October 26, 2018 #ChileDiverse

"Condorito", more than a cartoon, a heritage.

Yayita, Coné, Doña Tremebunda and Garganta de Lata are just some of the characters that come to mind when we remember one of the most popular and recognized cartoons of our country, "Condorito".

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Created by René Ríosor better known as Pepo, this comic strip was published for the first time on August 6, 1949 in the magazine Okey of the Zig Zag publishing house, whose story covered entire pages; which differs from the current ones that cover only one page or even only half a page.

Our main character is the one who gives his name to this comic, Condorito, an anthropomorphized condor who lives in a small town called Pelotillehue and whose stories revolve around situations or problems in which he and his friends are constantly involved.

The origins of this comic are not usually known by many, but its beginnings are due to a Disney movie released in 1942, called "Saludos amigos" (Greetings friends). This movie showed characters such as Donald Duck traveling through various Latin American countries. When it was his turn to visit Chile, he was portrayed by a small airplane that in Pepo's eyes was a poor representation of our country.

From that moment on, he decided to put his imagination to work and, inspired by one of the emblems of our national coat of arms, he gave life to our Condorito. As time went by, Condorito developed with the intention of representing the humble Chilean from the countryside, who at the same time stands out for being a joker, witty and mischievous, and at the same time reaching new audiences.

In 1955 a compilation of Condorito's jokes was published for the first time, and from then on they began to be published periodically. From this point on, Condorito's popularity only began to rise, until new editions of the character's adventures began to be sold in other Latin American countries, and the first commercial products whose designs contained the various characters were also released.

Currently, new editions of this comic are constantly being printed, and although its popularity has decreased compared to its golden age, it is still alive in our collective memory, so much so that it already has its own movie produced in Chile and a statue in honor of this character in the Comic Park of San Miguel.

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