación Universitaria Pro Independencia; her extreme political activism stunned Fiquito. Fiquito opted for a transfer and moved to the

University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) or Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez (RUM) in Spanish (also referred to as Colegio and CAAM in allusion to its former name), is a Public university, public land-grant university in Mayagüez ...

, from which he got an Industrial Engineering degree in 2001. Eventually he met his wife, Diana (nicknamed ''"La Colorá"'', or "The Red One", because of both her fair complexion and fiery character) and moved back to the metro area of San Juan. He has recently moved back to Mayagüez, at least temporarily.

''Me Mudo a la Esquizofrenia''

Name

The name ''"Me Mudo a la Esquizofrenia"'' is the last line in a poem by Ingrid Rodriguez, a writer and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

professor at the

Inter American University of Puerto Rico The Inter American University of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico''; often abbreviated to ''UIPR'' or ''Inter'') is a private Christian university with its main campus in San Germán, Puerto Rico. It also has ...

. Fiquito found the poem in a personal web page for the author, and requested her permission to use it as a column title. The title, according to Fiquito, is a threat: the speaker threatens to move to a chaotic place (which the author hints is the city of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, but according to Fiquito could better be suited to describe Puerto Ricans in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. The column's logo pictures a brain preserved in a jar, with sunglasses in the outside as to resemble the brain as being ready for a sunny day.

Writing style

Fiquito's writing style has been compared to that of writers

Nemesio Canales Nemesio Canales (December 18, 1878 – September 14, 1923) was a Puerto Rican essayist, journalist, novelist, playwright, politician, and activist who defended women's civil rights. As a politician, he presented a bill to the Puerto Rico House o ...

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

and " Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, "El Sevilla", lead singer and lyricist of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

heavy metal band " Mojinos Escozíos", who is a regular writer on comedy magazines in Spain. Fiquito tends to start every column with a humorous

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

quote, be them humorous sayings or popular Puerto Rican phrases. This parodies the serious style of a political scholar, the now deceased Antonio Fernós López-Cepero, who was a regular writer in

El Nuevo Dia EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

, the largest newspaper in Puerto Rico (and the son of

Antonio Fernós-Isern Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

). Fiquito's topics gravitate around subjects in Puerto Rican

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, although he often covers political subject matter. He makes constant references to Puerto Rican and Latin American historical events (some rather obscure to his readers) as to parody current events by contrast. He later asked Claridad readers to nominate him as a

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

candidate for the governorship of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general elections, merely as a protest vote. He claimed he spent US$63.00 in his entire campaign, and used Roy Brown Ramírez's song ''"Señor Inversionista"'' as a campaign song. There is no evidence of the number of write-in votes Fiquito obtained in the election. Song lyrics of popular Puerto Rican artists and other Puerto Rican pop culture elements are often quoted. However, Fiquito is particularly fond of Calle 13, and particularly, of its lyricist René Pérez's irreverent and sarcastic style. Various of Fiquito's columns have Calle 13 lines as column titles. In a rare public appearance, Fiquito introduced the band for an abbreviated set when it appeared at the 2008 Support for Claridad festival in San Juan on April 24, 2008.

Fiquito's musical influences

Besides being a hardcore fan of Calle 13, Fiquito is also a fan of

Tego Calderón Tegui Calderón Rosario (born February 1, 1972) is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer and actor. He began his musical career in 1996 (as Tego Tec) and was supported by the famous Puerto Rican rapper Eddie Dee, who invited him on his second studio a ...

Simian Mobile Disco Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team, formed in 2003 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. Ford is also known for his production work. ...

and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

Political philosophy

Fiquito is an extreme supporter of

, but at the same time, he claims to hold a pragmatic, Puerto Rican-centric view on how the movement, perceived as having a waning popularity in current times, should regain mass appeal to Puerto Ricans. At the same time, he rejects what he perceives as the

orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

of the traditional pro-independence movements, particularly the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party (, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ideology are usually called ''independentist ...

, whose leadership he abhors. He reserves his strongest words for the political leadership of the NPP (a constant target), although he can be equally harsh to political leaders of all the other Puerto Rican parties. Fiquito also considers himself a "recovering

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

" (he spent a year playing guitar on Sunday masses) and an acknowledged product of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

in Puerto Rico, adopting local and foreign cultural references equally. He is somewhat abashed of both circumstances.

Criticism

Some Claridad readers have criticized the character's irreverent political views. A very vocal opponent of Fiquito is Yeyo Rodríguez, another Mayagüez native, a pro-independence icon in Puerto Rico (and a contemporary of

Juan Mari Brás Juan Mari Brás (December 2, 1927 – September 10, 2010) was a Puerto Rican politician who advocated for Puerto Rican independence. He also founded the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. On October 25, 2006, he became the first person to recei ...

) who wrote a criticism of the character in Claridad once.Rodríguez, José N.
¿Quién será Fiquito Yunqué?
, Claridad Online Edition, 8 May 2008

Recent Work

Yet another reorganization at Claridad left Yunqué off the weekly. He has since turned to

to publish his column, at roughly weekly intervals. A fan page in

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

lists over 2,000 followers (as of January 2012), including a fan in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Fiquito has also published several articles in the Puerto Rican sex blog
Desexo
edited by graphical artist Victoria Cano. He has been featured in various airings of ''"El Show de Castor"'', a Friday night broadcast by the UPR-Río Piedras student internet collective '' Radio Huelga'', and in news analyst Inés Quiles' radio program, "Si no lo digo, reviento", aired on WSKN-AM in San Juan. Journalist Wilda Rodríguez occasionally quoted Fiquito in her radio program, ''La Bola de Pegao'', which aired on ''Boricua 740'', a news radio station based in San Juan, until January 2012. He is also a columnist for Argentinean web portal medioslentos.com since November 2012. Future plans for the column have been hinted but not revealed; they include a book.

References

External links

Me Mudo a la Esquizofrenia
Yunqué's blog.
Desexo
a blog where Yunqué is a regular writer.
Medios Lentos
another blog where Yunqué is a regular writer.
Fiquito Yunqué's philosophy
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Yunque, Fiquito People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican columnists Puerto Rican humor