| República de San Theodoros Republic of San Theodoros Tintin country |
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| Source | The Adventures of Tintin | ||||
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| Creator | Hergé | ||||
| Genre | Comic strip | ||||
| Capital | Los Dopicos/Las Dopicos (formerly Tapiocopolis, c. 1946 and nicknamed Alcazaropolis, c. 1976) | ||||
| Language(s) | Spanish or Creole | ||||
| Ethnic groups | Spanish, Spanish mestizo, Bibaro, Arumbajo (or Arumbaya) | ||||
| Government | Parliamentary Republic, dominated by military junta (formerly a dictatorship during the Tapioca regime) | ||||
| - General, President | Alcazar (1936-1937, 1955-1958, 1976- )
Tapioca(1927-1936, 1937-1955, 1958-1976) |
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| - Colonel aide-de-camp, Prime Minister | Diaz, Alvarez | ||||
San Theodoros is a fictional Central American country in The Adventures of Tintin. It is a satirical version of a Latin American banana republic country under the yoke of military government.
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The Spanish invaders founded the city of "Our Lady of Las Dopicos" in 1539, which was actually near Tenuzco, the capital of the Pazteca empire. In the series, the capital had two spelling variations: Los Dopicos and Las Dopicos.
San Theodoros apparently became independent around the early 1830s as a result of the unstated actions of General José Olivaro, possibly similar to those of Simón Bolívar or José de San Martín. Endless rebellions after Olivaro in the 1840s until 1930s made San Theodoros have the most number of presidents in history.
During the The Broken Ear, San Theodoros and its hostile neighbor Nuevo Rico go to war over the area of Gran Chapo (grand chapeau, "Big Hat") in 1937 – an allusion to the Chaco War fought by Bolivia and Paraguay over Gran Chaco from 1932-1935. It was thought that the area was custodian of large oil reserves, so a war sparked in the area. The Chapo War was short, lasting only a few weeks, resulting in a stalemate. It is eventually revealed that the notion of the presence of oil in the area was null.
Military coups and counter-coups of Generals Tapioca and Alcazar have followed each other with regularity – and soldiers switch sides every time. In fact, revolution seems like a tradition in San Theodoros, as evidenced in Tintin and the Picaros, where it is said that mass executions after a revolution by firing squads is a tradition. A San Theodoran firing squad consists of six soldiers.
In The Red Sea Sharks, General Alcazar is seen in exile, having been deposed again by his rival in 1958. Alcazar is now negotiating for arms sales by this time.
The latest information about the country is from 1976 when General Alcazar, now supported by the International Banana Company, for the last time ousted General Tapioca during a carnival in an unusually bloodless coup. His guerillas, collectively known as the Los Picaros, wore carnival outfits during the operation. Tintin and his associates had their minor part in the proceedings, although Tintin concocted the plan, and insisted that there be no bloodshed. After the coup General Alcazar renamed the capital from Tapiocapolis to Alcazarpolis after himself.
Determining the location of the county is difficult, given the conflicting references in the books. The capital, Los Dopicos, is shown in The Broken Ear as having a seaport, whereas in Tintin and the Picaros, it appears to be inland. It is possible that the capital's situation is similar to that of San Salvador, El Salvador, where the inland downtown area and coastal suburbs are separated by a small mountain. In the TV series, at the beginning of The Broken Ear when the museum is closed and the janitor was dusting the exhibits and whistling, it was shown that there was a map in the museum that San Theodoros and Nuevo Rico is somewhere near Guyana. In Tintin and the Picaros, the Paris Flash report clearly claims that the country is, as a matter of fact, in South America, since Bianca Castafiore reportedly "continued her brilliant progress through South America", after successfully visiting Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela, and is to visit San Theodoros. In the very same book, Captain Haddock, on an attempt to call General Tapioca, says "Hello, International? Give me South America... Tapiocapolis... General Tapioca!" which lies as yet another proof that the country is located in South America.
