Cover to El Grafico #1, 1919. |
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| Categories | Sport |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 23,000 [1] |
| First issue | May 30, 1919 [2] |
| Company | Revistas Deportivas S.A. |
| Country | Argentina |
| Based in | Buenos Aires |
| Language | Spanish |
| Website | www.elgrafico.com.ar |
El Gráfico is a classic Argentine sports magazine. It was originally published as a weekly newspaper in May 1919, and then turned to a sports magazine exclusively. It has been scheduled monthly from 2002. El Gráfico is one of the most regarded sports magazine not only in Argentina but in Latin America. The magazine was nicknamed "La Biblia del deporte" ("The Bible of sports") due to its chronicles, notable journalists and collaborators and its photographies.
Contents |
El Gráfico was founded on May 30, 1919 by Constancio Vigil for Editorial Atlántida. Vigil, an uruguayan citizen, had founded Atlántida magazine in 1918 with good success, but the Tragic Week in 1919 stopped the activities and he was persuaded of acquiring an own printing. With the machines and the installations ready, he founded El Gráfico, then followed by Billiken (1919,a a magazine for children) and femmale publication Para Ti in 1922.
In the cover of the first number of El Gráfico appeared the legend "Ilustración semana argentina" at the bottom of the picture. Indeed the magazine only contained photos and epigraphs which had originated its name ("The Graphic" in English) and at first the publication was not related to sports covering all sort of news and events. El Grafico became a sports magazine in 1925.
The best selling era of the magazine was during the 1986 FIFA World Cup when Argentina proclaimed champion: 690.998 sold. The second place in the ranking of all-time best seller magazine is for the 1978 World Cup with 595.924. Diego Maradona was the sports man with the most appeareances on the cover: 134, followed by Daniel Passarella (58) and Norberto Alonso (54) [3]
The magazine famously underlined creole style football as opposed to the British style of football that had been introduced to Argentina in the late 19th Century. It was baptised "La Nuestra" ("Our Own").
Researcher Eduardo Archetti stated about that:
| “ | The "criollo" style is based on ellegance and improvisation while the Brittish expresses strenght and discipline. This opposite values are featured as alternative styles which reflect differente male virtues.[4] | ” |
The magazine concentrated on football as an absolute priority, but also included news about other sports including athletics, rugby, tennis, boxing, basketball, motor racing and women's field hockey.