| Gabriel Vargas Bernal | |
|---|---|
1983 "Premio Nacional de Periodismo" (National Journalism Prize) award ceremony |
|
| Born | Gabriel Bernal Vargas 5 February 1915 Tulancingo, Hidalgo |
| Died | 25 May 2010 (aged 95) Mexico City |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, painter[1][2][3][4][5] |
| Notable works | La Familia Burrón (comic strip) The Burrón Family |
| Awards | 1983 "Premio Nacional de Periodismo" (National Journalism Prize) 2003 "Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes en el área de Tradiciones Populares" (National Sciences and Arts Prize)[6][7] |
Gabriel Bernal Vargas (5 February 1915 – 25 May 2010)[6][7] was a Mexican painter, artist and cartoonist, whose comic strip La Familia Burrón was created in 1937.[1][2][3] This cartoon has been described as one of the most important in Mexican popular culture.[6][7] Vargas won Mexico's "Premio Nacional de Periodismo" (National Journalism Prize) in 1983 and the "Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes en el área de Tradiciones Populares" (National Sciences and Arts Prize) in 2003.[1][2][6][7][8][9]
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Gabriel Vargas was born in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, on February 5, 1915 and had 11 siblings.[6][7] His father was a merchant and died when Gabriel was four years old.[1][2] In 1922, his mother, Josefina Bernal, moved the family to Mexico City.[1][2][6][7] Around 1928, Vargas began work as a draftsman for the Excélsior newspaper and eventually became its chief drawer[1][2][6][7] by 1931 when he was sixteen.[6][7] Vargas won an art contest sponsored by Panamericana Editorial which led to him penning his first comic, Los Superlocos, whose main protagonists became the basis for La Familia Burrón.[1][2][6][7]
In 1937, Vargas began drawing La Familia Burrón as a separate piece which documented parents, Regino Burrón and Borola Tacuche de Burrón, their two teenage children, Regino and Macuca Burrón, and Foforito Cantarranas, a younger kid who was adopted by the Burróns.[1][2][6][7][8][10][11][12][13] La Familia Burrón profiled a lower class family's daily comedic struggles in an impoverished Mexican barrio.[8][10][11][12][13] At the height of its popularity, the comic strip helped circulation sales to reach 500,000 copies a week.[9][12][13] The comic was temorarily suspended but resumed in 1978.[12][13]
In 2007, Carlos Monsiváis, who is a patron of the arts, opened the Museo de El Estanquillo with an exhibition of Vargas' La Familia Burrón paintings with the artist in person.[4][5] The Burrón Family were represented in painted forms by Regino Burrón and Borola Tacuche de Burrón, Regino and Foforito.[4][5] Vargas sat paralyzed because of an affiction he had suffered for the past twenty years.[4][5]
The Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes stated Vargas died on 25 May 2010 at his Mexico City home.[6][7][8] His health had declined in recent years but no cause of death was given.[6][7][8] According to a statement released by this council, Vargas was "one of the greatest representatives of the golden age of Mexican comics" and an "undeniable reference point for the nation’s popular culture".[9]
The following is a list of Vargas' various comic strips:[1][2][6][7]
In 1983, Vargas received the "Premio Nacional de Periodismo" (National Journalism Prize) in the field of Popular Traditions.[1][2][6][7] In 2003, the "Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes en el área de Tradiciones Populares" (National Sciences and Arts Prize) was presented to him.[1][2][6][7] In 2007, the Federal District government recognized Vargas as a Distinguished Citizen.[1][2][6][7] In addition, the Estanquillo Museum Collections exhibited many of his painted works as a homage.[6][7] At the time of his death, a complete exhibition of La Familia Burrón was on display at a museum in Florence, Italy.[1][2]