The country has a few magnificent Paztec pyramids in Trenxcoatl, including one called Hotuatabotl featured in the Picaros. (Paztec being a pun on Aztec and pastèque, watermelon, and the names of the pyramids, puns on "trench coat" and "hot water bottle" respectively, are meant to look like Nahuatl, like the volcano Popocatepetl in Mexico.) In the jungle areas of the country live Indian tribes of Bibaro (pun of Latin bibere, "to drink") and Arumbajo (or Arumbaya).
Most of the population seems to be humble and poor, as depicted in Tintin and the Picaros. The national drink is the aguardiente, as said in The Broken Ear. They are festive people, having their own carnival celebrated at the capital, Los Dopicos, from February 22-24 every year. The most visible honor bestowed in San Theodoros, as showed in Tintin and the Picaros, is the Order of San Fernando.
The Paztecas are people who came together and formed Pazteca Empire. They were highly developed with respect to their neighbors. They were great architects and astronomers. They built numerous temples and palaces. They were on to agriculture, in which successful applied methods of cultivation, trade and, through its excellent roads. In addition, a heavy toll charged to Bíbaros and Arumbayas in exchange for peace.
The Bíbaros and Arumbayas are Indian tribes that were long living with neighbor Pazteca Empire. They survived by hunting and foraging. They lived in simple huts and were under the leadership of a chief.
With the Arumbayas lives the English explorer Ridgewell, who tries to teach them golf. In the English books, they speak Cockney English, but it is written in such a way that it looks meaningless. (One example: "Ai tolja tahitta ferlip inbaul intada oh'l!" instead of "I told you to hit the flippin' ball into the hole!"). In the original French, the Arumbaya language seems to be another incarnation of Hergé's favourite Brussels (Marols) dialect.
The Spanish colonists saw San Theodoros being rich in chocolate, coffee, corn, and gold. Oil reserves in the country were never proved. The economy, in the national sense, was controlled by rich foreign firms. As of 1970, the estimated GNP (Gross National Product) stood at $45.0 million, and the per capita at a measly $11. Slow economic growth characterized the entirety of Tapioca's three terms. Alcazar's return to power and a quick stabilization of politics in 1976 paved way for increase in tourism potential and an increase of GNP to $306 million.
An interesting detail is the proliferation of colonels; during The Broken Ear story, the army of San Theodoros had 3487 colonels but only 49 corporals. With the army of San Theodoros having 3487 colonels and only 49 corporals during Alcazar's regime, the entire number of troops under the employment of the armed forces possibly stands at approximately 44,900 men during Alcazar's first term and should have been larger during Tapioca's dictatorship. San Theodoros also appears to suffer from the lack of equipment among its troops, as they can be seen wearing a variety of at least eight ammunition pouches and tunics, of varying type and colour. This lasted only during every civil war. It appears to have armoured vehicles at its disposal, along with MG08 heavy machine guns, Vickers machine guns, mannlicher-type rifles, Mil Mi-1 helicopters and (presumably) artillery, around 95 of them, along with anti-tank guns like the Canon de 75 modèle 1897, which Alcazar bought 72 in preparation of the Chapo war. It appears to have a navy and air force, but little is seen of them. There could have been at least 10 major navy ships and 40 aircraft. The army later on appears to be armed with FN FAL/AK-47/Heckler & Koch G3 (it's hard to tell which) rifles and wears German style helmets. The army could also have an arsenal of tanks, approximately 50. At one time under General Tapioca, San Theodoros enjoys close military cooperation with fascist Borduria, another fictional country in the Tintin universe, which would explain the style of its military uniform and its munitions. Tapioca's symbol can be compared to the mustache of the Bordurian dictator Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch. After General Alcazar returns to power, some military units are depicted cladded in guerrilla-style uniforms. In "the Broken Ear" both San Theodoros and its warring neighbour Nuevo Rico buy arms from the same arms dealer, a character based on Basil Zaharoff.
Tintin albums with San Theodoros: