Perhaps the best proof of Condorito’s success is also the most unexpected: for years, readers in various Latin American countries believed he was one of their own. The character created by Pepo became so widely known that, for many, discovering he was Chilean came as a surprise.
And he was created specifically to represent Chile. In 1949, René Ríos Boettiger—known as Pepo—created a character based on the condor and the huaso to embody the Chilean spirit, after deciding that Disney’s portrayal of the country through the little airplane named Pedrito was insufficient. From the pages of *Okey*, Condorito won over readers beyond Chile’s borders and went on to become one of the most recognizable characters in Latin America.
Pelotillehue, Yayita, Coné, Don Chuma, and the inevitable “Plop!” grew up alongside several generations.
Pepo created Condorito so that Chile would have a character the world could recognize as its own. He succeeded so well that Latin America ended up claiming him as its own. And if any reader today discovers that this condor is Chilean, perhaps he himself would have something to say: “I demand an explanation!” Because rarely does a character travel so far and yet feel like he belongs to everyone.
Source: DIRAC
